Had one where the clutch gave up after 6 months, replaced under warranty

second one – the internals all corroded after 6 weeks so it wouldn’t spring back properly and wouldn’t take up the chain slack – also gone back under warranty

is this normal?

One of mine must be one of the first, it’s been used non-stop since, looks like it’s been knawed by a dinosaur… Still good. So no, not normal ime. MTB parts will always corrode if used around road salt and not looked after, though

Probably not… 🙂
For what it is worth, I’ve got a Zee clutch mech, it’s bent now, yet still works flawlessly. 18 months old. Been hammered.

Mine’s been fine on my Fatty since Dec ’12; never missed a beat.

My Mrs (5’0″ and 50 kg) broke one (XT clutch) in less than a year. My SLX clutch broke in 3 months.

So yes, a bit crap.

My XT clutch has been fine for 18 months and SLX just as good. I do tend to crash on my left so generally my rds last quite well!

18 faultless months out if mine & significant lack of chainsuck on a very worn chainset, means I can’t recommend then enough.

Don’t get me wrong, the rest of the mech is just fine. The clutch itself is crap.

The clutch on my x7 one needs retightening after every couple of rides and theres loads of play in the pivots after 7months , my mates xo1 lasted even less time and the clutch failed completely

I’ve had 3 go in less than a year! Shimano have acknowledged that there is a weak spot in the clutch leading to failure.
I’m now running XTR as the clutch mechanism is a better design.

@ Northwind – corrosion was on a mech fitted in May! so no road salt around

so are you meant to take the clutch cover up and clean it all up inside every few rides??!

The clutch in mine lasted about a year. The rest of the mech works as it should. I have a new one waiting to go on, hopefully the clutch will last longer on that one.

Slight thread hijack, so apologies.

@ Kimbers, how does one re tighten a SRAM clutch mech please?

Mine went after 6 months – presumably in the same way as everyone else’s did, with the clutch retaining bracket snapping.

Took 4 weeks for Ribble/Madison to replace under warranty (Madison claimed they’d never heard of the problem before!).

Very poor design. When mine goes next time I’ll be tapping a small screw into the clutch spring itself so I can tighten and then leave it (admittedly I don’t take the back wheel out very often).

Alternatively a jubilee clip might work but I’ve not looked into this yet.

I suspect a lot of riders don’t realise theirs has broken because the rest of the mech still works perfectly.

Mine is 12 months old, and although it’s looking a bit worse for wear it is still working perfectly with a nice tight clutch. I’ve just fitted an X9 Type 2 mech to the hardtail, so it will be interesting to see how it compares.

How many of these clutch failures are on 1×10 drivetrains? with or without range extenders?

and what is actually letting go? the spring the clutch or both together?

Is it possible the mechS are being stretched a bit too far, a bit too often?

Has this affected anyone other than XT mech users?

I’ve had an X9 type 2 for over a year and it’s been perfect. Haven’t had to adjust it. I’ve also got a 6 month old XT+ and the clutch has been fine.

6-month old Deore clutch mech here (2×10 on 29er ht) – still OK despite over 1000km and a number of interface incidents with savage vegetation.

how does one re tighten a SRAM clutch mech please?

Pop off the wee round black plastic cover in the middle of the Clutch pivot (where it says “roller bearing clutch” or something similar) and tighten the huge Torx a little. (T55 I believe although you might get a smaller Torx or a 8mm hex to hold). If the arm feels like it sticks then suddenly releases when pushed forward you can undo the big Torx, which is a preload cap and either take apart and grease the innards or just drop some oil in and work it back and forth to draw the oil in.

My Zee is probably from the first batch (around July ’12) and still works fine despite constantly fending off rocks, sticks and my fat arse. I’ve tightened the clutch once, mostly just cos I opened it to see how it worked.

charliemort – Member

@ Northwind – corrosion was on a mech fitted in May! so no road salt around

Fair dos, that shouldn’t happen.

Cheers robinlaidlaw 😀

Very helpful.