xx or xtr

[mosovich]

I JUST (yesterday) went from XX to XTR.. Amazing how crisp the shifting is and the brakes are awesome.. Weight penalty isn't that much, 103 grams.. (this is chain, rotors, shifters, brakes and both der.,) Throw a few ti bolts here and there and it's very close, or skip a beer or soda and you got the weight off yourself for a heck of a lot cheaper.. I've always been a shimano guy, the SRAM I must say never really let me down, I had one shifter go out, but that's really about it other than a few broken chains.. I have heard though of more people having problems with SRAM lately, all seem to be quality issues, but were all warrantied.. I say Shimano..

[DanW]

Got to echo the majority of comments as say Shimano all the way. Devinci hit the nail on the head with SRAM being light but poorly constructed and temperamental whereas Shimano XTR is a touch heavier but very, very well designed and put together.

Only reason I'm using SRAM is for the wide range single ring set up (bought before the 11-36 cassette adapters on 1x10 came around). It works pretty well but feel pretty "floppy" and cheap by comparison to XTR. It is super sensitive cable tension too which is a PITA and means constant tinkering!

[digit3]

Same holds true with the road bikes. SRAM is lighter but is generally regarded as poorly built when compared with Shimano. Both road and MTB I greatly prefer the shifting mechanism that Shimano has versus SRAM. On the road I'm still a fan of Campy but Shimano performs well.

[KvnP]

XX1 + RF NEXT SL + Shimano brakes = set to go

Servicing Shimano brakes = stupid easy

[Jaroslaw]

I have always preferred Shimano, I think that it's a "set and forget" group.
Admittedly, I have used SRAM really long ago so it might have changed.
Currently I am running full XTR groups on both my bikes and I am really happy.
With regular maintenance and 3 chains used in turns I am able to get about 25k km of my drivetrain.
I would say go with XTR - it's not much heavier and the way it works is just fantastic.