Who’s ridden both SLX and XT 10spd setups?

Care to comment on any differences, perceived or otherwise?

Would you say XT was worth paying a 50% price premium for if buying a whole new groupset?

Interested to know, cos have just been pricing up new chainrings, cassette and a chain for my 9spd XT/XTR setup on one of my bikes, and seen that I could replace the whole lot, lock stock and barrel, for about the same money!!!

Anybody?

Haven’t ridden XT 10sp, but I doubt it would work much different to SLX. Which works very well for me so far btw.

Probably just be a bit lighter and have better feeling shifters, like 9sp XT vs SLX.

Cheapest I’ve seen 10sp XT is £250 at Actionsports.de if that helps?

cheers chapaking

was looking at On One earlier, but then came across the Actionsports site too. Which is why I’m contemplating it at all.

New 9spd cassette circa £50
New 9spd chain circa £25
New 9spd rings circa £80

Or

Complete new 10spd SLX drivetrain for £180!!!

I’d have got XT if it was that price when I was buying, but it’s down to personal budget innit. SLX is great anyway.

I really like 10sp – much less front shifting – makes me realise how crap front shifts usually are!

I’d have got XT if it was that price when I was buying, but it’s down to personal budget innit. SLX is great anyway.

I’m getting the feeling that despite what I may want to think, SLX really is pretty much as good as XT, just with a slightly more agricultural finish and a tiny weight penalty…

Which makes me feel very vain right now! 😳

The reason Shimano and other brands have ranges such as this is to price discriminate. You have a willingness to pay for a rear mech say, so do I, so does everyone else. By creating a rear mech at various price points they are able to maximise profits by ensuring everyone pays close to their willingness to pay for a rear mech. Of course cost of production is probably very similar for each one in the range hence it really being a tactic to maximise profits.
That’s not to say an XT isn’t better than an SLX etc, but is it £x better? Only the individual consumer in question decides that.

mboy … I have a new 10speed XT groupset for sale, either complete or individual parts including a full set of chainrings that may be worth a look http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-brand-new-shimano-deore-xt-10-speed-dyna-sys-drivetrain-groupset-2

Just changed from slx 9 speed to xt 10 and the difference is astounding. Partly I’m sure due to it being 10 speed and not 9 of course but I personally feel that the shifters and mech are worth the extra – weather theres a big difference in the cranks and chain/ cassette I don’t know – maybe weight but probably not a lot. The whole set up feels great though.
I got mine from action sports as well and can’t fault them at all.

peakprowler, I noticed, but I’d need cranks as well, and though your prices are indeed very good compared to UK RRP, can get a full XT groupset including the cranks for around that price from Germany it would seem…

Zoolander, you see I had a quick ride on a bike with full 10spd XT a couple of months ago and was amazed by it too, but I’m thinking that was mainly the 10spd factor too. The SLX 9spd stuff I’ve ridden (and owned) feels to me every bit as good as XT 9spd, just a tiny bit heavier, and not finished quite as well.

damo2576, you are probably absolutely right to a point. Looking at things like Shimano XTR and SRAM XX rear mechs, I can see why they cost more, but a Deore Vs SLX Vs XT… There’s probably not very much in it in terms of cost to make, maybe the price difference to us is purely economies of scale (probably make 5 Deore mechs for every XT they sell for instance). I’ve recently bought a road bike, and was scared that buying a bike with “only Tiagra” would mean it felt rubbish compared to Ultegra or Dura Ace… Doubt I’d notice the difference in use to be honest! I do prefer a nice metal (rather than plastic) thumb button on my MTB shifters though, it does make it feel more satisfying to use…

Right, nerd time question now… Anybody know the weight difference between an XT and SLX setup? We’re talking cranks, shifters, both mechs, cassette and chain here… What do you reckon? 100 grammes? 200? More? Less?

I would say everything slx is good except the shifters which feel cheap in comparison to xt

I would agree with Tony.

Get SLX and sell/upgrade the shifters to XT.

+1

Not tried the 10spd kit yet – but considering it – but if you upgrade any drivetrain part then the shifters make the biggest difference IMO.

I now run 970 shifters on my 9spd bike and they are brilliant. So light and positive.

do you have to run 10spd rings on a 10spd setup?

I don’t believe you do reggiegasket, I was told that a 10spd chain runs ok on 9spd rings.

But I’d want the closer ratios on the front too if I was running a wider range cassette, just makes sense to me.

GaryLake, was thinking that might be the way to go…

The chainrings are physically closer together on the 10sp cranks BTW.

running 9spd rings here no probs, also a wippermann connex chain as it has a connex piece. shimano dont do one and the 10spd sram is a powerlock.
xt looks lusher. get thee to actionsports.

Always amazes me how XT holds it’s resale value too 😉

Thing is mboy,

If you go for the slx, will you always wonder how much better the xt may have been or feel that xt will have looked better. If so go and shell out for the xt – if you are unlikely to be bothered go for the slx and pocket the difference- as there’s not going to really be much in it performance wise.
That’s the way I summed it up when I had the decision to make – xt wasn’t going to make me faster or better at riding but it would have always bugged me if I’d have gone slx.

To answer your more recent question mboy, there is very little difference in weight between SLX and XT for 10-speed.

I am in the fortunate position of having both an SLX-10 (M660) and XT-10 (M771) waiting to go onto a frame and for swap-out from SRAM X7/X9 on a new Scott.

These are the weights according to my digital kitchen scales (in grams, 5g increments in measurement), in the format item: XT / SLX

RH crank inc chainrings, triple: 560 / 605
LH crank: 230 / 235
BB: 100 / 100
Cassette (11/36): 350 / 380
Chain: 275 / 280
Levers & cables (no outers): 300 / 310
Front mech (top swing): 155 / 155
Rear mech (long cage): 245 / 275
Overall difference = 135g (6%). Not much really if XT costs 50% more than SLX.

I don’t have either SLX or XT brakes to compare weight.

The Scott should be with me either next week or early April. The frame, a Karate Monkey, is out of stock until mid April. Neither is going on a bike until then so I can’t give a comparison on which feels better, and in any case when built up the bikes have different purposes and will handle differently anyway so a direct comparison will be difficult.

GaryLake’s suggestion is good, unless the price difference of selling off the SLX shifters and buying XT means that it would be close to the price of getting XT in the first place. Service from Germany (Action Sports) has been great.

Hope you find this useful

EG

Brilliant post EG.

Respect is due.

🙂

EG

That’s brilliant! I wish there was a thank you button to hit several times… Exactly what I wanted to know…

Quite interesting to see that in every respect too, 10spd XT seems to have gained some weight over 9, when I thought only the cassette would be any heavier if at all!

But 135g difference for the full groupset, when almost half of it is in the cranks, and another quarter is in the cassette, is not a lot to be fair…

Well, decided on XT in the end, based mainly on the fact that for 10 euros extra I could spec 170mm cranks instead of 175’s. Saves me the hassle, as couldn’t spec 170s on the SLX group, so would have had to buy another chainset and then sell the 175s…

So, very soon my Maverick is gonna have a full 10spd XT group on it (it already has XT brakes), I’ll report back when I’ve ridden it perhaps…

Well bugger me… Ordered Friday morning, delivered Monday afternoon… From Germany!

Time to get it fitted now then…

Aye cheers for weighing all the parts

….

I find SLX “clunky”. Not in a bad way, it shifts as quickly & acurately as XT, but there is a “clunk” where XT has a “click”. 🙂

SRAM X9.

All agreed say I.

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Sod Shimano chains at any price, though I do run an XT front mech and SLX chainset.