I reckon my GX mechs more than a little tired, so was looking to replace it.. £94 , why the flip are they so expensive? I can buy a SLX mech and shifter from crc for £93.98

I take it the mech have no chance there cross compatible? (unlike 12spd?!?!!)

I have both GX/X0 and SLX/XT on various bikes and would choose XT by choice. XT shifter and SLX mech to save a bit of money at a minor weight disadvantage.

Shimano because of the 2 way release mostly… The only positive for SRAM are the sleeker matchmaker and wider availability for other kit. Saying that I have an ispec dropper lever so not a big problem.

I keep finding myself looking at Microshift…

The problem is your comparing GX prices to SLX prices

The 11 speed GX mech is the equivalent to a 11 speed XT mech

XT mechs are are around £80, GX mechs are are around £90 (CRC prices)

Sram NX is the equivalent to SLX

Oops just read the OP properly . Ignore me .

@escrs not in quality. NX is more like Altus. Got rid of mine immediately.

I think GX to XT is a pretty fair combination for 11 speed (NX isn’t like SLX though, that’s just a product that SRAM doesn’t have an equivalent for).

But the SLX is really decent- the cassettes aren’t as good as SRAM (god that felt weird saying that) but the shifters and mechs are good. I have a mix-and-match on one of mine and it works great

@escrs tbh I’d never thought of it like that, tbh I get lost in the x0, xx, xyz series of sram & like sillyoldman assumed it slx spec or lower tbh by their quality. It came on the bike & im not into swapping stuff if it works, which it has for a reasonable while

@Northwind which speed, & combo are you using in you mix & match setup?

Gx 11 speed over Shimano 11 speed for me. Slicker shifting and way better cassettes. Prices must have gone up – when I bought my last 11 speed gx mech it was £70.

Shimano for the mech and shifter, SRAM or Sunrace for the cassettes – is what I have on my MTBs.

All still 11sp and none the worse for it.

For 11 speed, SRAM cassettes and chains, with Shimano mech and shifter.

Been running XT 11 speed for the past 4 years across two bikes. Hasn’t missed a beat.

z1ppy
Free Member

@Northwind which speed, & combo are you using in you mix & match setup?

Ah sorry, should have been clearer. SRAM cassette, SLX mech and XT shifter.

No worries, I did wonder, TBH I’m assuming everyone using better than GX cassette? As I found my last one like cheese and swapped to a SLX one. Which does not seem to be the theme of this thread

The GX 11sp cassettes have been the most durable I’ve ever owned.

Got about two years of regular use out of them.

Moved to Sunrace XD cassettes for a bit more range now though. Also proving quite durable.

Anyone wanna buy some part-worn GX ones?

Gx 11 speed cassettes are all steel and the most durable cassettes I’ve ever used. Shimano 11 speed speed ones last much less time and have funny jumps in the range sometimes. Maybe it’s just me but I think they look a bit ugly (the 11-46 ones).

For me I’ve found Sram mtb shifters have a lighter action too. Perhaps it’s because the clutch in my Shimano mech now is stiffer than the gx one?

The shimano and sram trigger pulls are close enough (for mtb 11 speed) that you can run an SLX mech with a gx shifter if you really want to save money.

I installed mine in a hurry and haven’t fine tuned it yet but it works OK for now.

interesting Plastercaster, I’ve found one other (non stw)forum post suggesting the same, but I may stick with the GX for now.

My Source is JTek, who make “shiftmates” which are adapters to allow you to mix and match cassettes, derailleurs and shifters. They have a big list of the shiftmate models that work for various combinations, and at the bottom a list of stuff that
a) won’t work at all
or
b) works fine as is.

Sram and shimano 11 speed mtb is basically the only stuff in the second category. I’m sure JTek would sell you a shiftmate for it if they could!

http://www.jtekengineering.com/shiftmate/shiftmate-compatibility-charts-choices/

Got rid of the top end 11 speed sram on my Strive and replaced with XTR shifter and XT mech (both were in special).

Much prefer the Shimano lever. Find the Sram awkward and annoying not being able to change down with your finger.

Sram always feels clunky, too.

Mix and match on my old hardtail

For a long long time I only had Shimano. My last new bike came with Sram GX 11 speed. I do like the shifter the ergonomics it seems to suit my thumb. October last year I wacked the mech and couldn’t get it to shift properly. I couldn’t find a GX replacement so bought the NX version. It seems fine for now.

Back to the hardtail.
GX 11 speed shifter, SLX M675 10 speed mech with one up rad cage and sunrace 11 cassette. It all works well together.

I’ll be getting a M7000 mech to replace the NX mech at some point.

Sram cassettes win. And chains. Work great with Shimano mechs and shifters.
Mines been great.