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Shimano SLX HG81 10 Speed Cassette is no longer available at Merlin Cycles. However you may find an alternative or updated product below.
Shimano SLX HG81 10 Speed Cassette
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Shimano SLX HG81 10 Speed Cassette

This item was discontinued 26th October 2023.

If you require help finding an alternative to this product please contact customer services.

Code:: CSHG81
Shimano SLX HG81 10 Speed Cassette
  • HG81 10-Speed Dyna-Sys cassette featuring light weight minimal design sprocket carrier
  • The 3 largest sprockets are mounted on a lightweight alloy carrier to reduce weight and increase rigidity
  • Hyperglide sprockets have a computer designed tooth configuration with contoured shift gates, resulting in a crisp smooth shift even under load
  • Close ratio gearing allows a more efficient use of energy through finer cadence control
  • Sprockets are cut away and drilled to reduce weight without reducing rigidity
  • For 10-speed HG-X MTB chains
  • 11-34 or 11-36 ratio
stefan Bought to put on spare set of xcross wheels. Can’t go wrong at that price top notch
Stephen I cover large distances off road. The SLX cassettes perform as well as XT for nearly half the price. If you don't mind a small weight penalty over Xt these are amazing value..
Loren I recently had the chance to upgrade one of my bikes. For about the same price I had the chance to jump up from the HG50 to the 81. I approve of the difference. My bike seems to shift a little crisper, and the cassette was noticeably lighter. This may not win me a higher podium spot at my local XC race, but nice components really do feel nice. I really liked my HG50, but if the upgrade is not much more, I would go with the SLX again for sure.
Mr M Best price performance cassette for 10 speed.
ian Works perfectly well, I`m returning my bike to 10 speed from 11, its been 1x11, 2x11, 3x11 and now 3x10, it is noticeably less picky about setup, in hindsight 10 speed is probably the sweet spot, seriously considering trying 9 again! But if this continues to work as it is then great, I love paying £23 not £60-£80 for a cassette as well! I wonder why 10 speed chains are so expensive thoughÿ, I can get a sram pc1110 for less than a tenner, £14 for the cheapest 10 speed, lets hope it lasts longer, but I digress, this cassette is a steal for the price
Mr Robin Very good cassette looks nice, and well made. Should last a few thousand miles!
Stewart Great cassette - precise and smooth, just how I like my gear changes.
Mr Deang Light and durable, I have no issues with cassette, I have used it for 2x10 and 1 x 10 set up
Timmy Dubw-ya No complaints: Merlin are good on price, are usually well stocked, & deliver efficiently. 10-speed triple components are on their way out (being replaced by 11 and 12 speed single chainring setups.) They still work well for most riding, so if you are currently using a triple setup, then it makes sense to refurb it with the cheap components which are still available.
Mr Custer These work pretty well and aren't too expensive. Easy to replace and last for a good while. I'm happy with the SLX cogs.
Felix Like the design of tightening the usually used teeth together.
Justin Great price for lightweight cassette. Shifts smoothly.
Lewingdon Very nice cassette, good spread of ratios and fairly light - good value for money
martin So much better than the worn version of the same thing that I replaced. If you want to sharpen up the shifting on an older bike, replacing the cassette and chain can make a big difference.
douglas Excellent value for money and my last SLX cassette lasted for more than a year before I need to replace it.
Haynes Nice lightweight cassette easy to install and will also be easy to clean as it breaks into about 4 parts
Jason W A great replacement for the Deore level cassette, nearly 25% lighter so what's not to like?
roberts Great price, last a long time if you look after it well. I take mine of and clean it after every ride getting all the grit out from between the teeth
Mr Rabe III I now own two of these since they work so well at an affordable price.
Ricardo Stronger than an XT. The XT cassette is lighter and looks nicer but if you like to put a lot of torque in your pedal strokes the spider for the 4th and 5th ring will break. This SLX Cassette is a very good alternative and will not break no matter how much power you put into it. I have broken 2 XT Cassettes, the spider arms on the 4th and 5th ring spider all snapped of in the same place on both occasions. This SLX Cassette has all the rings from the 4th up as singles that attach directly to the freehub body. It does mean that you will see significantly more wear where the splines dig in on the freehub body causing removal to be a bit tricky. A steel freehub bodies eliminate this problem. Overall and excellent cassette at XT level which is a perfect cheaper alternative. Unless Shimano does something about the XT Cassette I'll be ordering the SLX every time. Quick 2 day delivery from Merlins as always
Mr Armitage Great cassette for the price. Lighter than Deore only a few grams heavier than XT (and I can't feel the difference when riding).
Mr Harding Brought as part of my 10 speed upgrade and very pleased, the cogs are not as two tone as they look but very pleased . Combined with the Shimano XT HG95 10 Speed HGX Chain works really well and excellent value for money, really pleased with the quick service
LE BOULANGER Great cassette, I have been using it for few weeks with my shimano XT M786 shadow+ and what a terrific improvement, don`t spend any more for a 10 speed cassette, this one is perfect and for the price it can not be beaten.
Mr G It works great, is durable and cheap.
pearce Good. Light and durable unit only a few grams heavier than xt - good alternative if you want to keep costs in check
Mr Levitskiy Works perfectly with the mid cage RD5701, don't really see a problem with the wide gear spread
Matty G Great price, not too heavy, good spread of gearing, what more do you want?
Mr Stanley Great value for money, good shifting, and won't chew up your freehub.
