So, thinking of turning my nice light little Kinesis Maxlight from SS to 1 x 9……

990 rear cassette

But what shifter and mech?

Do I really need anymore than SLX?

I went from SLX to XTR shifters. One of the best upgrades I reckon you can do. Shifting improves loads and much smoother.

you get extra shifts with xtr too. they really are nicer than the cheaper ones to use too.

once you get to slx you can remove thye windows and the levers are at the same angle (deore front levers are a strange angle)

I run decent slx/ xt shifters and deore mechs.

9sp xtr shifters are bloody lovely to use and seem to last forever

dunno about the poor-peoples’ versions though 😉

Can’t remember which XT shifters/mech I have but they’re smooth and accurate. Have never seen the need to go XTR.

Whats wrong with Deore?

Whats wrong with Deore?

You can’t remove the windows, need SLX (at a minimum) for that.

I’ve run full XT groupsets for 13 years now without the slightest hiccup in any department. Just bought the latest 10sp XT for my new hardtail build.

Whats wrong with Deore?

In general absolutely nothing, the drive chain on my hard tail is deore, apart from the shifters, which are SLX.

The difference in shifting performance between deore and SLX is very noticeable. I’ve never been sure whether the SLX -> XT upgrade is worth it, but certainly the deore -> SLX shifter upgrade is well worth the cash. As has been said, you can also take off the window on SLX and above, which can be handy in some situations (like running Formula Oro brakes)

I upgraded from Deore to SLX (to remove the windows) and then from SLX to XT (too cheap to turn down) and each upgrade was a revelation in shifting performance.

The XTs have a resounding “click” for each change & don’t deviate from that position, whereas the SLX – although they have the “click” – do have a little variance in the amount of cable tension applied, meaning you’ll occasionally need to trim the lever to get the mech in the right place. I’ve not used XTR, so can’t comment.

I upgraded from deore to slx so I could remove the shifter windows, can’t say I noticed much difference in shifting performance (never had any issues with deore).

I love my XTR shifters, nicer than any other shifter on the market.

i sold my 9 speed XTR shifter when i went 1×10. the difference between XTR and XT is definitely noticable, and while the XT works very well, the XTR was an absolute pleasure to use. I know this sounds ridiculous, and i don’t know how to put it in to words, but it was just ‘better’ in every way. as soon as i can afford to upgrade to XTR, i will.

Used all three. Sold SLX for XT as the SLX felt a little plastic and possibly a little less positive.
XTs are very nice, solid and positive.
XTR very nicerer, although I miss the indicator windows, but I can live with it. Still not sure if I like the “change down 2 gears with 1 push” on them though, even after 3 years!

New 10spd XTR is tremendous. I wouldnt have bothered but it came on a new bike. Slick and silent and never misses a beat. I’m going to see out the winter then give the Ti456 a tart up with a full XTR groupset from Merlin if I can justify £1k…..

Edit: My old XTR dual control brakes and gears lasted a full 6yrs, only just binned them. I dont think I ever had to bleed the brakes and the rear mech just went on and on. The jockey wheels wore out from the INSIDE, just span around on the plastic, no bearing action at all, they worked fine. Not expensive in the long run.

(not had the banning email yet, so) may I please apologise for the errant apostrophe above ?

😳

Inexcusable Scardey. 😐

Expect the Spanish Inquisition….

Having had deore, XT and XTR I can definitely say that XTR is good, not necessarily worth the extra money but there’s a noticeable difference, even from the XT (which is still very good!)

Trust what everyone says about xtr being better. Each step towards xtr gets better and although xt is great its not quite as slick/sick as the best out there. Its something you should spend the money on as you are in contact with them all the time.. unlike the rear mech. So if you only have so much to spend then i`d go for a cheaper rear mech (keep a good front mech if possible) and splash the rest on shifters.

Wise words. Its actually the front mech that is noticeably better. I’ve never gotten on with XT/X9 front mechs, always clunky, dropping chains. New XTR I just go up and down the range without missing a beat. Totally recommended.

XT is excellent when it comes to shifters, well worth the extra over SLX

Just put some xtr pods on today…

Wish I did it years ago!

Feel and look superb!

I bought a set of here for a bargain!!

Good Luck