I am more than happy with my XT 11 speed shifters., but I am changing the other bike to 11 speed.

Just wondering how much better XTR is over XT.

I know I will be more than happy with the XT, but was just pondering the bling life.

xtr just feels a little bit nicer, it is no big deal, but is noticeable IMO. Shifters is the one thing I would generally go for in xtr if possible.

I have both and they feel the same to me.

On 10spd you can feel the difference between XT and XTR/Saint but not on 11.

I would second what Reggie has said

The difference on 10 speed was noticeable but there isn’t much at all on 11 speed. I wish I never bothered.

I’ve broken an XTR lever which I don’t think would have snapped on XT.

Also, the clutch lever on the rear mech is easier to operate on XT than XTR.

Sorted then.

Xt it will be.
I might get the liquid paper out and paint an ‘r’ on.

I’ve had both and I’ll be totally honest, the XTR is better

I don’t move in such rarified circles these days, but I think that maybe the rep of xtr comes from ages ago – the 9sp were MUCH nicer than other shifters and stayed feeling that nice for years and years

XTR is always nice, but TBH the 11sp ones are very SRAM feeling, very industrial click, rather than normal smooth feel of old XTR. Still works relentless well, but some-how doesn’t manage to feel/look “special” in the same way it did.

I got an xtr shifter as it was only £xx more than the xt one. Does it feel better? Probably. Does it make me ride better? Probably not.

Logic? On here? WTF is going on?

Does it make me ride better? Probably not.

you need the electric versions

and a new bike with more vertical compliance

SRAM xx 10 spd on one bike, XTR 11 on another. I’ve been a SRAM fanboi for years and I really like the new XTR, feels more SRAMy than Shimanoey, more of a clunk even if it is a very refined clunk. The multi release trigger is better than SRAM though.

Have XTR shifter with XTR mech and XTR shifter with XT mech – honestly can’t tell difference.

I actually found 11 spd SLX shifters to be slicker than XT, the advantage of the XT being multi shift. 11 spd XT seems to be far more “notchy”.
Not tried 11 spd XTR but previous versions were very slick compared to the others.

It’s noticeable in a showroom or on a work stand, but out on the trail they both feel decent and give you gears when you want them, so I’d rather spend the price difference on something else.

I went for xtr as all the xt I could find had the gear indicator window which is horrible. The shfting is superb but I think the clamp band is a bit thin and makes the shifter flex a bit under use. If i could find xt or slx with no indicator window I would go with that

If it’s a full retail XT shifter, there’s a blanking plate to cover removed gear indicator on shifter in box. Least there was on one I fitted to customers bike last week.

Has anyone else had their XTR 11spd shifter cable come off the cam and jam inside the shifter housing? This has happened to me a couple of times and before that happened to someone that I was riding with who had the same XTR 11spd shifter. Had to take the shifter housing off at the side of the trail (keeping a close eye on those tiny screws!) and lever the cable back onto the cam.

Nobody has mentioned that you only need one gear yet.

I’m not. Just an observation.