Hey everyone!
So the big question is
Deore, SLX, XT or XTR shifter for your next shimano 12 speed drivetrain?
Let's take a closer look!
Something new with the Shimano 12-speed drivetrains
is the ability to combine Deore components
with the ones of the more expensive groupsets.
And just like with the other components, you have differences in materials and construction
but also, for shifters you have less features.
for Deore and SLX versus XT and XTR.
Shimano still has front shifters for 2x drivetrains
and you see the designation here, left or right.
If there's no i in front of it, that means bar clamp
the i means i-spec EV and those would be the two variations of all these shifters.
All Shimano 12 speed shifters are made in Japan
and from this look you can see that the construction is slightly different.
And the design of this downshift lever brings that up rather quickly.
In case of the XT and XTR, is this long lever connected to a pivot point,
most probably this has a bearing in there as well.
As opposed to that, Deore and SLX move the bottom of the cover
together with that down shifter.
And as you do that you're gonna crack this case open
allowing mud and debris to go inside.
That's even more visible here on the Deore
with those cheaper, probably stamped pieces of metal more visible.
And as you go up in price, you might see fancier materials used here
on the levers, with XTR using carbon.
XT has this rubber insert on this down shift lever.
It doesn't have rubber, just a textured piece of plastic for the up-shift.
SLX is almost identical with that, without the rubber insert
And on both designs, the inner cable port is right here behind the up shift lever.
Just remove that rubber plug to get access to it.
And in case you don't remember what you have
just looking here at the back you're gonna see Shimano,
M7100 for this SLX, made in Japan
I didn't see it on the new Deore,
but for all the other shifters,
if you ordered a bar clamp and you need an I-spec EV or vice versa,
Shimano is providing these conversion kits.
For that SLX you can see,
this is a bar clamp versus the i-spec EV that it came with it.
XT and XT are slightly different in which
if you order the conversion kit,
it's going to come with the entire cover,
and that would make it more expensive as well.
But now that we know the differences in look in construction,
what about the different features of these shifters?
If you received the printed user manual with your shifter,
you're going to see 2-way Release pretty big in there .
That's because all these shifters provide it.
What it means is, you can use your thumb to shift either way:
So easier gears,
or harder gears,
and you can use your thumb and shift to easier gears
and use your forefinger to actually pull on the other lever
to shift to harder gears.
And that's the reason why you have texture here on both sides of this lever.
And the next three features is where the shifters start to differ.
First - Rapidfire Plus.
It is the ability to downshift multiple gears at the time.
Deore and this SLX will give you one, two, three clicks or three gears at one time, that's the max.
XT and XTR are gonna give you one, two, three, four clicks,
so you can downshift four gears at a time.
MULTI RELEASE only comes with XT and XTR
and this actually differentiates the Shimano shifters from the SRAM ones as well.
This talks about multiple up-shifting,
with XT and XTR providing two clicks here on this upshift lever.
SLX and Deore don't have that feature
so you can only upshift one gear at a time.
This might not be the end of the world
but it would be a key differentiator
between these cheaper shifters and something like an XT or XTR.
And definitely is the difference between these two
and any of the SRAM shifters in the market today.
And the last difference between these shifters is the lesser known, Instant Release.
Available only in the XT and XTR,
it has to do with how fast the cable is released
when you are pushing on the u- shift lever.
It's supposed to provide faster shifting and watch my thumb here
as I press on the up shift lever.
Somewhere in the middle of that stroke
the cable is released right away.
Nothing happens when the lever comes back to the relaxed position.
As opposed to that, Deore and SLX
only release the cable
when the lever goes back to its initial position.
See, like a two part movement of the cable to fully release.
And here they are side by side,
the Deore shifter up top,
and XT with Instant Release at the bottom.
Combine all those features and you're gonna find that
SLX and Deore have a smooth, but soft kind of actuation of the levers.
XT and XTR are more similar to SRAM
where you have a more positive click
and overall the shifting feels crisper
And for those of you interested in weight,
all these shifters hover around 130 grams.
Here's the Deore at 131 gram,
here's the XT at 133 g
and I have a full video on the XTR on my channel
in case you want to check that out.
If I am to choose and money is not a problem
I usually go for either XT or XTR shifter with everything else SLX or XT.
I've used SLX in the past and I can't say that I noticed the lack of features.
I am planning to use this Deore with an 11 speed system
because this is an 11 speed Deore
but I'm gonna leave that for my next review.
But if you look at the 12 speed M6100 shifter,
you'll notice that is very very similar in design and finish with the SLX.
So if you are to go for a budget option,
I think I would recommend that Deore shifter versus SLX today.
What about you guys?
What kind of shifters do you prefer to use?
Do you go for the more expensive XT or XTR
or for the more budget-oriented SLX and Deore?
Love to hear your comments!
If you have any questions about this
don't hesitate to ask.
As usual, if you found this useful,
don't forget to like, subscribe
keep an eye on social media,
and until next time, hope to see you folks on the trails.
Cheers guys,
cheers!