This morning I just happened to be working on a bike that needed a shifter upgrade. The shifters were the old Grip-Shift X-Ray units matched with Shimano XT derrailleurs. Upshifting was sticky and the system was hard to keep indexed well.
So out of the archives I pulled out some new old stock SRAM X0 shorty twist shifters and mated with some X9 derailleurs. New cables and housing of course.
Now it all shifts like butta! I love the light action of the X0 shifters and derailleurs; much less friction than the X-Rays. The new shifters are spring loaded to somewhat overcome the derailleur spring pull. The 1:1 actuation ratio of SRAM is probably going to be more resistant to mis-alignment, wear and dirt than the 1:1.7 ratio for Shimano.
New cables and housing likely helped as well.
Last edited by Dave Mayer; 04-26-22 at 03:54 PM.