SLX vs XT: worth the few $$ extra??

[skiezo]

I am looking a a complete HT MTB and one of the options is SLX. I was wondering if it would be worth the extra money to upgrade to XT over the SLX group.
The rides would not be much steep rocky terrain but more fire and jeep trails.
I have been in touch with Myth cycles and if I go that route would do a few upgrades over his SLX build,mainly fork and wheels and a different color from his color chart.
Here is a link to his SLX build.
https://mythcycles.com/bikes/wyvern/

[Gummee]

If the budget allows, then 'buy once, cry once' comes into play.

If not, then ride the heck out of the SLX till you wear it out then upgrade

M

[peanutgallery]

For a $1000 you get a much better fork, drooper, wheels and brakes. All that adds up quick and you can't do it for a $k

27 plus is a lot of fun, congratulations on the modern whip, it is crazy what you'll get away with in the woods.

[Clancy]

Shimano’s trickle down technology is such that today’s SLX is yesterday’s XT. Even the Deore rear derailleur has the clutch technology. But with that said, I would still go with the upgrade because of what peanut said - better fork and wheels. Plus, XT is just really nice.

I’m confused by your post and the spec sheet though. The upgraded bike shows SRAM, which is good stuff no doubt. Just stay away from their brakes, PIA to service as compared to Shimano. Shimano makes simply great brakes. The build wisely uses Shimano brakes.

RockShox is really good, Fox is just that little bit better.

[tele]

The better fork, dropper and wheels are worthy of paying up now, but I will say I have had xt brakes in the past and now have some slx brakes and they are just as good.

[boomforeal]

if you're riding it on fire roads and jeep trails just go with the basic build, it will be more than enough bike. the rims are the same on both versions and the tires on the slx build will be a bit faster rolling; the maxxis HR is a pig

[skiezo]

The upgrade I was looking at would be the Fox fork,fox dropper and XT group over the SLX. I was in contact with them and it would be no big deal to order the parts.
If nothing else I could do the fork and dropper upgrade and keep the slx group.
On the sm/med frames he uses 35mm DT and the large/xl it is a 38mm DT with
31.8TT and 44mm HT. Tubing is vari-Wall triple butted.
I prefer to stay shimano as I like there rapid fire system better over sram.

[Gummee]

The upgrade I was looking at would be the Fox fork,fox dropper and XT group over the SLX. I was in contact with them and it would be no big deal to order the parts.
If nothing else I could do the fork and dropper upgrade and keep the slx group.
On the sm/med frames he uses 35mm DT and the large/xl it is a 38mm DT with
31.8TT and 44mm HT. Tubing is vari-Wall triple butted.
I prefer to stay shimano as I like there rapid fire system better over sram.

If you're riding jeep roads and fire trails, what do you need a dropper for?

Technical stuff and/or dh/enduro? Sure. What you're telling us? Nope

M

[boomforeal]

If you're riding jeep roads and fire trails, what do you need a dropper for?

Technical stuff and/or dh/enduro? Sure. What you're telling us? Nope

M

he's getting a dropper either way. just trying to decide on whether to get the shinier dropper or not

re. the question posed in the thread title: i definitely notice the difference in lever feel between an xt and slx shifter. i would buy the former for a few dollars more, for sure. in terms of derailleur performance, i notice no difference. and i tend the smash modern derailleurs (shimano ones anyway - sram drl's are trash) before they wear out, so not really an issue ime. brakes are essentially identical, certainly in terms of performance. cranks are whatever

[rkhatibi]

I've run both, but never pushed SLX hard. Was hard to tell the difference in shifting in my experience. fwiw, when I ripped the XT RD off on my cx bike last year I replaced with the cheaper SLX version.

XT groupsets are only $120 more than SLX from your favorite UK seller. For that price difference seems a no brainer and worth doing to get the XT brakes.

[Jaybee]

I don't notice a huge difference between XT and SLX in either braking or shifting. That said, the cost difference between XT/SLX is so small, why not?
I'll second or third or whatever the notion that the other group upgrades are worth more than a grand.

I don't think droppers are only for crazy drops or super techy singletrack. I use mine all the time - pumping in and out of bermy switchbacks, techy climbs where I want the space to move the bike underneath me, restarting after a hike-a-bike, even just the lower COG on long open fire road type descents at ludicrous speed. This is all stuff I've been riding for years without a dropper, so I won't say you "need" it, but my riding has expanded so much with it.

[vqdriver]

I don't notice a huge difference between XT and SLX in either braking or shifting. That said, the cost difference between XT/SLX is so small, why not?
I'll second or third or whatever the notion that the other group upgrades are worth more than a grand.

I don't think droppers are only for crazy drops or super techy singletrack. I use mine all the time - pumping in and out of bermy switchbacks, techy climbs where I want the space to move the bike underneath me, restarting after a hike-a-bike, even just the lower COG on long open fire road type descents at ludicrous speed. This is all stuff I've been riding for years without a dropper, so I won't say you "need" it, but my riding has expanded so much with it.

+1
as mentioned in other dropper threads, these things are far far more useful than i had anticipated. not just for gnarly drops and frankly i'm surprised they haven't made a bigger impact in cx.

