So apparently this one kinda flew under the radar, unless people never really cared but…
SLX is fully discontinued. XT and XTR will now be wireless only going forward.
The highest end mechanical Shimano drivetrain will now be… 12 speed Deore.
And I suppose the only 'mid-range' offering from Shimano will be Deore di2, wireless only of course.
Also a reminder I suppose for any cable mech fans to buy up whatever XT/XTR (or even SLX) they see left over if they want to prolong the seemingly inevitable switching to wireless.
So what are your feelings on mechanical options disappearing from the market?
And furthermore, how does di2 compare to AXS? I have limited experience with AXS and have never even tried di2. Would love to understand this stuff sooner or later if these are gonna be the only options on bikes by the time I upgrade.
by GundoSkimmer
25 Comments
cues? more money in electric? ltwoo is cheap and feels like xt 10 speed i ride on my hardtail
Welp, looks like I’ll be sticking with the sram drivetrain Shimano brakes combo
It sucks but this is the business decision they are making, I think they will walk it back somewhat in time. That said, 12 speed deore is pretty good, hold on to your XT shifters.
I have GX AXS Transmission on my Santa Cruz and a mix of Deore/SLX 12 speed on my Marin, and the Shimano mechanical shifts so smooth, shifts under power and shifts fast. GX AXS Transmission shifts smooth and consistently, but it shifts slow when multi shifting which is a problem the old AXS and the new Di2 system does not have.
Wtf. Why Shimano!? Those of us weekend warriors that may skip a week or two don’t want to deal with this shit. It’s why I didn’t get a Yeti SB140LR. I didn’t want the GX AXS. I opted for the SB140, better spec to be honest, but it’s mechanical XO1 stuff. Once parts were up for replacing, I was going to go back to Shimano. Hopefully this decision doesn’t last long
Welp time to stock up on xtr derailleurs lol
It’s not discontinued, rather, they aren’t offering it as complete kits or new bikes.
I’m keen on that Madrone derailleur, with that I can run whatever shifter I want, fully repairable too. That said, Deore was good enough for me.
It’s not clear they’re actually discontinuing the prior XT/XTR mechanical. They didn’t update it, but they’re still selling the 2024 edition along with 11-speed XT.
I mean nothing in there mentions the discontinuation of mechanical drivetrain parts. This article only highlights their current lineup. A quick preliminary search will show you that there’s literally thousands of mechanical parts in stock around the world and plenty of bikes that come equipped with the aforementioned drivetrains.
I think you are overreacting here, big time to be honest. SRAM still produces mechanical drivetrain parts, Shimano will continue to do so, and so will the other few smaller companies as there will always be a market for it. Pulling stock and parts off the market soon after coming out with wireless would literally put Shimano at risk of going out of business as people would go full rage mode (me included).
Personally I have not tried the wireless Shimano offerings but I strongly dislike SRAMs offerings up and down the lineup. I will not be upgrading to wireless anytime soon and I have zero concern about finding parts for the next 10 years at least. That being said it never hurts to have spare parts in the bin but I’m not going out to buy 10 derailleurs tomorrow just in case.
I have the SRAM wireless on my bike and don’t love it. (It came with the used bike I bought this year.) The derailleur works fine but I do have a few issues.
1. There’s been a few times where I’ve almost walked out of the house without the battery.
2. I like the feel of the regular shifters.
3. You’re almost forced to get the app so you can check on the power status of your equipment. Sending my data to another tech company 😕
4. You have to always be conscious of keeping your battery charged before riding. It’s not like you can just take off on an impulsive last-minute ride.
There’s really no ‘need’ for the industry to move to wireless. It’s not like a dropper post or better suspension that will significantly improve your experience. Just seems like a way to get more $$$ by hyping unnecessary product upgrades.
Off road CC have misrepresented this somewhat.
Shimano are still manufacturing the 71xx/81xx mechanical SLX and XT, they just have not done anything to refresh the range.
That may remain the case for some time.
You mean they aren’t updating it. Still make it.
What’s weird is that wireless SLX would be very popular
I’ve been riding Eagle with the Pod controller (with the newer rocker paddle) for a month now and I still can’t get used to it. Feels like ergonomics was an afterthought during design. Shifting works very well, however. Battery life seems fine but I hate the thought of electronics crapping out for any reason and being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no drivetrain.
Meh I’m sure the cues equivalent will be fine. Doesn’t make me want to rush out and buy a new bike to get electric shifting. I still don’t really see the need. Wired has been pretty pain free for me and as a gravity focused rider there are other places I’d rather spend my money.
recently noticed my m7100 derailer is bent and probably needs to be replaced. Will they stop selling these parts or just the full kits?
I will be content using M8100 and M7100 mechanical groups for some time, just as I was already doing. On the bright side, these are still some of the best value mech 12s drivetrains and have arguably the best performance and cross compatibility out there.
I might pick the Di2 XT if it starts costing 50-60% of MSRP as a OEM, and that to fit to specific bikes, e.g. I am thinking of consolidating my geared and SS HT into just one, and having no cable to remove and re-attach whenever I fancy to switch from geared mode to SS, could be sped up considerably. But I see very, very little benefit in doing so otherwise.
And as far as I know, CUES is not “trash”, so if M8100 stock really starts weaning low and hard to get, I will still have a mechanical option that doesn’t break the bank.
I find it hard to believe that Sram saw a market for a mechanical T-Type after all these years with AXS, and Shimano will just abandon mechanical drivetrains. They just need some time for the FOMO peeps to spend for Di2, then they will “re-invent” the Mechanical M8200 or w/e and sell it at a premium above the M8100 – just like Sram did. If they launch a new Mech XT/XTR now, they will be canibalizing on their Di2 sales at the worst moment.
I don’t hate the wireless sram on the bike I bought new last Summer, until it stops working mid ride regardless of how many freshly charged batteries I swap in. It’s fine when it works, almost as good as the mechanical Shimano XT setup on the previous generation of the same bike. Unfortunately it stops working enough that I have trouble trusting it. SRAM aren’t really interested in fixing it and since the problem is erratic it is very hard to get taken seriously at a shop. I’ve had to complete a couple of relatively long rides without shifting as a result.
I have given up hope of good changes in 2025 tbh. Companies are cutting costs everywhere they can. The high-end market is fine but the middle market is getting pinched.
Well if SRAM is smart they will keep offering the mechanical equivalents to those. I’d rather have that. To me electronic shifting seems unnecessarily complex, and I really don’t want to forget to charge a battery and then not be able to shift as a result out on a mountain.
Wireless shifting is really good. I don’t worry about batteries much, I have one on the charger and one on the bike and occasionally switch them. The button battery on the shifter lasts forever. Plus I carry a spare generic one. Otherwise there really isn’t a benefit to mechanical. I have both on different bikes and they are both fine.
Maybe I am the exception
here but I loathe being
forced into “new level
solutions”
I’ll happily keep using XT mechanical bits because wireless shifting is a gimmick. Simply a solution looking for a problem.
IMO, 95% of people are fine on SLX. The performance and weight.
I’m building up a single speed to supplement my mechanical geared bike.