Okay, I tried searching but couldn't find a good answer.

What is the difference between SLX and XT components? I'm putting together a MTB (GT Ricochet~USA sticker, don't know the year) with XTR crankset, XT Front Der, XT wheels~ mullet bike with disc front, canti rear.

What I'm getting at is, are SLX/XT similar enought to run together? I plan on running friction shifting since I hate clickers...

Any input would be nice. I know basically nothing about SLX...

weight and finish. The XT crank has a carbon reinforced middle ring and probably an aluminum small chainring. The SLX probably has all steel rings with steel chainring bolts.

The shifter internals as probably slightly different.


If you are going friction, just get deore or something.

Using XT and SLX in friction mode is like building a ferrari to be used as a horsedrawn carriage.

All shimano 9 speed MTB stuff can be used together and you basically can use anything you want if you are going friction. road...MTB...it doesn't matter as long as your RD cage is long enough.

thanks for the quick reply.

So maybe thumbies? I just really dislike twist shifting and how quickly it goes out of sync.
I plan on using mountain drops, maybe mustache/Gary bars. Are rapid fire shifters more reliable these days and will they work on said bars? I also have some road drops I really like that would work but these are why I was also thinking bar-cons. Maybe some 105 Brifters (sounds silly but what the heck)?

sorry to ask soo many questions but this is my first MTB build from frame out. Obviously I am mostly a road guy from the questions, eh?

Thanks for your patience everyone!

I'd just get the shimano triggers. sram makes the twist shift stuff.

There is also the dual control levers by shimano. you push the levers down or up to shift.

The rapid fire shifters are very reliable now. If you are going mountain drops or drop bars, I'd either use old 9 speed brifters or barends.

some of us actually remember road or mountain drops when it came to MTB riding.




note the right side brifter and the left side friction barend.

A john tomac revisioned.

https://www.bikemagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/6194

read this article.

I remember when tomac ran drop bars when he raced.


What are you using this bike for?

Hey Rutnick! Good to have ya back And just as good at researching as ever


SLX (from the belly of the beast):
"Composite middle chainring offer double service life, improved shifting and smoother pedaling"





OP: Go to Shimano.com and read the product description prior to buying...you may find the info more accurate than this place

I just installed a SLX crank for a friend last week and didn't even notice the composite middle ring.

I did get ONE thing right and that's the SLX uses a steel small ring.

hey...sue me. I run SRAM components. Well, my MTB still uses a LX crank but sram everything else!

But hey...the Tomac bike pic was at least a good find.

I'd be around more but I haven't been doing much MTB riding lately. We had a killer ice storm and it destroyed the trails. Not just one trail...ALL the trails in the Western end of my state. That's like 6-7 trails within 60 miles of me. we got our trail open and two more are open but the rainy season came so I've been slumming on the road bike.

Oh well...good to have ya back anyhoo

Wow! That bike is beautiful! And I really like the idea of brifter rear, con front. Hmmm....

I plan on using this bike as a camping get away and year round commuter. I figured what the heck, and splurged (for me anyway) on parts a bit since I'll be on this thing for over 6k a year.

Thanks a lot for all the help. My Lbs is going to be very happy to see me this weekend!

https://www.gunnarbikes.com/rocktour.php

Before you go....check this option. It's a gunnar rocktour with moustache bars and barends. It comes in 26" wheels or 29".

You can even get it with mounts for racks. If you are loading it down, i'd suggest two forks. One rigid fork for when you are commuting/camping and another for when you need suspension for off road stuff.

I don't know how tall you are but I may get shot for this but 29ers are better for people that are 6 foot and above. I know people will disagree but the geometry, handlebars and stems get weird on a shorter bike.

Will you be loading it up as well? Remember if you need a rack, it will need rack mounts.

Rivendell has a bike like the RockTour if you want to spend twice as much for 1/2 the bike.

PLUS, the Gunnar frame is USA made.

I've been hanging out in the roadie forum. those shaved leg guys get a bit touchy at times.

Dirt riders just go with the flow more.

I did this fast mover A group road ride in another city the other day where some guy was wearing a team columbia bike with a replica team bike. He started to hammer and tried to drop me and I just sat behind him and laughed.

He did have smooth legs though.

Another option would be the Salsa Ala Carte:

https://www.salsacycles.com/alacarte08.html

Notice the frame looks VERY similar to that Tomac?

The Gunnar and Salsa are both steel frames.

No rack mounts for the Salsa.

I've got that frame but it is older. It is orange and the rear brake cable routing is different.

The Ala Carte frame is solid.

Here is yet another frame option:

https://www.somafab.com/groovepix.html

It comes with rack mount options.

Then again...if you wanted a rack....visit old man mountain:

https://www.oldmanmountain.com/

they make racks for ANY bike.

(not that you even mentioned racks)

chelboed, is that better research?

(I have a full set of SLX here on a hardtail I'm putting together...)

FC-M660 vs FC-M770: Different shape crank arms. SLX is heavier but still has hollow arms. Different color (?) chainrings.

RD-M662 vs RD-M772: SLX has a steel parallelogram arm while XT is probably aluminium.

FD-M660 vs FD-M770: Don't know.

HB-M665 vs HB-M775: SLX has a "conventional" 9mm/10mm steel axle while XT uses a larger diameter titanium axle.

FH-M665 vs FH-M775: SLX has a "conventional" 10mm steel axle while XT uses a larger diameter titanium axle. The freehub body might be different (it's a different part number).

CS-HG61 vs CS-M770: XT uses a cog carrier spider, SLX (HG61) has a conventional stack of riveted together cogs and spacers.

BR-M665 vs BR-M775: XT uses one piece calipers, SLX has two pieces joined at the factory.

SM-RT64 vs SM-RT78: They're um, er, just different.

BL-M665 vs BL-M775: They're very similar.

SL-M660 vs SL-M770: Different ergonomics. The SLX levers are plastic coated while XT might be all metal.

Certainly!

if you use a brifter for the rear, you'll be using a center-pull canti or one of the avid bb5/7 "road" discs. If you're buying a salsa, it's disc-only. If you're buying a gunnar, it's possible to get canti-posts, but it's an extra $75. BTW, the gunnar is still made in the usa, whereas the salsa is made in taiwan, which is why dude at soulcraft makes soulcrafts now, but i'm digressing. I'm just saying, if the country of origin means anything to ya, grab the gunnar.

I run a mountain bike with thumbies and some "traditional" long-pull levers. Works really well on my "alt.bars" (titec j-bar) because i can cram them almost anywhere i want them. I got a buddy with the same bars, but he's running the old deerhead xt thumbshifters, because these have a split-clamp, and can be put virtually anywhere.

Best of luck to ya; enjoy the build. The main difference, in terms of compatibility, between the slx and the xt is that the slx offers triggers that are specific to a double or triple crank. So, if you're running a triple crank, don't get the double shifters. But, you'd probably figure that out on your own. otherwise, things'll interchange very nicely.

hth,
-rob

So I got my GT Ricochet all built out and have spent the last week getting used to a 'proper' MTB again. Thanks for all the help!

Just a bad picture and a list of stuff for the interested.

XTR M952 Crankset, CaneCreek S-3 headset, XT Shadow front and rear DRs', old Suntour friction barcons (very nice for camping/commuting bike use), XT front disc hub with Avid 5, Profile bmx rear hub, Deore 8 speed rear, XTR V-brake, Dimension stem, Origin8 Gary bars, random seat post with Fizik Pave CX.

Not how most would do it but I'm very happy with it! Went to on some single track with four water crossings today. Its been about 10-12 years since I've done this and I guessed I missed it more than I thought!

Thanks Again!