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Currently running XTR but i fancy a change for some reason, is there much difference in performance between the two? What are the pros and cons of either?
Totally personal. I don't like X.0 triggers, find the down shift lever too easy to knock, lots of accidental shifts.
There are no real pros or cons to either. Someone will come and say one shifts better, someone will say the other. Both work perfectly well.
I had a hire bike in the Alps a couple of years ago running sram kit. I really liked the shift. I run all shimano on my bikes but adapted to the difference in the shifters really quickly. I actually found it harder switching back whe I got home. However, looking at the hire fleet, it looked like the shimano bikes were still on original kit and the sram bikes were already running on spares which so of fits with claims that sram isn't as durable.
I would have tried sram on my own bike apart from the fact that I'd then lose interchangability across my bikes.
Sram stuff isn't as reliable or as well made as Shimano stuff. Or as well thought out for that matter.
Sram stuff isn't as reliable or as well made as Shimano stuff. Or as well thought out for that matter.
Better tell that to my 5 and half year old XO mech and X9 shifters which are the same age. What a pile of tosh.
They're both very good. The adjustable lever position on X0 is handy if you want/need an odd setup.
The SRAM vs. shimano arguments are now basically all gone, now that shimano have dual release and shadow mechs. The main reason to run sram was to be able to shift both way with your thumbs (keeping your finger on the brake if needs be) and a mech that doesn't smack itself to death on your chainstay (on some bikes).
Speaking as a mechanic in a busy workshop. Shimano every time. Better designed and constructed so as a result much more reliable.
Rolfharris and hopster have just proven my point perfectly.
I'd agree with the Shimano reliability, but I've only ever destroyed one mech, it was an XTR one.
"Speaking as a mechanic in a busy workshop. Shimano every time. Better designed and constructed so as a result much more reliable. "
Wot he said. Shimano- it works. We get sram stuff in that breaks in ways that are impossible on a shimano, and if you've ever had a shifter apart it's no surprise that they don't last particularly long.
I use both, but find the "clunkyness" of XO gets wearing after a while, give me nice smooth XTR every time.
Ok ok im going to stick with it ;o)
I run XTR on one bike, and X0 on another, and id happily swap the X0 for XTR given a chance. Just prefer the shifting options and the feel of XTR.
Shimano every time, I love the Dual Control! Some people hate it though...
c-l, i agree, dual control is brilliant, just not a massive fan of Shimano brakes, or i'd buy another set.
"Speaking as a mechanic in a busy workshop. Shimano every time. Better designed and constructed so as a result much more reliable. "
Wot he said. Shimano- it works. We get sram stuff in that breaks in ways that are impossible on a shimano, and if you've ever had a shifter apart it's no surprise that they don't last particularly long.
as the above- used to be a massive Sram fanboi ...till the mechs started coming out the boxes with slop in all the pivots .... sent them back and got more with the same issues ....
random explosions on the mechs werent fun either !
Old sram is still good tbh - my original X9 mech from 2004/5 is still going hard and fast on someones downhill bike like wise my X7 but recently there kit has been utter shite ...
shimano for me - dont have full xtr but I am running old 950 xtr / xt mix = lasted for ever - spare bike had x9 + x7 stuff - it didnt last at all well- again had to take x9 shifter pod apart - its poorly made / designed vs equiv xt. Sram jockey wheels are plain shite....
if soeone gave me a choice twixt xtr and xo it would be xtr no question - only good thing is the cable actuation - which if you use full outers doesnt really matter much...
asthetically both shimano and xo look less good than older styles i reckon - more action man bike than mtb...
paul
gordy, been running XO for year with no probs whatsoever, if you fancy a spin on the spot and flux pop over and give them a go, triggers on the spot, twisters on the flux...try before you buy!!!
never ran sram on the mtb and my m960 kit is still going strong and shifts smoooooth, nearly changed to sram on the roadbike but ended up getting a great deal on DA - 'if it aint broke dont fix it' perhaps?
sram - ball-ache replacing cables and after sales / CS is kaka.
shmano every time. it just works and keeps working without idiosyncrasy.
sram - ball-ache replacing cables
How so?
Agree on the cable replacement, I always seem to end up giving up and taking the shifter body apart to re-thread the new cable. It's just really awkward to thread a new cable through.
Otherwise very happy with the shifters though. Swapped to Attack 5 years or more ago because I liked the thumb-release action. One of those original shifters is still going, only replaced the other last year after it got damaged in a crash.
Never had a problem with the triggers. Now the old x-ray gripshifts on the other hand, they were a nightmare to change cables on, you had to wind the cable back round in exactly the right position.
The mathematics would seem to suggest...
XTR-X0
= X(TR-0)
= X(TR)
= XTR
Remember to factorise fully.
This is the wrong weather to be planning lessons. 😯
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I really wanted to like X0, I feel thou that performance and durability is compromised over my XTR setup thou, really shame, kinda like the way it looks thou. I still think the 952 series was the best thou, still running shifters and mech that are knocking 10 years old on one bike only changed the jockey wheels 3 times, about 20 cables, the shifters are polished by my thumbs and they still shift great!
had to change my XTR shadow jocky wheels after 18 months - ninja stars dont cut it they were round ...
BUT in fairness they had done
10utb/10@k-tree and 10 @ moray - Strathpuffer - Relentless - a full SXC season - Dusk till dawn and mountain mayhem - and associated training
we still work on customers bikes with fully servicable XTR 950 that has less slop than NEW x9 out the box !