Ashweee Second one of these cassettes I've had, great value for money, lasts ages and the weight is reasonable for the price.
Mr Crawford Good for hope freehub with 3 largest cogs retained by alloy housing with wider splines. Good profiling, light action gear change.
Paddy Great product, Great price! Brought as I was upgrading to a 10 speed setup, installed easily and quickly. Very quiet gear changes with no slippage. Good range of gears with hard wearing teeth. Would recommend to anyone wanting to upgrade. As good as xt just much cheaper! Used with Zee rear mech, HG95 Chain and Narrow Wide chainring.
Mr brown A longer lasting and cheaper version of the XT cassette just heavier (obviously as its smaller cogs are steel instead off alloy). Both of which work flawlessly.
Mr Backus Great cassette, I love it! Offers smooth shifting, strong, relatively light weight and very affordable! would recommend!
Mr Craig Handy Light weight, smooth action, I would expect nothing less from Shimano.
Mr wilkes Love these cassettes. Why spend more for XT when the SLX is this good
Dan Crash Great value. Light enough, durable, solid, and if you're a nerd its the best gram per dollar ratio out there.
Gavin. Typical Shimano really, absolutely lovely quality with typical solid, smooth shifting. Have to say, I quite like the two-tone finish, sophisticated and though the difference is less pronounced in real life than on product photos, it differentiates it nicely from either Deore or XT cassettes, not that it really matters of course. Im running 1x10 with a 11-36t and a single 38t on the SLX M675 Double Chainset and that ratio combination is a proper weapon around Sherwood Pines and Cannock Chase, plenty of top end, but with a useful bottom end when needed. Really great price (with the current offer of an extra 10% off its only a couple of pounds more than the Deore cassette) and super-speedy dispatch and next-day delivery service from Merlin, also, it is worth noting (for those that care about such things) that my orders from Merlin were shipped in their original Shimano packaging unlike some other well known online bike stores that dont instead merely shipping theirs wrapped in a plastic bag and bubble wrap. So bonus points for Merlin too in that respect!
Mr Humphreys Nice quality cassette with smooth shifting. Have bought one previously and liked the quality. Especially like Merlin for the service and price.
Mr Wilson Solid, reliable and lightweight
Mr Lambrou Sturdy and slick shifting. Usually buy XT cassettes but the SLX no noticeable degradation in performance and only a few grams heavier. Great price too.
Mr Connor Great cassette very sturdy but fairly light, as with all of Shimano's SLX range it feels and performs like a much higher priced piece of equipment. Looks wise it is no head turner but it does the job fine and thats all that matters.
Mr Sullivan Brillant product been using this cassette since 2011, hard wearing and shifts well through the gears
Han Slomo This cassette works great. I am running a full Zee 1x10 setup with a 32 ring in the front and this 11 to 36 in the back. It provides a great climbing gear for my long fire road climb and also some tight switchback uphills. I havent spun it out yet on a downhill either. Ridden in Whistler bike park Squamish and on Vancouver's north shore i find it a great gear ratio. Could be lighter... but then it would cost more
Mr. Steel Crisp shifting. Despite the weight, it functions as well as XT. A good alternative which is put together with the rest of my XT setup.
Mr banham Reasonable weight, longevity and cost - always the sensible option!
Duffers Great cassette. Only a bit heavier than the xt, doesn't look quite as pretty as the xt but fantastic value for money. Shifts crisply, and quickly. I replaced a high end SRAM cassette with this, and run it with an xt chain. It is FAR FAR better. Highly recommended as a hard wearing everyday piece of kit. 10/10.
Mr Garlish I bought this originally to make into Chinese throwing stars because it was so inexpensive. However, when I received it I decided the quality was so good I would try it on my rear wheel. The thing works as flawlessly as my XT and XTR cassettes. Buy one they are great. Make your XTR cassette into Ti throwing stars instead, HI Ya!
Mr Smith Great cassette. I have these and xt versions on another bike and cannot really tell them apart other than in looks which soon goes with use. Longevity seems fine and compatibility with SRAM chain is no problem.
Mr Hawker-Yates Easy to fit, lightweight and holds the chain well - why pay more?
Mr Jones Loadagears - time to ditch the front mech and grannie.
Mr Small A great looking bit of kit. Going 1x10 and this fits the bill with a great price from Merlin
Mr Chiverton Last SLX cassette lasted 1800miles, replaced by XT which lasted only 900miles. Sticking to SLX especialy at this great price.
Mr farrimond Seems to be stronger and shifts alot better than the sram PG 1050 that it replaces
Mr Elder So far so good. Went onto my Hope Pro II hub with ease - feels solid and runs smooth. Hope it lasts as long as my last one
Neil Super fast delivery, great price, great product. Recommended
Mr martins araujo filho Fast ship, perfect Cassette
Mr Willis Nice light cassette which was a pleasure to fit and with the chain I now have spot on gear changes
Mr Mendes Very good service.Arrived well packed and as described on the site.Thanks Merlin!!
Mr WALKER I use my mtb as its meant to be used so transmission parts wear out fast, Merlin's service and price means it's not painful when replacements are needed
Mr Brown Great product
Mr Dow normally get XT but the SLX is just as good
Resende excellent quality product. xt Deore compared to the weight difference because in terms of both quality is equivalent for a lower price. Merlin happy for the service.
Mr Watson Almost as light as XT, shifts like XT and the bigger rings are on an alloy spider like XT but not XT price. In the British muddy summer you'd be mad to spend the extra!
Mr Clarke Great price and amazing delivery time .........Thanks Merlin .
Mr DWYER Purchsed this item form Merlin Cycles and had it within a few days (Ireland). Great service and prices as always from Merlin cycles.
Mr Broadhurst