Just wondered if I’m wasting money buying XT rear mechs, not cheaper Shimano ones?  I prefer Shimano over Sram – they don’t feel as light or smooth but they definitely tend to last me way longer.  What’s the extra ££ paying for when you buy XT?  And cheapest place to buy? Ta.

Functionally, little difference. However, the XT “feels” better/slicker in use. It just depends how important that is to you.

Shifter has more to do with the feel than the mech. SLX and XT mechs have very little between them.

Ta for this. Smooth is nice but it’s a luxury for me really.  More into reliable and bombproof as I ride a lot of rocks and tight squeezes (which seem to destroy Sram more easily). I also hate maintenance.

cheapest slx i can find is on wiggle £40.59, i’ve got the m8000 XT on 3 bikes and i paid circa £46-50 on them,

for a fiver i’d tend to get the upgrade (its a pint in some of my local pubs/bars).

and compared to my sram GX at £80 i feel the XT is a bargain..

performance wise, its probably a few grams lighter, they both have the clutch (shadow)

I agree with honourablegeorge.

Get the best shifter you can afford and a midrange rear mech for 2 reasons

1. The shifter makes the difference to shift quality more than the mech within reason

2. How oftern do you break a rear mech compared to a shifter?

+1 shifting precision is more about the shifter than the mech

I’ve been using SLX but the last two mechs haven’t lasted that long before play developed, so I’ve fitted an XT recently, as they have been more robust. (this is all 11spd)

I planned to go XT shifter and SLX mech but when I looked at the costs of the mech  there was hardly anything in it and so just paid the extra few quid for full XT.

When I was building a bike up I went SLX mech and XT shifter. More to do with the bike shop markup at the time for XT over SLX. If it was just a fiver then I’d have sprung for XT.

Doesn’t feel much different once it’s on the bike. I can’t really tell.

Cool, I’ll stick with XT.  Served me very well over the years, all things considered. Ta for input.

XT get jockey wheels with ceramic bush / bearing. Apart from that I can’t see a lot of difference

XT get jockey wheels with ceramic bush / bearing. Apart from that I can’t see a lot of difference

This, might be worth it. I got Deore last time (along with an SLX shifter) to replace SRAM. It shifts fine, in fact the shifting up the block with the clutch on is a bit lighter than the XT. I kinda miss the double release but I can live without it.

If you have a Tesco club card you can get Evans vouchers and price match wiggle or who ever is the cheapest. You’ll pay next to nothing.

XT get jockey wheels with ceramic bush / bearing. Apart from that I can’t see a lot of difference

Do they?  I’ve still had a set of jockey wheels sieze – i’d have though that wouldn’t happen if ceramic.

Just listed as ‘sealed bearing’ for both on the Shimano specs here – https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/deorext-m8000/RD-M8000-SGS.html