It just comes down to personal preference. X5 Sram matches up to Deore Shimano.

I have two bikes now, one is Sram and one is Shimano and both have more oddball style shifters on them. My Sram bike has gripshifts and my Shimano has dual control brakes, shift using the brake levers. Both work fine and both need tweaked every now and again.

Airborne Bicycles. Guardian 2.0
Are you up for ordering a bike online?