Upgrading MTB to 1x11; Suggestions?

[Hilltopperny]

I have used XX1 through NX and really couldn’t feel a big discernible difference while riding. Aside from holding the parts in my hand they all function quite well for their intended purpose.

The only caveat to using sram hydro brakes is they can get sticky when dealing with warm weather. I hope they have fixed this problem by now, but shimano hydros have always been reliable for me.


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[Lewis Moon]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

I have used XX1 through NX and really couldn’t feel a big discernible difference while riding. Aside from holding the parts in my hand they all function quite well for their intended purpose.

The only caveat to using sram hydro brakes is they can get sticky when dealing with warm weather. I hope they have fixed this problem by now, but shimano hydros have always been reliable for me.


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The bike came with some older XTR hydros that are in perfect shape and stop better than I could have imagined, so I'm sticking with those. The cranks are a set of GX triples that I put a bash guard in place of an outer ring. They work fine. The wheels are DT 350s with middle of the road DT wide rims. All good so I'm looking at just the shifter, derailleur and cassette.
... And tires. I'm still on the old, mismatched set that came on it, set up with tubes. I'm going to spec a set of tubeless Maxxis Ardents for the dry, loose conditions here.

[Lewis Moon]

So...just for my own eddy-fication I popped out to look at which XTR brakes I had. They're BL-M988s. Guess I'm keeping those...

[AJosiahK]

shimano all the way

nothing wrong with sram but I think shim stuff works/feels better

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by Lewis Moon

So...just for my own eddy-fication I popped out to look at which XTR brakes I had. They're BL-M988s. Guess I'm keeping those...

Great brakes imo. I had that era xtr group on a titanium rigid 29er and they were great.


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[Burning Pines]

I've used 11 speed SLX and have 11 speed NX on a bike now. I thought I might upgrade but after a year of pretty frequent riding it works perfectly. The cassette is heavy I guess. The SLX was good too but I like how NX shifts under load a little better, and the 46t cassette is nice.

As with road the mid and low tier stuff is good now high end drive trains are pointless except for weight I think. Spend the savings on tires.

And there are better tire options than Ardents now. Maybe in the back it's ok.

[Jaybee]

I agree that great tubeless tires for your conditions are the biggest upgrade you can make on a MTB. Phoenix has a lot of square edged chunk and cobbly rhyolite- good sidewalks are worth the weight. I’m a fan of going as wide as you can- 2.6” if possible.