Is there actually any difference to these barring wieght, do they perform similar and are they as durable?

I’ve always had x9 on my bike so don’t know any difference, but that’s off to the mech hanger graveyard…

If I put x5/x7 on do you think it would be noticable?

I use x9 shifter with an x7 mech and its been faultless for 2 years now. No idea what the difference is in models though, sorry.

I’m the exact opposite x7 shifter, x9 mech, can’t say i’ve had any issues that weren’t casued by abuse really. cheers though, just trying to get the auld bike working for as much cheapness as possible!

Had an X5, bit sloppy, shifting wasn’t the best and heavy
X7: shifting was a bit better but still sloppy
X9: It’s a massive imporvement, there’s no play and shifting is seriously snappy.

This is all from experience and I’ve spent lots and lots of time with all 3. The comparision between the X7 and X9 was when I was runnnig X9 shifters. Get the X9, it’s worth it.

went for a new model X7 after I saw the price of X9 and really can’t tell the difference. It’s holding up well after a few months and constant use as well

you cant tell with the mech as much as you can with the shifters IME
got a long X9 or X0 if you are interested and ignore my advice 😀

Cheers all, I’ll hunt around for a deal on x9, if none are within budget, i think i’ll have a go at x7, don’t think i’ll go any lower than that.

The shifters are the brains, an X9 shifter pushing an X5 mech around feels nice, but an X5 shifter pushing an X9 mech feels exactly like an X5/X5 combo to me.

Dropping down on the mech doesn’t make that much of a difference, but the X9s seem a lot more long-lived than X5… maybe not tougher (I’m not a mech breaker) but they wear less, and they’re more resistant to corrosion etc

X5 shifters and X9 mech on the pitch, can’t complain about the shifting, low end SRAM shifters are the old shape with the integrated indicator window in the clamp rather than the newer ones, but I cant fault it.