Really impressed with the mech. For a product that’s supposedly at the budget end of the market, it really is excellent. And includes a clutch for that price too.

I’ll second this. Looks great, works great and doesn’t break the bank. Ace.

Agree too. Not just the mech as I am also using the shifters and chainset on my fun hardtail. Would buy the brakes as well but I’ve already got new Deore on it. Shimano have really got it right with ZEE. 😀

TBH, I dunno why anyone would buy a Saint mech for a DH bike – Zee is no heavier (IIRC, the mech is lighter…) and costs less.

Yep – albeit only 1.3g less

I’m getting one for my hardtail build. I’ll be running it 9 speed with a SRAM shifter. Before anybody says it won’t work; it will.

Saint’s still supposedly tougher. Not that convinced myself. Old Saint was incredibly sturdy but they’ve moved away from that. (the Saint 10-sp shifter is the best shifter ever made though, IMO)

GOYB- yep, works perfectly if you space the cable out from the mech. Lovely, and easy.

@Getonyourbike. Go on then, how?

Just add a wee spacer on the mech, where the cable attaches- space it out about a quarter inch, changes the ratio slightly to match the old SRAM one. You can just use a wee washer stack and a longer bolt but that’s a bit messy.

(Shimano rather unsubtly pinched SRAM’s best features with 10-speed, but they used a slightly different ratio just so they could at least pretend that’s not what they were doing 😉 But the design of their mechs makes it simple to tweak)

It nearly works with no mods at all- some folks claim it works perfectly, but I think that’s just because they tolerate crap shifting- tried it and though it’s not right, it’s no worse than plenty of people’s bikes. But no reason to put up with that.

Apparently shimano 10 speed has the same ratio as SRAM so it should work

What he said ^^^

Sorry, slightly stole your thunder there 😳

No problem. It just saved me saying it. 🙂

I’m guessing that’s a 24 carat clutch switch on those hefty gits…

😉

mudmonster – Member
Apparently shimano 10 speed has the same ratio as SRAM so it should work

POSTED 7 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

I thought Shimano was 1.5 to 1 and SRAM was 2 to 1 for 10 speed.

Does anyone fancy posting a pic of the mod to work with a Sram shifter? very interested…

^^^
Yes please. Because I don’t quite get what Northwind is describing

I thought Shimano was 1.5 to 1 and SRAM was 2 to 1 for 10 speed.

Shimano 10sp has a pull ratio very close to SRAM 9sp. Close but not exactly the same hence the spacer mod mentioned by Northwind.

Saint are definitely tougher – I’ve bust 2 Zee mechs in 3 months, whereas I had a Saint m810 for 3 years or so

Just add a wee spacer on the mech, where the cable attaches- space it out about a quarter inch, changes the ratio slightly to match the old SRAM one. You can just use a wee washer stack and a longer bolt but that’s a bit messy.

Don’t suppose anyone has a picture of this do they? I’m struggling to picture exactly where you are fitting the spacer 🙂

from those pics the Saint pivots look beefier with larger diameter pins and more material around the hanger bolt. Doubt it’s really worth it though.

The Zee rear hubs look great value too. 10 or 12mm bolt through for £30-40 and faster freewheel pick up than normal hubs.

My Saint I bought last year is 240g, so i presume the one above and zee has this clutch mechanism which adds weight?

The 820 above has the clutch, yeah. 9 Speed Saint was lighter, as below

The Zee rear hubs look great value too. 10 or 12mm bolt through for £30-40 and faster freewheel pick up than normal hubs.

What sort of bearings do the Zee and Saint hubs use?

I’m hugely impressed that someone’s gone to the trouble of finding a gold ano spacer to do that mod.

Anyone know the weight of an XT shadow+ mech? I thought they were claimed at around 250g which basically would mean that Zee is barely any heavier

Anyone know the weight of an XT shadow+ mech? I thought they were claimed at around 250g which basically would mean that Zee is barely any heavier

258g for a long cage one.

Excellent, thanks for the pics. now I’ve got an itchy trigger finger for a Zee

I’m hugely impressed that someone’s gone to the trouble of finding a gold ano spacer to do that mod

Not sure if you’re serious but I think that’s a lump of brass, isn’t it.

If it wasn’t a portly bit of kit before it most certainly is now…

🙂

I think I’ll make up a couple of wee alu spacers for mine- depending on how much hassle it turns out to be I could maybe do a couple of extras. Not sure I have the ratio perfect yet though.- it’s good enough to use, but maybe not yet good enough to commit to metal 😉

This thread has got me thinking further…

SRAM 10s rear mechs are supposedly directly compatible with Campag 10s ergos (see here)

Given that and the suggestion above that Shimano can be compatible with SRAM, that would mean it could also be used with Campag shifters…

interesting 🙂

Ah- now I don’t know how it all works with SRAM 10 speed- you get close compatibility with 9 but I’ve never seen anyone put a 10 speed SRAM mech on a 9 speed. Maybe nobody’s tried.

My first instinct would be to improvise with washers and the threaded locks from presta valves as spacers. 🙂

Glad to hear that Zee’s working out alright – it looks perfect for an occasional 1×10 set up for my singlespeed.

I did look at a Zee rear hub with 10mm thru-axle for a wheel build a few months ago. Serious bargain hub, that. The bearings are cup and cone, mind, so you’ll need to be more maintenance – conscious than with a cartridge bearing hub. It also looks like you’d need new cone spanners. A friend has a thru-axle SLX hub which went without a service for a while because he couldn’t get hold of the right cone spanners.

Northwind – Member
Ah- now I don’t know how it all works with SRAM 10 speed- you get close compatibility with 9 but I’ve never seen anyone put a 10 speed SRAM mech on a 9 speed. Maybe nobody’s tried.

I have a mate with a 9 speed SRAM shifter on an SLX 9 speed mech(or the other way round, can’t remember) and he bloody-mindedly insists it’s OK.

Hmmm, tempted to try the above mod aswell.

GOYB – what size is that spacer, just to get an idea of a starting point?

So, is the mod to allow use of 10 speed SRAM shifter with a 10 speed shimano rear mech and 10 speed rear cassette?

It’s a quarter of an inch.

No, it lets you use 9 speed SRAM shifters with the Zee mech, so you can have a clutch, on a 9 speed setup.

honourablegeorge – Member

I have a mate with a 9 speed SRAM shifter on an SLX 9 speed mech(or the other way round, can’t remember) and he bloody-mindedly insists it’s OK.

Is there not some weird combo which works, SRAM Force maybe?

By the end of this exercise, all my drivetrains will be odd. The 1×10 will have an XX1 chainring, the others will all be 1×9 or 2×9 with X9 9-speed and Shimano 10-speed mechs, the road bike will be 10-speed road with a 9-speed mech… And the commuter will just be weird for being 7 speed.

Spoke too soon – Looks like you can add me to the list of people finding Zee mechs a bit fragile. One uplift day, one very badly bent mech. Still finished the day, but I’ll need a new one.