about SLX i-spec

malayneum

i just bought an SLX 2014 with clutch lock without the brake set. then the mechanic told me he had to give me XT shifter instead of the SLX because it does not have the "ear" to attach to my bar. im using the old Shimano hydraulic brake(alivio i think). but i found out the XT shifter cannot "shift down two gear at once"( i dont know what this function is called, but only new XT have it). they told me i am lucky to get XT shifter plus without any extra charge. so i want to ask here, is this offer worthy or was i scammed? thanks and sorry for my english, im from Malaysia.

benpinnick

Yes and no.... You cant run i-spec with Alivio, so you needed new shifters. Sounds like you got some fairly old XT ones though as multi release has been around for a while. In essence:

You were somewhat lucky they swapped them FOC.
You did get old XT shifter though that they'd probably wanted to get rid of, so its not exactly generous.
You'd have been best off keeping the SLX shifters and upgrading the brakes to match.

My honest opinion...

malayneum

thanks for your honest opinion.

but, technically, is the old XT shifter any better than the new SLX ? (aside from the multi release function).

benpinnick

No, infact the old XT is basically SLX now.