I’m looking at upgrading my current SRAM Guide R brakes and SRAM GX1 shifter and rear mech to Shimano, I just prefer Shimano (I mainly road bike and it’s on those).

Will XT be pretty much like for like swapping and will I need to go XTR to reduce weight and improve performance?

Thanks

Is it 11 speed? Is that really an upgrade from Guides and GX to XT?!

Recently ditched guide r’s for Hope E4’s, much prefer the Hopes. Having used both XT (M785) and SLX brakes I’m not sure I’d call them an upgrade on the guides (poor modulation on Shimano, very much on or off) which admittedly aren’t the best, but I have a few friends who would say the exact opposite. If possible try b4 you buy with brakes as its the only way to tell what works best for you

Thanks guys yes 11 speed.

Probably bite the bullet and go XTR to save on weight.

Road bike shifting and feel will be nothing like the mtb, there is a long thread about mtb 11sp with lots praising the feel of the sram, make sure you know what your jumping too.

Thanks mate, maybe it will be a brakes only upgrade then.

It’s a preference alternative, there’s no upgrade here. You’ll notice different looks, ergonomics and feedback but you aren’t getting extra performance. Whatever works, no point having stuff you don’t like.

Shimano 11sp is nowhere near the old 10sp quality, and these days the brakes are doing their best to blow Shimano’s reliability rep too.

Personally, I run Shimano STis on any drop bars I have by default, but always plump for SRAM on a mtb unless I’m using up stuff that was around or want to see how Shimano is now.

Having just fallen foul of the Shimano XT duff brakes failing, I would say avoid…

If you have the newer guide R’s with the S4 caliper you could upgrade the levers only to RS, I am planning this shortly as I hear its a good upgrade.

Shimano 10 speed stuff was great, but I’m not convinced by the 11 speed stuff I’ve ridden. My SRAM stuff has been great for the last two years. I run a GX mech and cassette with an X01 shifter.

Re the brakes, the Guide RS / RSC’s are much better than the R’s plus I like the integration of brake levers, shifters and Reverb.

11-speed Shimano gear is pretty crap tbh. I upgraded from a 10-speed XT drivetrain to 11-speed and actually wanted the 10-speed back within a month. The 11-speed XT feels flimsy and plastic. In fact so does the Sram 11-speed stuff I’ve ridden! I’m beginning to think 11-speed is a bit of a waste of time on all fronts! I’m on Sram Eagle 12-speed now and its by far the best drivetrain I’ve ever used. Smooth, feels well built and so far hasn’t missed a beat. Walks all over all the 11-speed stuff and feels just as good as the 10-speed kit XTR kit used to love. If you’re dead set on upgrading I’d go GX Eagle with an X01 shifter and call it done!

I’ve got Guide RS brakes and had a set of RSC’s on bike for a while and I do like them. Shimano have truly cocked their brakes up in last few years, the XT M785’s I had on all my bikes for a few years were far better than the newer M8000’s and XTR’s I’ve tried. I’ve ridden dozens of sets of Shimano brakes on test bikes and I can count on one hand the amount that didn’t have a spongy feel and/or a crazily wandering bite point. Hope are nice as are the new Magura MT Sports, which look a bit of a bargain to be fair!

Overall I’d stick with what you’ve got or as I say, go for Eagle and a better set of Guides (RS or RSC) or try Hope/Magura.