perhaps more specifically –

the two deals on merlin that for some reason i cant link to – see below for further

For a light bike build. I have an older XT front mech so dont “need” a new one but… I dont have a cassette or geared chain (running bmx on my alfine setup and i doubt that would work 😆 )

experiences of people running both and preference??

Both your links are showing the same, but i changed from sram to xt and i have never regretted it

maybe thats merlins way of deciding for me.

gear shifters – mtb
XT 2008 shifters, mech and front mech for 129.95
SRAM X9 shifters and mech for 109.95

If you have no preference yourself, go for the cheapest. I personally find Shimano gears a lot better than SRAM stuff though.

In Polish, SRAM means I SH*T, so Shimano must be better
but I like a good cr*p.

I’ve got sram x0 shifters and rear mech and it’s MINT. perfect shifting after 2 months without any fiddling.

I would never touch Shimano – SRAM much much better….

ohhhh, I forgot to say…perfect shifting after 2 and half years of using Sram X0 (Shifters and read mech)…I’m not sure you can say the same about Shimano

XTR mechs work great, but I still prefer Gripshift on my bars.

Every bike I own has Shimano shifters, Shimano or Bontrager chainrings/cranksets, SRAM cassettes, Shimano mechs & SRAM chains.

I can’t say what SRAM shifters & mechs are like, having never used them

But I can say I prefer their chains.

i use sram x7 shifters and rear mech, Sram cassette and chain ( no problems)… not used shimano stuff tho.

Sram, super sick. Rad to the max.

do you like marmite would deliver a firmer conclusion on here

i think that both have their merits, shimano has better jockey wheels and better quality overall, but sram 1:1 shifting means its less sensitive to cable stretch and easier to set up the indexing, has a heavier clunkier but faster gear change, also rear mech seems to rattle around less than shimano.

Quite happy with SRAM. Got it X7/9 on both my bikes, and a random collection on my other half’s bike.

shadow mechs and dual release all the way, so thats shimano.

I had xo on my hard tail and x9 on my squidger, gone to xtr/xt and the new stuff by shimano is better.

sram mechs main dropout bolt thing pivots metal on metal and it wears away and goes sloppy, and theres nothing you can do about it. happened to all four sram mechs I’ve had. (2x X0 and 2x X9)

sram! stop messing about! Get em got!

I have x9 on my cove, its a no issues set up and apart from one tweek after a few weeks still runs smooth even when caked in SH**E, so impressed was I that I got same set up on my five however show it a damp patch and the shifting goes to sh*te new cables outers re set it up three times or so including in despiration getting the LBS t set it up went to aftan last week and same problem shifting packed up all my mates had Shim kit on with on issues what so ever, so have finally given up on the X9. Having had a chat with the chaps at the bike shop in Afan they said some of the newer x9 kit was not as good (different softer plastic on the mechs alloweed it to jam??) and sufferd this issue as they had seen it before. Now I dont know for sure but I have had nothing but trouble this this set up from almost new…have had the same kit although a year older set it up and ran it for ages with not a sniff of an issue. Mixed bag really mate!!!! either way am fitting newe Shim mech and shifters and gore cables today!!!

I use a mix of Srimano and Sham it all works just buy the cheapest you can get

Far prefer the feel and “clickiness” of SRAM, along with the “not having to adjust your indexing every ride” aspect.

The lifespan of the rear mechs is FAR too short though and they’re a LOT more expensive than the Shimano alternative. So my XC bike has XO on and the big bike which gets all the abuse has XTR shifters with XT shadow mech. I do find the shift action annoying light though – far too easy to change 2 gears when battering over rough ground at speed rather than just one.