SRAM/Shimano drivetrain - is it rubbish?

No problems here running SLX with a 10-50 gx cassette. Not noticed any meaningful difference in setup compared to a shimano cassette. Good cable routing etc far more of an issue.

It's nowhere near as good as full Shimano. Shifting on a GX 520 cassette felt like Alivio 8 speed on a Merida I borrowed for an event last year. I've also used an NX and a regular GX and they are much clunkier and slower to shift than the SLX in my own bike, especially under load.

I don't remember X0 being as bad but it's been a few years since I used it. The 12 speed Shimano shift is really a level above everything else.

I’ve got one bike with xt 12 speed cassette / mech shifter and the other with GX eagle cassette / mech / shifter.

I think the thing people make about Shimano being silky smooth vs sram is rubbish tbh. The shift is lighter on GX than XT I generally I prefer it. I also don’t like Shimano 12 speed chains - because of the tighter inside clearance of the links they don’t play nicely with grit / mud etc and get a bit skippier / noisier.

I can’t comment on mixing parts though as I haven’t done that.

Cheers all. To be clear I'm keeping my XT chain/mech/shifter. It's the cassette I'm in a quandary about. I either need to buy a micro spline freehub, or an xd cassette.

If I do the latter it gives me a good excuse to upgrade my other bike to 12sp, buuuut...

If you go sram I’d recommend an XX1 chain or KMC X12 ti - those are the ones I’m running on Shimano and sram setups respectively. Both have lasted really well without much stretching / cracking etc and just keep working in the mud. Both have sram x sync 2 chainrings which I don’t think can be beaten. Even covered in so much crap you can’t see the top of the chainring they kept retaining the chain a few weeks ago where a mates brand new burgtech ring threw its chain off.

Cheers, chain is a good call, but I'm on 8100 cranks, so unfortunately ring isn't an option 🙁 never had any retention problems though, tbf.

I'm on 2 different mixtures of 12 speed Shimano and SRAM on 2 different bikes.

All fine

Until I got the chain slightly shorter to hit the right b screw alignment, my SLX 12 shifter and mech was OK with the NX cassette+ GX chain. But now the shifting seems totally on a par to the shifting on my previous bike which was full 12 speed SLX.

I run similar on 2 bikes. XTR mech/shifter with 10-50 GX eagle cassette and XT mech shifter with 10-50 GX eagle cassette.
! is running a SRAM crank and the other RaceFace and they shift without any issue. Can't fault the GX cassettes and certainly do seem to last well.
Just to add, X01 chains on both setups.

How much is a microspline driver for the wheels? surely that's a better way to do it.

I have
- full Shimano M7100 - works great
- Shimano M7100 + GX 50-11t Cassette/chain - also works great

I'd actually forgot I was running the GX cassette until I saw this thread.

I wouldn’t say it’s rubbish, bot not perfect. I ended up getting 2 SLX mechs for my two bikes during the lockdown when parts were sparse. Both mated to NX eagle cassettes. Shifting was adequate. Definitely not as good as the full NX set ups. There was always one particular cog where it over shifted down the cassette then jumped back up. It was a fraction of a second and once it was in it was fine. That was same on both bikes, same cog.

But the SLX mech cages are awfully soft and once they have taken a knock they are hard to get indexed correctly. The one which I used the most ended up with fairly loose pivots and it wouldn’t shift from the 50t without a quick bunny hop. I still have one on the hardtail and that’s getting to be the same way. But the NX were the same too. Pivots went in no time.

Hopefully the xt are better in both those regards.

In now have a gx on the full sus and it’s much sturdier and shifts lovely. I have had a couple of gx mechs where the clutches go a a bit baggy though so I think it can be a bit of a lottery in general with 12 speed stuff.

If only the older 11 speed XT stuff went upto 52t. That was built to last. Or maybe I need to get fitter / new knees!?

I have a 12sp xt shifter and mech on a nx cassette. It's fine, but not as good as full sram set up. That's probably because the mech has gone sloppy fairly quickly.

Now 11sp xt with any cassette would last for far longer without going sloppy. Just better built all round. Probably worth just being fitter and running 11speed given a choice.

How much is a microspline driver for the wheels? surely that’s a better way to do it.

That's a good solution indeed but I prefer the longevity of SRAM cassettes.

Im XT shifter SLX mech and GX 52-10. It all works fine but I would rather it was a shimano cassette partly because I hate the big jump onto the 52T ring. Im just not at the point of wanting to pay for a new free hub at the same time as a new cassette.

How much is a microspline driver for the wheels? surely that’s a better way to do it.

50 quid, but if there's not much difference in shift and the GX significantly outlasts XT/slx, it's not that clear cut, hence the thread 🙂

I was Shimano for ages but ended up with AXS with shimano and sunrise cassettes and all good.
One of the kids has 12 speed SLX on Sram cassette and all good.
Always likes the spacing and wear on the Sunrace cassettes. Price always good as well

The GX Eagle cassettes last forever. I have 2 bikes with GX Eagle drivetrains but SLX mechs (bought when there was a shortage of GX mechs a couple of years ago). They work perfectly. I would recommend using a SRAM chain with the length adjusted in line with Shimano guidance to get the best shifting.