I recently bought a Whyte E120s which comes fitted with a SRAM X9 rear mech. After the first ride I started getting problems with the shifting. The bike would not shift into high gear and after taking it to my LBS he diagnosed it as a faulty rear mech. He also noticed that there was a small washer inserted between the mech and the hanger – he said this looked like someone had tried to remedy a poor shifting problem.
My question is do I have to replace the X9 with another one – looking on the net the reviews are not favourable? The bike has SRAM X7 shifters and a SRAM Powerlink Chain.
Can I mix and match Shimano and SRAM?
Thanks, any thoughts appreciated.

nope you can’t mix and match. So if you want to go to Shimano you’ll be buying new shifters too I’m afraid.

I like SRAM stuff, it’s caused me less hassle than Shimano over the years. X7 upwards will do the job just fine

Did you buy the bike new?

+1 here for SRAM, easier to set up, more resilient to mud, more of a positive shift…I just like it, but there will be opinions for the big S and shitmano!

Get an X7 form merlin £34.95

I changed from X9 to Shimano and have never looked back, I got Si fedup with either the rear mech breaking or shifter malfunctions I decided to switch, TBH the shifting is far smoother and efficient also quieter.

I did buy the bike new and they have offered to replace the mech. My concern is that the guy at the shop when I told him the problem said , “We had another Whyte do exactly the same.”
There seems to be a few people out there saying 2010 was not a good year for X9 mechs.
Is there any significance in the washer being placed between hanger and mech?

Bit of a common issue with X9s- I’ve had 4 and 2 do it occasionally. I’ve always found that just giving them a good clean and shifting them into the highest gear between rides sorts it- I think the springs are just a bit marginal.

Washer between hanger and mech is a bodge to correct bad mech positioning… Could be an issue with the hanger, or the mech, or the frame. TBH it’s a Whyte so I’d assume it’s the frame 😉

Dear Northwind

Are you saying Whytes have dodgy frames? I was unaware they had any problems…
Could I have bought a lemon?

It’s true. Whyte received a dodgy batch of X9 mechs. That’ll probably be one of them.

Whyte make good frames, enjoy it!

AFAIK, some 2010 X9 mechs had a problem with the springs not being firm enough to properly engage the top cog every time. Well worth getting the hanger checked as someone else has said…

An X7 mech will do the job just fine for cheaper and a teensy bit more grams but you won’t notice any change in shifting quality. I’ve three bikes, one with X9 and the others have Shimano (one with XT the other SLX). I love the X9 bike for the fact that I never have to touch the gears for months at a time but the shift on the XT bike feels quite chunky in a SRAM sort of a way. SLX just feels pretty darned good to use, even if getting the rear wheel out is a massive pain. Horses for courses…

rockhopper66 – Member

Are you saying Whytes have dodgy frames? I was unaware they had any problems…

Their QC’s been all over the place on the carbon frames. Not to say there’s anything wrong with yours, that was intended mostly as a joke- I’d have an E120 like a shot if it had anywhere to put a bottle!

the main problem is that its not shimano,

Been running SRAM for years without issue, but the 2010 X9 mech was/is a complete lemon.

Bought one from Merlin, and it would regularly fail to shift beyond half way up the casssette. Most annoying thing was that speaking to Merlin, it was a known issue but they were still happy to sell them and then not replace them.