Simply, No. XT shifters are the tier with peak features (double upshift), XTR simply removes a negligible amount of weight beyond that but no additional features. A good combo is XTR cassette and derailleur, but XT shifter. You can even add the XT shifter to your Deore derailleur to gain the double upshift if you so desire.

 

Stick with the Deore unless you're looking to impress the squirrels or go racing. Double shift is cute, but ultimately not necessary. Same with losing a few grams on a cassette or other bits. Back with 10spd and older you'd see improvement with upgrades, but these days it's considerably less noticeable.

 

Are XTR worth it? No.
If I had the extra cash, would I upgrade to them? Yes.

 

I've always run XT and XTR shifters with usually SLX or XT RD's. I like the double shift feature and I believe both XT and XTR begin the shift with the lever push as where the Deore, SLX shift upon release. So you can potentially like the feel of the shift more with one or the other. That said, my bike now has an SLX shifter and it works just fine, when I'm riding i don't notice it or even think about it. Maybe when it wears out I'll try an XT shifter, but I'm not going to bin the SLX just to get XT.

 

It takes more force to upshift with XT and XTR, so if you are looking to make your shifting harder...

 

I'm running 11 speed XT and I don't like the shifting feel. I've used all generations in my lifetime of XT and this is the first time I do not like it. I've adjusted the clutch on the derailleur and it's helped a lot. I heard this has been fixed, but I'm not interested in microspline to see for myself.

 

Disclaimer: the following is re: Shimano 11 spd.

I had (still have) an XT shifter and wasn't unhappy with it (that's right I was not unhappy) but read on these forums that the XTR shifter employs ball bearings whereas the XT employs a bushing (or something like that) so I thought, "What the heck, I'll spend the money on an XTR shifter and see if it's even better than XT."

The XTR wasn't better. In fact I can't tell any difference in shifting between the XT and the XTR.

They're both fine IMO. I'm somebody who appreciates double upshifts so I'll buy XT over SLX (only for this feature as the SLX really does take less thumb pressure to downshift) but I won't be buying any more eXTRa expensive XTR shifters. Status comes at a price that I'm simply not motivated to pay when the workhorse component works just as well.
=sParty

 

I went from SLX to XTR and love it. Much better feel and better shifts. I didn't do a financial and weight analysys, I just fukkin sent it.

 

Ive had about all of them and like the "feel" of the XTR shifter more. And I'm a sram guy. I'd do the XT just for the mechanical benefits

Good vid

 

Xt is much less cost and all the performance, without sponsorship it’s the upgrade to go with.

 

Interesting replies thanks guys.
I might as well give some more info.
My bike is pretty old a 2003 cannondale jekyll. I have no idea what year the deore shifters on it is but they work quite nice.

I have an xt derailleur long cage using a 9 speed casette.

The The XTR shifters i can get is 10 speed. The upshift lever is a long silver lever and downshift black. ( perhaps this could narrow the year they were made helping you guys to deternine which year xtrs they are)

i also guess i will have to change the sprocket and chain too if i get it.

Given my background and what i've just mentioned will i be happy with the XTR's ? I can get XT shifters for the same price.

Before this bike i had a 1994 gt avalanche with deore LX man i loved those shifters and the fine print they used on the styling looked great very small print looked real nice. But obviously i loved the way they performed which was what mattered most.

 

Interesting replies thanks guys.
I might as well give some more info.
My bike is pretty old a 2003 cannondale jekyll. I have no idea what year the deore shifters on it is but they work quite nice.

I have an xt derailleur long cage using a 9 speed casette.

The The XTR shifters i can get is 10 speed. The upshift lever is a long silver lever and downshift black. ( perhaps this could narrow the year they were made helping you guys to deternine which year xtrs they are)

i also guess i will have to change the sprocket and chain too if i get it.

Given my background and what i've just mentioned will i be happy with the XTR's ? I can get XT shifters for the same price.

Before this bike i had a 1994 gt avalanche with deore LX man i loved those shifters and the fine print they used on the styling looked great very small print looked real nice.

if you buy those shifters, you're going to have to change the whole drivetrain. for a bike that old, there's probably not much way around it. but I'd consider something more recent (and probably less expensive) like Microshift Advent, the newer 11spd Deore 1x, or similar if you need to replace everything, anyway.

