Product Full Name | Shimano SLX 2017 1×11 drive train

Retail Price | £343.94, plus £249.98 for brakes/rotors.

(breakdown – mech £69.99, shifter £36.99, cranks £99, c/ring £34.99, chain £21.99, cassette £79.99, brakes £94.99 each, rotors £29.99 each)

Available From | Madison

Shimano SLX 1×11 – the Budget Workhorse

Even though my Whyte came with a brilliant SRAM 1×11 transmission, I was really excited to bolt on the latest Shimano SLX 11 speed offering.

Shimano have always been the kings of durable, great value kit. In the last few years though, most their kit has been a bit bland looking.

The latest Shimano SLX transmission looks absolutely stunning though – much nicer than the benchmark XT kit, and nearly as good as the card smouldering XTR race groupset. (check out our first look right here)

Here’s an update on how it’s faring so far…

The Detail

The Shimano SLX set up I installed on my Whyte included brakes with 180mm rotors; cranks; rear mech; chain; cassette and shifter. Based on retail price from UK Importers Madison (all components can be seen right here) I priced the transmission at £344 (£594 w/brakes).

As a comparison, SRAM GX is £382 (£698 with Guide R brakes) and XT will cost you £469 (£767 w/brakes).

Checking the groupset over, the overall look is amazing really. I actually prefer the look of Shimano SLX over the more expensive XT work horse.

The cranks look especially good and have nice diamond cut detailing – they are a huge improvement over last year’s cheap looking offerings and nicer than the dull gloss gunmetal on the XT units.

The rear mech too is far nicer with it’s polished detailing – visually it puts the XT to shame. It does lack cartridge bearings on the jockey wheels though. However I have found traditional bushes tend to outlast cartridge bearings in the conditions I normally ride in – so it doesn’t bother me.

The groupset also had the new SLX brakes with Icetech pads which I love – I never seemed to get on with the popular SRAM Guides that I was running, so this was a welcome change.

After the faff of installing the brake hoses (internally routed) I trimmed the hoses to the required lengths, and re-attached them to the levers. I didn’t even need to bleed my test set.

Out on the Trail

Although incredibly smooth, the immediate thing I noticed was how vague the shifting is with the SLX shifter. The action is very light, but the indexing indents are very subtle. Barely noticeable in fact, which makes it very easy to over shift. There is also a little flex in the upshift lever, which means you occasionally need to almost over shift to compensate.

The down shift is punchy enough though, although the double shift you get on the more expensive XT shifter isn’t there. Once used to the soft action, the shifting really has been flawless –  even in the worst conditions it’s never skipped a beat.

The Shimano SLX Shadow Plus rear mech has been virtually invisible since installation. It works well, has plenty of power in the clutch mechanism and is generally a no fuss item. And at £70 it’s not going to make you cry when you you mangle it on a rock.

Although it’s been caked in mud more often than not, the bush-equipped jockey wheels are still spinning perfectly. I do expect I’ll wear these out by the end of winter though as conditions have been utterly disgusting since October.

The Shimano SLX 11-42 cassette performed excellently from the beginning and had a really nice jump between sprockets (11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-37-42). I did find that I needed a little more low end though, and occasionally swapped between the SLX and an XT (£20 more for a slightly bigger 46t top sprocket) for rides with bigger climbs.

I ride with my heels slightly in, but the cranks are still looking good. I’m aware of scuffing them occasionally  – but so far they still have the graphic on and have only dulled slightly.

They are plenty stiff too, and although the chainring profile doesn’t look like it should retain the chain, I’ve not dropped the chain from rough terrain. It has jumped of thanks to the claggy mud we have though, so I recently installed a Ride Works chain guide just to stop it jumping off.  

The brakes have been totally flawless. Zero issues with air; and nothing but consistent power with that great feel that Shimano SLX brakes have always had. The slightly woody feel is probably my all-time favourite as far as modern brakes go.

I’ve not had the chance to put the heat fins to the test though, as it’s mostly been filthy wet – but will be keeping the brakes and transmission on indefinitely to test the long term durability.

We Say

The Shimano SLX is the real work horse of the 11 speed range. It’s cheap, work excellently and looks much better than it’s more expensive big brother – XT. A few more months of winter abuse will tell how long things stay smooth though – so I’ll report back with my longterm impressions in Spring.

As far as I’m concerned, the only niggle is the shifter. The action is just too vague for solid off road riding. I’d probably pay the extra £20 and have an XT shifter – but it’s a perfectly useable unit, once you’ve adjusted to the soft operation. 

I’ll keep you updated on the longterm durability on both the Factory Jackson social channels and my own Instagram feed –https://www.instagram.com/matt_reevesbike/ 

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