Shimano MTB Drivetrain Review

Yup! Late to the party but I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment: Deore if you want best value for money. XT if you want the best performance. SLX is kind of irrelevant since Deore exists and XTR is for those of you who hate money and want to burn it. 😁
But yeah: XT shifter is probably the most impactful upgrade you can make to your shifting.

I missed the give away :(

Six months late, and out of the running for the prize, but I do want to name my childhood inspiration for two wheeled daredevilry, and that inspiration was…Evil Knievel.

At this point in time, comparing MTB drivetrains ought to include Linkglide. It's was a huge improvement for my emtb - it shifts well and it just keeps on working.

Too bad I don't have an IG and refuse to create one.

I need this on R M fusion much better than the Advent I'm running now

My first bike had SRAM and as I keep building bikes it’s been SRAM on them to keep all my extra wheel sets aligned, but those little details you point out would be sooo nice for working on my bikes. In hindsight I would go Shimano. I do swap out for XT brakes because I love that lever feel 😂

I run an SLX cassette, Deore derailleur, shifter and chain. I have an SLX chain and XT shifter in the drawer to install soon :)

I'll rock the Deore for the price alone. It's cheaper to replace it if it broke

slx derailleur and xt shifter is the best combination possible. You could get the xt jockey wheels with sealed bearings for less than $20 extra and it will be basically the same as the XT.

I currently run Deore Cassette & Chain and XT shifter and derailleur. The double shift is life changing....

The lack of an electronic option for Shimano eliminates it for me. Mechanical shifting is so old school now.