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Yo!
So I'm building a HT bike and need a groupset. Have been looking at XT, XTR seems a little pricey although I might consider it if the price was right (maybe last years model or something). so my questions are, since I have been out of the game for a while, what are the Sram equivalents and how do they compare with the Shimano. Also does anyone know where i can get a good deal on these groupsets?
Cheers
CH
X9 sits around xt ish depending on the year.
If you want Shimano then Rose in Germany are cheapest by some way. Just go for slx. Otherwise have a look at Merlin.
I got a XT 2x10 groupset last year - Merlin was cheapest for most of it.
Also worth checking out the German retailers as they are often very cheap for groupsets - they would have saved me £££'s but didn't do the group I wanted at the time.
www.bike24.com
www.actionsports.de
www.bike-components.de
www.hibike.de
I recently bought sram x9 shifter and it lasted a few weeks before stopping working. Discussions on here led me to bekieve that x9 stuff is shite. I upgraded to x0 and been fine since. Ive never had trouble with shimano, even the cheaper stuff. I think shimano are hard to beat for groupsets.
I recently bought sram x9 shifter and it lasted a few weeks before stopping working. Discussions on here led me to bekieve that x9 stuff is shite. I upgraded to x0 and been fine since. Ive never had trouble with shimano, even the cheaper stuff. I think shimano are hard to beat for groupsets.
Great responses so far guys, very grateful. One more question that comes up.
I have just noticed that there seems to be a move towards having only 2 rings on the front rather than 3. Any comments here? I will be riding some serious up hills technical and all. Do you thing that I will get the range I need with a 2x10?
Cheers
Ch
I expect that it will be fine. There are now 36T rear cogs so you gain a little here. Many riders just use one front ring.
I'm by no means a super powerful climber and have had no issues switching to 2x10 - I run 38/26 at the front with 11-36 cassette.
The 26/36 is only a whisker harder work than 22/32 which I had before on my triple set up.
Shimano triple ring 10 speed set ups are now 24-32-42 on the front so you lose the 22T granny of the 9 speed.
For the double set ups you have a bit of a choice: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=67200
24/38, 26/38 & 28/40.
But bare in mind that the 10 speed cassettes now have the option of 11-36, which is heavier than say a 9 speed 11-32 but your re-gain the lower ratios and larger diameter of the 24 or 26T granny up front is mechanically better for the chain.
Compare the ratio of the lowest gear you used to use and get a set up that gets close to this but be aware that the highest gear will be lower with the likes of the 24/38 - but how often do you sit in 44-11 on a mountain bike? Only time I use that is when cruising back along the roads after a local ride.
Merlin cycles are doing good deals on SLX and XT group sets at the moment.
SLX triple and double @ smidge under £400
with XT @ £525
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/transmission-gears/groupsets-mtb/shimano-xt-m780-2-x-10-disc-brake-groupset-black.html
I think you get another 5% off at the checkout too..so that takes XT to under 500 and SLX to about £380.
SLX deal includes rotors, XT doesnt.
The SLX groupset is so close to the XT (eg same brakes and clutch rear mech) if weight isnt a massive issue thats what I would go for.
quick bit of maths...to match a 22 front, 32 cassette you need:
24 front: 35 rear
26 front: 38 rear
but if you rarely use the ultimate lowest gear then the next one down (28T on the cassette) then that changes to:
24 front: 30 rear
26 front: 33 rear
so the end result is you get somewhere in between the lowest and next to lowest on a 9 speed 11-32 set up.
great feedback chaps. I am moving towards XT 2x10 chainring.
Now if the groupset does not include brakes.... that is gonna be my next question 🙂
XT has a few extra adjustments over SLX.
If you can live with that save a few £. But the difference isn't actually that much in the grand scale of things.
SLX brakes are almost identical to XT. Deore aren't far off, and are an absolute bargain.
If you are happy to spend XTR prices, then I'd take a look at the SRAM XX1...
Much as above x9 is ok but not always great
X0 and xx are very good and mine seems to last ages
Still got a 2008 x0 rear mech that's working fine
So they should, they cost more than XTR! Things like jockey wheels are crap, and OEM ones are insanely expensive - £120 for XX ones.
Personal preference and that, but IMO Shimano winds hands down.
Tbh the xx I have gets little use as its on my xc race bike but I've not been racing much
Been pleased with the hope jockey wheels
My last bike came with SRAM X7. It worked fine on the stands but as soon as the trail got mildly moist the gears were skipping all over the place. I changed to Shimano SLX and haven't even had to adjust the gear cables.
I saw an article (bikeradar I think) where they showed Shimano's mud tanks - they seem to test in a watery mud. Not sure what SRAM do in the way of mud testing - but it didn't work for me.
Get a clutch rear derailleur!
Called Shadow Plus for Shimano (RD-M786 for XT), Type 2 for SRAM. You can normally run a mid cage (GS) derailleur with a 2x10.
Got one pair of 2006 x9 shifters and rear mech that have always been and still are faultless and a set of the 2007 models of the same which have also been trouble free. I would recommend them happily.
Got one pair of 2006 x9 shifters and rear mech that have always been and still are faultless and a set of the 2007 models of the same which have also been trouble free. I would recommend them happily.
Mine's not going to be a precise answer as I don't know the exact specs of my two groupsets. Basically, I have 2012 XTR 10-speed on my FS and 2012 XT 10-speed on the HT. The FS doesn't get ridden much at the moment as I love the other bike more. What I would say of the XTR is that it feels crisper and more dialed than the XT. Having said that, the shifting on the XT is really good, but there's certainly a difference.
Onto the double / triple question, for me, the triple does definitely have a greater range and is useful for spinning up insanely steep stuff. The double has a decent range but I'm quite a strong climber so it's not that much of a problem.
Aesthetically, XTR looks and feels expensive. XT is nice looking too and for my money has snob value over SLX... if that's an issue.