Xt, Slx 12 speed rear deraileurs not very strong.

[Murrob]

My XT 12 speed was presumably one of those from the factory that had issues, in my case it seemed as though the casing was not sealing properly. Water got in and locked up the clutch. Serviced it as per YouTube video, applied a good amount of grease to the seal and put casing back, so far so good.

[Eldron]

Out of curiosity - how many of you ride oval rings? I've heard they destroy clutches but haven't really seen enough destroyed clutches to see a trend.

 

Makes sense but I don't have enough data to have an opinion.

[ChrisF]

Interesting question ....

 

We use round rings, no issues with the clutches.

 

 

Let's hear what the others say .....

[gemmerbal]

I...

 

Out of curiosity - how many of you ride oval rings? I've heard they destroy clutches but haven't really seen enough destroyed clutches to see a trend.

 

Makes sense but I don't have enough data to have an opinion.

[Vetseun]

Good day.

 

Bought myself a titan cypher rs elite january this year, after 400km the clutch stopped working 100%.  After 800km the clutch became totally useless. Replaced the deraileur with a slx and after 20km same story, i tightened the clutch a bit, could only do a bit as it was allready almost at its tightest. I dont know what to do anymore, cant buy a new deraileur every month.  My previous bike had sram gx 12 speed and there was never a problem, just some shifting issues but the clutch never gave any problems. Me and the owner where i bought the bike dont talk to each other so i cant go back to the bike shop. Suppose i will just replace with sram after the slx finally dies on me. Not happy with shimano.

Dont Agree.

[DieselnDust]

13500km  on my SRAM XX1 Eagle rear derailleur.

 

I've only replaced pulley wheel bearings every 3000km, replaced pulley wheels for Csixx units at 10,000km, never serviced the clutch. Still going strong. Doesn't need constant tweaking either. GX AXS will likely replace it sooooon and then it moves to a build project for the my wife. The shifter cable and housing has been replaced only once in the 3 years I've had the bike.

In that time my Shimano  Dura Ace reoad group has had a caliper replaced under warranty, a rear derailleur warranty denied twice because they say I must maintain the jockey pulley cage pivot, had both shifters warrantied and replaced due to cables coating blocking the cable from moving.

 

I also have a 11yr old SRAM FORCE 10speed double tap group that won;t die

[MajG]

Shimano xt 11spd and no issues at all, bought 2nd and lots of knocks and shifts sweetly still.

 

One thing on sram nx, needs finer tuning every 200km to 300km of riding in my experience

[Knersboy]

I am pretty groupset agnostic, ridden shimano, SRAM and campag and have been happy with all of them. The fact that the shimano RD clutch needs maintenance pisses me off. I mean if you can make it maintenance free (read SRAM) surely that is better? I choose no maintenance over adjustability any day of the week.

 

Anyway I had a good cry and got over it and have a few questions regarding the clutch service from those in the know, as i currently run SLX 12 speed.

 

1) What grease do you use?

2) Can the service be done without releasing the gear cable?

 

Thanks

[ChrisF]

I am pretty groupset agnostic, ridden shimano, SRAM and campag and have been happy with all of them. The fact that the shimano RD clutch needs maintenance pisses me off. I mean if you can make it maintenance free (read SRAM) surely that is better? I choose no maintenance over adjustability any day of the week.

 

Anyway I had a good cry and got over it and have a few questions regarding the clutch service from those in the know, as i currently run SLX 12 speed.

 

1) What grease do you use?

2) Can the service be done without releasing the gear cable?

 

Thanks

 

The videos explain it VERY well. 

 

Very brief summary :

 

"Open" the clutch lever -

 

Now unscrew and open the unit -

 

Parts slide apart .... clean all the bits -

 

Apply grease to the outside (along those three grooves) of the roller only

 

There should NOT be this much grease -

 

QUESTION - in the photo above there are bearings visible .... I do want to grease these, yet the videos, and the manual loaded earlier in this thread, warns against this .... would love to hear from the experts why ?  Surely the idea of these bearings is for low friction movement, which typically involves grease ....

 

 

Put everything back together.

 

 

 

I am a Shimano fanboy ...        That said, the clutch and lock-open pin on the sram just works better.  That said, after my experience with two off Eagle GX setups have cured me from sram .....

[Knersboy]

The videos explain it VERY well.

 

Very brief summary :

 

"Open" the clutch lever -

SC-5.jpg

 

Now unscrew and open the unit -

SC-6.jpg

 

Parts slide apart .... clean all the bits -

SC-11.jpg

 

Apply grease to the outside (along those three grooves) of the roller only

SC-2.jpg

 

There should NOT be this much grease -

SC-1.jpg

 

QUESTION - in the photo above there are bearings visible .... I do want to grease these, yet the videos, and the manual loaded earlier in this thread, warns against this .... would love to hear from the experts why ? Surely the idea of these bearings is for low friction movement, which typically involves grease ....

 

 

Put everything back together.

 

 

 

I am a Shimano fanboy ... That said, the clutch and lock-open pin on the sram just works better. That said, after my experience with two off Eagle GX setups have cured me from sram .....

Thanks for the feedback. Watched a few videos, most have the mech removed or else the cable disconnected. This makes it a more tedious job, reckon I will try with the cable connected.

 

Regarding your greasing question. Those roller bearings are so small, they probably more suited to oil than grease. They may be concerned that any grease residue will make those little bearings sticky.

[ChrisF]

Sorry, just realised it did not answer your key question: "What grease to use?"

 

 

I searched all over.  Spoke to most bike shops ....

 

No one had any of the Shimano clutch specific grease, as per the videos .....  got some very interesting input, feedback, suggestions from the various bike shops ....

 

 

 

I ended up taking a chance using ordinary general purpose grease that use on my bikes ....

 

Thus far no issues.

 

 

By all means, IF the fancy Shimano stuff becomes available I will buy it and quickly redo it.

[leeubok]

+1 for having issues with a SLX clutch. Gave me sh*t right from the start. Gear shifting has always been clunky and difficult going up. Took it back to my LBS for a clean and a lube, it simply carried on with its nonsense. I'm now considering doing the clean and lube myself (with the help of youtube), before I toss the POS

[Chadvdw67]

My XT derailleur has worked flawlessly since I got my bike, initially the shifting was ever so slightly sloppy, watched a video of setting the b tension properly, and presto, it has been amazing, have not had to strip and clean the clutch yet either, the little wheels I have cleaned a good few times, but I think that is normal, had my bike since June/July last year, and I have ridden some pretty rough trails and I dont treat my bike gently, I make sure it is well maintained, but I bought it to RIDE it, not to pamper it

[Alouette3]

QUESTION - in the photo above there are bearings visible .... I do want to grease these, yet the videos, and the manual loaded earlier in this thread, warns against this .... would love to hear from the experts why ?  Surely the idea of these bearings is for low friction movement, which typically involves grease ....

Not a normal bearing, that is a one way bearing, allows for rotation in one direction and locks up in the other allowing the friction clutch to do it thing.

 

A light oiling might do it good, don't wanted it packed with thick grease blocking its action.