Hi guys,

Rear mech went on me last night so it’s rear mech shopping time. I run a 1×10 setup with a 32t at the front and 11-36 cassette. I’ve heard the Shimano Zee mechs are great for the kind of setup I’ve got and are pretty bombproof. Does anyone have an experience with them?

Thanks in advance.

I run the same with a zee

I’ve just built one with that spec. It was a bit fussy to setup but works fine.

IMO it’s just a strong version of XT. Ran one on my DH bike and my 1×10 enduro bike and I love them. Only reason I’d change is if I needed a wider range.

Possibly worth a read?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zee-mech-failures

Mine’s has been fine since July, probably only done 2-300 miles though.

IMO it’s just a strong version of XT

From what I can ascertain and from having the Zee and XT in front of me is that there are a fair few differences, with the XT having the better parts, for instance the pressed cable actuation arm that is twisted in the above thread is a cast item on XT. I also think that the clutch mechanism may be different as well. AFAIK the Zee is basically a short cage SLX mech. There was a thread recently( between this one and ^^^that one that had a link to a Shimano tech document showing the differences) I also read in a PSA that someone got an XT mech from Ribble for £45 this weekend.

Yeah, Zee is an SLX with a scattering of Saint bits, but it’s fundamentally equivalent to SLX and the weakest points in the mech are still SLX.

Northwind – Member
Yeah, Zee is an SLX with a scattering of Saint bits, but it’s fundamentally equivalent to SLX and the weakest points in the mech are still SLX.

Don’t think there’s anything Saint about it, it’s a puny thing compared to Saint.

Looking at the Zee cranks, it think it’s a closer to a Deore level DH group.

XT/SLX don’t have the shorter cage version if that’s what you are after.

I have Zee and XT clutch mechs. I would love to know why the clutch on/off switch on the Zee is lovely gold-coloured metal and the XT is a horrible plastic number!

honourablegeorge – Member

Don’t think there’s anything Saint about it, it’s a puny thing compared to Saint.

Take a closer look, it’s a parts-bin special with bits of Saint attached to bits of SLX. But it’s as strong as its weakest parts.

I’ve got a Zee, it works. Er, that’s it.

Hope Zee is good, just removed an XT clutch long cage to replace with Zee clutch just so I can run a shot! Not even ridden it yet!