I’m fascinated by user experiences. Clearly a lot of riders like new Shimano stuff. My experience is distinctly opposite. Of the bikes I’ve owned this year, one was full XT 12-speed and one was full SLX. Surprisingly for someone who prefers Magura, both brake sets performed much better than previous Shimano brakes.
For me, the drivetrains were OK. SLX even more so when upgraded to an XT shifter. I wouldn’t immediately pull it off, but I definitely don’t see a performance advantage over Eagle. I have experienced no performance degradation with any SRAM drivetrain GX level or higher and my experience is they Eagle mechs take rock strikes much better than Shimano ( an issue in Phoenix). And I strongly prefer the solid shifting action vs Shimano’s more, uh, delicate approach.
Oct. 6, 2021, 10:49 a.m. - dbozman
I’m fascinated by user experiences. Clearly a lot of riders like new Shimano stuff. My experience is distinctly opposite. Of the bikes I’ve owned this year, one was full XT 12-speed and one was full SLX. Surprisingly for someone who prefers Magura, both brake sets performed much better than previous Shimano brakes. For me, the drivetrains were OK. SLX even more so when upgraded to an XT shifter. I wouldn’t immediately pull it off, but I definitely don’t see a performance advantage over Eagle. I have experienced no performance degradation with any SRAM drivetrain GX level or higher and my experience is they Eagle mechs take rock strikes much better than Shimano ( an issue in Phoenix). And I strongly prefer the solid shifting action vs Shimano’s more, uh, delicate approach.