The above are the 2 group sets I have – the Xt with the 10-51 cassette and 32t chainring – the GX with the 10-42 cassette and 30t chainring. I prefer the range of the XT as it just has that bit more spin at the lower end.

However, the shifter feels horrible vs the Gx. The gx has a lovely light action when changing to an easier gear- in comparison the XT is quite stiff / just doesn’t feel nice. I don’t think it’s the routing or the cable but I’m going to buy some decent Shimano outer and a Teflon inner to rule it out.

Is the clutch possibly the issue? The Shimano lever has always been harder work – can I service / adjust the XT clutch easily to improve things?

The xtr shifter has always been a worthwhile upgrade for me, they always just feel that bit better.

Throwing money at a new shifter isn’t on the agenda – an XT level shifter should be ok really surely (especially vs gx 11 speed?)

If I ever change shifter / mech I’d be inclined to pickup gx eagle tbh. Always got on ok with Sram.

XT 12 speed.. your clutch probably needs servicing.
I’ve an XT 12 shifter on my Solaris. Not significantly heavier shift than the xtr12 shifter on my genius. Both xt12 clutches seized after a handful of rides though.

Joe,

I’ve Xt12 and X01 11speed on my bikes and whilst the action on the XT is a fraction more firm, its nowhere near as agricultural as Shimano shifting used to be, this doesnt sound right on yours. In fact if stock levels of Shimano 12speed stuff was more readily available i’d switch, the double throw shifter action on XT and in general shifting performance underload with the hyperglide beats Sram all day…and i say this as a long term Sram user.

Although i’ll never get over the loss of the cage lock on the rear mech for maintenance

The cage lock is a big miss to be fair vs Sram. I’ve been underwhelmed by xt 12 speed since I’ve had it – the performance in muddy stuff isn’t brill. I’ve been riding the gx 11 speed bike for the last month (new frame and fork so all excited), but decided to ride the full suss today. I’ve been used to quite a quiet drivetrain with slick shifting (gx cassette / x sync 2 chainring / kmc x11el gold chain. In comparison the xt sounds less good – it was awful with the the Shimano chain – but much better with an XX1 chain as it’s more tolerant of mud.

I’ll probably run this lot until the cassette is worn out then make a call on it – may go gx to see how it is in comparison.

The extra upshift on the xt lever doesn’t do anything for me really – wouldn’t be disappointed to lose it.

I’ve never had to service a rear mech before (this one isn’t even a year old yet) but it sounds like I need to have a go at it…..

Well I can only say that your experience isn’t the same as mine. My full XT 12speed groupset came on a new build in September and aside from opening up and greasing the clutch(I’d heard they can come dry from the factory)…I’ve done nothing to it, and been very happy with its performance. Aye, and I’m Scottish so all we do is ride in mud..

The rear mech on Shimano can need more maintenance because of the user adjustable clutch, as opposed to the factory sealed clutch on Sram mechs..

Same as Dumbbot except mine is 19months old and I just changed the cable this morning. Mine’s been flawless throughout 2 Scottish winters.

Might just be worth a check to make sure it’s all functioning well, i’ve got 12 speed XT on the ebike and it’s ok, if i’m honest i am not a huge fan of 12 speed, i think 11 speed is the goldilocks of speeds, 12 speed just seems to have a few issues for me that i’m not a fan off, such as going out of sync a little easier, being affected by debris more and the contact you get between chain and cogs at times.

But, it’s so expensive to mess about, i’d just get it checked over and work, i have 11 speed XT on the full sus and have less issues, but feel is pretty similar in terms of pull, then again they will have the same pull ratio anyway.

Pop open the little rubber plug and back the clutch off to ‘just enough’. The shift action should be lighter. I always do this as they seem to come turned up to 11.

Pop open the little rubber plug and back the clutch off to ‘just enough’. The shift action should be lighter. I always do this as they seem to come turned up to 11.

Is that the little rubber plug on the back edge of the clutch unit with a silver hex bolt under it? If so is it just a small amount of unscrewing to lighten the clutch? I’m going to have to do some digging online and see what I can find about it. I have ridden through a lot of slop so maybe something is corroded inside it etc. Although I’ve never had that happen to a mech before.

I wonder if 12 speed is a cog too many in the space – a nice wide range 10-51 11 speed setup sounds good to me. Or even 10-46. I’ve seen Sunrace made a 10-46 in 11 that should work with Sram gx 11 speed but I’ve also read comments the end cap sticks out more than gx and my ht frame is already very tight so haven’t risked trying it (yet).

You can back off the clutch, as you say, remove the outer case, back it off, you can tell how much by the force required to move the cage, i’d check to see if the shifting is just as problematic with the clutch off.

From my only time where the clutch required tweaking was due to shifting issues rather than shifter feel.

Every Shimano clutch mech I’ve had comes from the factory with the clutch set wayyyyyy too tight. Back it off til there’s a bit of resistance. You don’t need it so tight that it stops the cage moving completely. In my experience that causes the poor shifting feel at the shifter lever.

Sometimes they come with hardly any grease on the clutch from the factory, so a £10 tube of Shimano Nexus hub grease (the only one recommended by Shimano) is a worthwhile investment.