xx or xtr

[nrsnow]

I currently have old sram XO. I would like to upgrade to XX or XTR. IS XX seen as a better, higher up, component group than XTR?
I'll only upgrade the rear shifter, derailleur and cassette.

[devinci]

Here is my opinion on sram XX and XO and general observations

I have ridden sram XX stuff and sram XO stuff for an entier season. I know people with shimano groupos and I can compare them, having tried some shimano XT groupset. The sram brakes have very crapy reputation. I liked mine, both XO and XX but they certainly are not as powerful as shimano brakes. I rode an XX and XO cassette, I logged maybe MAX 10 rides on the brand new XO cassette and managed to break 2 theeth on the 32 cog, sucks a lot on a 300$ cassette eh? Then my XX trigger failed on multiple times. Bought some new sram XX grip shift, rode them for 4-5 month and the right one broke for no apparent reason, near the barrel adjuster.

Sram stuff is lighter but my opinion and observation is it is generally cheaper and less well constructed then shimano components. Shimano looks strong, heavier and more reliable. FWIW my team bike will be fully shimano XTR equiped next season, I am done with sram stuff.

[vfb]

Go for the X0 stuff indstead of the xx stuff. I have had both, the xx is a little lighter, but works like crap. It always had to be adjusted and never really worked the way my sram stuff always has done. Then i mounted the X0 stuff, and it has been working since for over a year now.

If you want shimano og sram is a religious war I am a sram man!

[yourdaguy]

SRAM is the best and that seems to be the majority consensus. Many people complain about the brakes and I can tell you from experience that out of the box they generally suck. Buy the bleed kit and bleed them really really good and you will love them. I have even had a few (I have 6 sets) that I had to bleed twice, but once I finally got all the air out they were just as powerful and had as much or more feel than Shimano. If you don't know how to bleed brakes, I would get the Shimano brakes, but I still think the SRAM shifting gear is great. If you read widely on the net, the SRAM shifting is best and the Shimano brakes are best, but if you bleed the SRAM brakes enough to get all the air out then they are at least as good as Shimano.

Another consideration is that SRAM replacement parts tend to be less expensive and more available than Shimano; and as a for instance, I hit a stick and broke a rear derailleur bolt and was able to buy a replacement bolt from SRAM (this is a part that has to be pressed in which would not generally be an available part) and the part was only a couple of dollars. Try getting Shimano to sell you component parts for almost anything-good luck.

Brakes are a good example of this parts situation. All the component parts of the SRAM brakes are readily available on the net and at very reasonable prices. Shimano only sells lever arms and fluid for their brakes as far as I have ever seen. You are supposed to throw out an entire $500 set of brakes when a seal fails in 4-5 years or so.

[afalts]

Another consideration is that SRAM replacement parts tend to be less expensive and more available than Shimano.

Yeah, if you're in the States. In Canada, Shimano's service is better.

[yourdaguy]

Well I am not moving to Canada so I can get decent service from Shimano, Canada is a nice country and all, but they just have too much Winter for me. I just buy SRAM.

[bm0p700f]

That is the problem with SRAM brakes bleeding is a pain even for an experienced mechanic. The proceedure is simple and I get it right first time but it takes time.... Bleeding Shimano brakes is a doodle and bleeding Hope brakes is even easier, I have done my Hope's in less than 5 minutes.

XTR kit works very very well so does XT for a small weight penalty. SRAM kit gets on most bikes i think because SRAM offer very good deals to bike manufacturers. Oh and Hope brakes outshine everything and their after sales service is legendary plus there are spares every little spare.

[yourdaguy]

So the ultimate might be SRAM and Hope Brakes.

[sstefanov]

To be honest I am yet to find more reliable setup than the old SRAM X.0 9 speed. From my point of view this seems to be the most reliable drivetrain since quite some time. I think both Shimano and SRAM 10 speeds are a bit of a step back in the reliability space...

Stefan

[mattr]

SRAM is the best and that seems to be the majority consensus.

Nah. The only majority that SRAM have here is people walking back to the race village with snapped mechs. And the majority of the OE market.

[limba]

Sram stuff is lighter but my opinion and observation is it is generally cheaper and less well constructed then shimano components. Shimano looks strong, heavier and more reliable. FWIW my team bike will be fully shimano XTR equiped next season, I am done with sram stuff.

I absolutely agree with that. SRAM is lighter and less expensive but it all seems fragile and junky to me. I have XX1 on my bike and I love it but whatever Shimano comes out with next is going to blow away XX1. Brakes? There's no comparison. Stop screwing around and buy Shimano. I know lots of sponsored racers and guys that work at bike stores that hate their SRAM brakes but they have to use them.
I'd take XT over XX. If you want XX1 get XTR brakes. That's my current setup.

[planB]

Sram stuff is lighter but my opinion and observation is it is generally cheaper and less well constructed then shimano components. Shimano looks strong, heavier and more reliable. FWIW my team bike will be fully shimano XTR equiped next season, I am done with sram stuff.

That's it right there. I had XX for two seasons and just spent the last season on XTR. I originally bought the XX group because I much preferred the feel of SRAM shifting over the light action of the XTR 970 group that was current at the time. Now, the latest XTR 980 has basically the same "clack" as SRAM but with the legendary Shimano durability. My XX worked okay but it always seemed fragile. I never actually broke anything but I bent the right shifter with my knee a couple of times, the XO cassettes wore out really easily and the XX big rings lasted about a month. Ridiculous. My XTR stuff has taken twice the beating and still shines.

I've always used Hope breaks though.

Another thing to consider is that XTR has a clutch-equipped rear derailleur and (as far as I know) XX does not. This is big. The clutch is amazing. I didn't drop a chain all year with XTR. With XX it happened every race. Especially when the big ring became worn.

[yourdaguy]

SRAM has clutch RD's too.

[Quinn039]

if youre willing to tinker a lot and dont want more than two seasons out of your parts go Sram. If you want a gruppo with legs and will take a slight weight penalty, buy shimano.

[planB]

SRAM has clutch RD's too.

Yes, they do, but not a XX model (which is the group the OP is asking about.) Easy enough to spec a lower-level clutch derailleur like an XO but it's not going to come as part of complete XX groupset.