 

11spd shimano, imo, had the worst feel of any shimano lever setup I've used. if you were really meticulous with your setup, it could be sufficient for most, but if you were sloppy it could be absolutely horrendous. 12spd is better, but not as buttery as 10spd and earlier.

I had a 10spd SRAM XX shifter and it was too smooth and buttery for me. the index points were so smooth on the downshift that with winter gloves on, I had a tough time feeling them at all. and the upshift lever had such a fine touch, I had lots of unintentional shifts because I just barely touched it, or it would double- or triple- shift when I hit a bump while shifting. that shifter, imo, went too far with the easy shifting motion. it was the lowest effort shifter I've ever used (short of electronic) by a huge margin, though.

I've typically been the sort to get a better shifter and a less expensive derailleur because derailleurs break or wear out faster than shifters, and because there are functional differences in the shifters. in newer shimano stuff, the differences are less drastic. I have an XTR now because that was the only level available when I bought mine. I'd spend less now if I was to buy again.

 

Double shift with XTR is much easier than some of you guys make it sound. A quick jab on the lever and two shifts up, I can do that double shift much, much faster than with XO. I saw a video someone on here posted intentionally making the double upshift look painful and slow and literally laughed out loud at it.
Yes, the action of Deore and SLX is lighter, the way the shifters work going down the cassette is mechanically different compared to XT/XTR.
If you prefer the lighter action, stick with Deore/SLX. If you want the double shift down cassette, get the XT/XTR shifter.

Why is the XTR more expensive than the XT? Slightly different materials, 4 bearings vs 2, replaceable rubber pad on the lever that shifts up the cassette. Weight? Same spec from Shimano, maybe a gram or two difference in the real world.
Worth it? Up to you, most people wouldn't know if they were using XT or XTR if the logo wasn't on the shifter.

The difference to this step from SLX/Deore is the the aforementioned double shift and also max shift of 4 vs 3 the up the cassette as well as a few grams.

As for SLX to Deore, again a few grams maybe and material feel. You can get a gear display for Deore. Otherwise, the same.

 

Double shift with XTR is much easier than some of you guys make it sound. A quick jab on the lever and two shifts up, I can do that double shift much, much faster than with XO. I saw a video someone on here posted intentionally making the double upshift look painful and slow and literally laughed out loud at it.
Yes, the action of Deore and SLX is lighter, the way the shifters work going down the cassette is mechanically different compared to XT/XTR.
If you prefer the lighter action, stick with Deore/SLX. If you want the double shift down cassette, get the XT/XTR shifter.

Why is the XTR more expensive than the XT? Slightly different materials, 4 bearings vs 2, replaceable rubber pad on the lever that shifts up the cassette. Weight? Same spec from Shimano, maybe a gram or two difference in the real world.
Worth it? Up to you, most people wouldn't know if they were using XT or XTR if the logo wasn't on the shifter.

The difference to this step from SLX/Deore is the the aforementioned double shift and also max shift of 4 vs 3 the up the cassette as well as a few grams.

As for SLX to Deore, again a few grams maybe and material feel. You can get a gear display for Deore. Otherwise, the same.

That was me. It is painfully slow.

 

Well as I was typing you added that 9/10 speed post above. Everything in my post was regarding the 12 speed levers, so disregard.
The 10 speed stuff, it is all primarily materials, weight and feel. Get the XTR for that, they were very light and crisp shifters.

 

Another cool thing I like about the sram shifters is I can position them so my thumb-joint can bump the trigger, never having to take my fingers off the bar. So I can upshift without even having to "push". Due the extreme resistance of shimano shifters, I can't, I've tried.

 

They're not worth it.

Buy the XT if you want all the features.

If it was mine, I'd keep the Deore. They work well, are well built, and are reliable. I don't care about anything else.

 

If it was mine, I'd keep the Deore. They work well, are well built, and are reliable. I don't care about anything else.

