sram x9 shifters are rubbish

i dont know if the right shifter has just packed in because i did the Mary Towney loop and towards the end the lever started to get really really hard to push in i thought it would be a bit of grit but its still really hard and i had to use my hand to use it today cause i nearly broke my thumb, has anyone else had this problem ? i tried to unscrew the lever from the bottom and everything has gone everywhere so ive had enough and cut the lot off and thrown it away, recommend me some good shifters to go with sram x9 derailleur pls

XO gripshift

lol anyone use these ? not a bad price tho and its for a pair ! lol

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/MTB++Parts/Transmission++Gears/Gear+Levers+-+MTB/Sram+X9+Twist+Shifters_1935.htm

i had some of these on an old Halfords bike once, they werent all that bad ! 😉

User error?

It could be a sticking mech or cable – and then opening teh lever unit up and it flies apart – they all do that sir.

Its too late now but usually a sticky lever can be flushed with GT85 or similar

A famous stella drinking mountain biker once told me to use x7 shifters with my x9 rear mech….said i would get instant and trouble free shifting for years. He was right, I’ve not had an iota of trouble in at least 4 years!

Never had any issues with X9 or XO oh and you take the top off to change the cable, not the bottom. User error +1.

yeh i know u take the top off but the lever was well stiff and thought i could loosen it by unscrewing the bottom :/

Go for X.0, every time I have a problem it goes back as warranty. My third one is waiting to be installed as we speak.

word

My x9s have been completely trouble free.

wot TJ said. I had the same thing with my x9 ones – fitting new cables fixed the shifter, oddly… 😈

yeh its happened before, think i need new housing as well cause the end bit of housing that runs round the headtube is kinda old, ill get some more cable and see if i can fix it then lol ill have to buy a new left hand shifter first lol

Personally i hate sram shifters -I dabbled with them x7/9 level = poor. The mechs bent / and had crap jockey wheels. Must be me but now back on my old retro xt/r stuff. Great

paul

My x9s have been completely trouble free.

Ditto

Gotta agree x9 are poor compared to shimano deore/xt.
Currently having problems with these shifters on hire fleet.

My X-9s are great, love the action and lever position. Will go with SRAM again for my next build.

Had a deore shifter fly apart while using it last summer at Garda but I dont hold a grudge and have ended up with a set on my hardtail.

because i did the Mary Towney loop

it’s got grit in it, flush it out, new cables and inners. it’s unlikely to be permanently knackered I’d have thought

yeh i know u take the top off but the lever was well stiff and thought i could loosen it by unscrewing the bottom :/

Then you’re a bit of a moron! Stiff shifter = duff cables. If you can’t be arsed to change cables, then Grip Shift is a good solution, very tolerant of naff cables.

Never had any problems with the X7 or X9 shifters I’ve used (2 sets of X7 & 3 of X9) over several years

Didn’t have any issues with Shimano shifters either when I used them many years ago.

Generally slow/hard shifting issues can be resolved with a new cable whichever shifter you use.

x9 here with no problems, just works

Dumped some X7s for X0 gripshifts last month, they’re grand.

I have X9s on my 5, they are five years old, used a lot, work perfectly. Perhaps you should consider whether your cable runs are efficient and perhaps you need to lube your outers/change cables? Are your outer clamps inhibiting the free running of your cables?

X9’s here . No problems apart from me crashing and snapping levers off. I am reasonably mechanically minded and it took me hours of fiddling to suss out how they go back together. Covered thousands of miles, still nice and direct action
Have you considered full length outers?

my left hand Sram x7shifter is has also gone stiff on my hardtail bike !!!! so it is sram its gone stiff a couple of times then i had a new cable put in and that didnt solve the problem… so now im looking for a new shifter (its that stiff my thumb nearly broke.. i too mine to pieces and some silly spring shot out…no matter wjich way i tried to put in the srping …it wasnt havin it ! lol Sram shifters indeed !!!
luv my shimano xt rapid fires on my full sus ! 😉

X9s + Flack jackets = smooth shifting all year round

keefus – Member

A famous stella drinking mountain biker once told me to use x7 shifters with my x9 rear mech….said i would get instant and trouble free shifting for years. He was right, I’ve not had an iota of trouble in at least 4 years!

I’ve got the same set up and it sucks.

RH big lever keeps sticking.

The bike came with the stuff or else I’d be using XT – which I may still switch to.

switch to xt !!!!!!!! you wont be disapointed (rapid fire) amazing ! 😉

My X9s are three and a half years old and have been used almost daily, no problems at all here. My only complaint is the fiddliness of replacing the rear cable, but then I run a full length outer and it’s a once a year job at most. When replacing cables I do lube the shifter mechanisms and have had no issues with stiff shifting that can’t be put down to dirty cables and/or poor cable routing.

I have to echo comments made on here about the weak spring on the X9 mech though.

I like my X9s a lot, ergonomically I prefer them to the SLX shifters I run on bike #2. That said, SLX is a LOT better than Shimano of old and SRAM’s influence is clear.

Is it the original inner cable?

maybe you or someone else has fitted a 1.2mm inner.fit the correct cable along with new outer casing/ferrules. 1.2mm shimano cables can cause problems inside sram shifters.It might only be 0.1mm but you can see and feel what can go wrong by fitting the wrong cable.

sram inners – £3.99

squirt some rock n roll cable lube down the outers as you fit them.. unless they are pre lubed.dont spray gt85 down them.