[BikeNY]

+1
as mentioned in other dropper threads, these things are far far more useful than i had anticipated. not just for gnarly drops and frankly i'm surprised they haven't made a bigger impact in cx.

As mentioned in other dropper threads, for the riding you describe, a dropper is totally overkill. I would suggest saving yourself some money, time, weight, and frustration by going with a normal rigid seatpost. If the company is willing to make a custom build kit for you, they should be able to eliminate the dropper as well. That will easily pay for the upgrade to XT from SLX.

As others have said, the performance between SLX and XT is really similar. XT will be a bit lighter and should last a bit longer. If you upgrade only 1 thing, make it the shifter. I have various SLX & XT drivetrain bits and brakes on a couple of bikes, and it all works great.

[rkhatibi]

Additional +1 on the dropper. I really like dropping an inch or so on casual descents and has made the steeper stuff less nerve racking.

I have the Fox Transfer myself. Would recommend the Wolftooth lever, Fox does not include one. My local shop had rave reviews of the combination after test riding after installation.

https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/dropper-post-levers/products/remote

[JWDR]

The shifter is the only thing I would splurge on but only if you went with XTR. All the XTR shifters I’ve used have been so much smoother than my XT/SLX.

[CunegoFan]

I have the Fox Transfer myself. Would recommend the Wolftooth lever, Fox does not include one. My local shop had rave reviews of the combination after test riding after installation.

This. The Fox 1x remote is a piece of crap, and it costs roughly the same as the Wolftooth, which probably the best remote you can buy. The Transfer post itself is smooth and reliable--at least as reliable as you can expect for a dropper. The combo is sweet.

[pdmtong]

How much is the upgrade priced at?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[skiezo]

Here is a price comparison from the build on his website.
1) SLX to XT=$200
2) Rockshox Reba to FOX 34 Step cast, Factory and fox dropper transfer =$200
3) Wheels- Formula/Scraper i40 straight gauge factory built to DT Swiss 350/WTB Scraper i40 hand built w/ DB spokes=$395
OR) Stan's Sentry S1 wheels=$150

I have a budget of around $3500/$3600 that I am trying to stay within so ill have to see where I can stay within my set limit.
My thought is the Stans wheels and the fork/dropper and stay with the slx group.

[pdmtong]

For Jeep/fire I would

- pay for a nicer fork and dropper
- stay with slx
- wheels are your choice but for sure you will notice that more than XT

[Mikej]

XT M8000 by a long shot. I have this on my sons bike and it is every bit as good as my XTR M9000. I'd say shifts are better on his XT and the XT brakes are waayy better than xtr race - Droppers aint my thing.

[Gummee]

Here is a price comparison from the build on his website.
1) SLX to XT=$200
2) Rockshox Reba to FOX 34 Step cast, Factory and fox dropper transfer =$200
3) Wheels- Formula/Scraper i40 straight gauge factory built to DT Swiss 350/WTB Scraper i40 hand built w/ DB spokes=$395
OR) Stan's Sentry S1 wheels=$150

I have a budget of around $3500/$3600 that I am trying to stay within so ill have to see where I can stay within my set limit.
My thought is the Stans wheels and the fork/dropper and stay with the slx group.

If you're dead set on getting a new bike, by all means spend that kind of $$

...but...

There's plenty of hardtails out there that are garage queens or that their owners have not ridden 'cause their friends all ride DS and 'that's the way to go.' Regardless of whether it'll make them faster or not they've 'upgraded' and have that 'old POS hardtail' sitting around the garage...

You can get a really nice bike for pennies on the dollar.

M

[d_douglas]

For Jeep/fire I would

- pay for a nicer fork and dropper
- stay with slx
- wheels are your choice but for sure you will notice that more than XT

That’s the way. I use cheaper ROCKSHOX Revelation and while they’re fine, I think Fox is nicer for sure. I use the cheaper Fox Transfer and it’s been great.

Cool bike - enjoy the beauty of a hardtail! I use a FS more often, but love the hardtail for all but the craziest trails.

[skiezo]

If you're dead set on getting a new bike, by all means spend that kind of $$

...but...

There's plenty of hardtails out there that are garage queens or that their owners have not ridden 'cause their friends all ride DS and 'that's the way to go.' Regardless of whether it'll make them faster or not they've 'upgraded' and have that 'old POS hardtail' sitting around the garage...

You can get a really nice bike for pennies on the dollar.

M

I have been looking for a few months and most of the stuff that I have seen is of lower quality bikes. I have seen a few carbon HT but I would like a steel bike.

I am going to go with the XT group, the fork and dropper upgrade and probably the Stans wheels.
I have never used a dropper seat post and have a thomson 31.6x400 that I may use if I feel the dropper is not really needed.
That will keep me within my set budget of 3500.

[peanutgallery]

Good choices. Nothing worse than a used mtb bike. Get the stans, the WTB has a weird interface with their tires that will make you nuts if you ever get a flat

I have been looking for a few months and most of the stuff that I have seen is of lower quality bikes. I have seen a few carbon HT but I would like a steel bike.

I am going to go with the XT group, the fork and dropper upgrade and probably the Stans wheels.
I have never used a dropper seat post and have a thomson 31.6x400 that I may use if I feel the dropper is not really needed.
That will keep me within my set budget of 3500.