Since we’re (kind of) discussing the hierarchy of Shimano, is SLX REALLY better than Deore (weight difference aside)

 

I went from XT to SLX after I snapped both derailleur and shifter during covid and that is all I could get my hands on and I can honestly say besides the double up shifts I think the SLX actually feels better. I know it's wierd but I have no intention of going back unless something breaks again.

 

What about the derailleur?

The bike media is always warning about the "scam" of brands speccing a bike with a higher end derailleur but lesser other parts. But is it a scam? Seems to me the derailleur might be exactly the place where an upgrade might actually give a noticeable improvement.

 

The indexing happens in the shifter, the higher spec derailleur reduces weight, but better shifting comes from the cassette and the shift lever itself.

 

I don't notice a difference past XT/X01 for derailleurs... anything else is really just grams for many bucks.

 

But worth it to go from SLX to XT or GX to X01?

 

I've got 11sp xtr and some old 9sp xtr, I've had quite a bit of other stuff, lx, slx, xt, but no 'modern' xt (which is probably really nice). The m970 9sp xtr is still super nice and smooth, after quite a bit of use, I still really like it. I would try to find a lightly used m970 shifter if I were you.

 

brex17
The 10 speed stuff, it is all primarily materials, weight and feel. Get the XTR for that, they were very light and crisp shifters.

Thank you sir, the xtr i can get is a 10 speed so right now i think i might get them. I have until wednesday to decide.

@Harold
Only need to change casette and chain, i am getting used components so should not be too much.

Amt0571
i'm tempted to get XT but just as tempted to get the XTR multiple shifts sounds nice but is not a real must have for me.

Yes maybe i should keep the deore...but..but... i might not have the $ next 6 months to do this and these shifters dont come up for sale often in my country...so i might pull the trigger on wednesday

Funny how its mentioned going to SLX. But it make sense for the newer stuff.. the new mediocore stuff gets improved to be as good as the "best" stuff was.

So i really might be wasting my money as some here is implying....sigh ...lol... at least i still got a day to think about it.....

 

So you have 10spd derailleurs already? Shimano changed cable pull from 9spd to 10spd era bits, so they won't play together nicely.

 

10 speed xtr shifter and rd were some of the best shifting feel and reliability I've ever had. Shifted under power, crisp, easy to adjust and just worked. 11 speed was a different feel and was touchy about setup. So far the 12 speed has worked well with workhorse (Deore/slx/xt) level stuff, but it gets noisy with any grit on the chain. My wifes bikepacking bike has my old xtr 10 speed shifter/rd on it and it still just works. So much so I'm probably going to go back to 10 speed on my bikepacking bike for simplicity and interchangeability, cheaper upkeep.

 

I prefer the feel of the M6100/M7100. I like the lighter action. They feel sloppier going through the gears, but in a consistent way. M8100 was more rigid, and that seemed to transfer to the lever an inconsistent feel from gear to gear.

Between M6100 and M7100, I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference blindfolded. Durability might differ, though.

 

I have both 6100 Deore and 8100 XT 12 speed shifters.
Like a few here, I agree that XT shifts are abrupt and jarring. They require more initial force to trigger then once past the "instant release" resistance point, the lever bangs forward into the lever stop point with almost no resistance. The double up shift is great on rolling terrain.
The Deore (and SLX) shifter is softer, constant and linear in resistance. It may be a split second slower when up shifting for some.
I'm sticking with my XT shifter, but if it breaks, I will happily use the Deore shifter with no hesitation.

 

Yes - totally worth it

Worth it for the durability (remember your shifter does the indexing) and for the rock solid feel. I'd even say it's worth getting an XTR shifter and running a less expensive rear mech like an XT if possible. You do get better durability from a high end mech, but it's also more painful if it gets tweaked. The shifter though will just keep trucking along.

Given how much you shift during a ride, you're interacting with that shift an awful lot you know.

 

I run XTR shifters, and find them noticeably better. In the XTR range, shifters are one of the cheaper components, and not so expensive an upgrade. An XTR derailleur is much more expensive than an XT (I have both) with no noticeable improvement in performance. However, XTR is more sexy. I would love to compare an XTR cassette to an XT, but I can’t find an XTR cassette in the gear range I need for love or money.