Just give us a silver polished with brushed rub area chainset please. All modern Shimano cranks look bashed and rubbed like 5 year old cranks after a few rides. Who wants painted with (half) a big logo?
Oh, GS mech looks smart. Should stay tucked well out of the way. Not that I'd hang a mech worth more than 2 figures off the rear of my own bike.
Just give us a silver polished with brushed rub area chainset please. All modern Shimano cranks look bashed and rubbed like 5 year old cranks after a few rides. Who wants painted with (half) a big logo?
+1. This era of SLX got close to being perfect with the polished face on the bit that's always going to be rubbed.
Also something that Hope got right with the current EVO cranks.
A direct mount version of those, with 52mm chainline, would be close to perfect. Mine still got obvious chips and scratches though, away from the brushed silver area. Is there any good reason for any Shimano crank to not have that heel rub solution in place, after they proved how well they could implement it? And not even at XTR level.
Removal battery as well according to the mikes bikes page.
Plus a 9-45 cassette for the GS mech. Quite strange considering Shimano's reluctance to embrace a 10 tooth cog on the road for efficiency reasons.
9-45 and the look of that mech suggests it will be a lot lighter than Transmission - that's probably the obvious way to go after SRAM
I'd imagine the 9-45 is to get the cassette weight closer to the top end SRAM cassettes while maintaining the range but without having to resort to excessive machining. The Shimano cassettes are definitely more efficient on the material usage front and must be cheaper and quicker to make.
Plus a 9-45 cassette for the GS mech. Quite strange considering Shimano's reluctance to embrace a 10 tooth cog on the road for efficiency reasons.
It sort of makes sense, a 52t sprocket weighs a flipping ton on it's own, and unlike the road there's unsprung mass to consider.
Might also be an easy way to make XTR stand out from XT if they both end up with similar features by giving XTR a 'race' cassette and keeping XT as 'trail'.
That said, the XTR 10-45 with 3 alu cogs is still only 10g less than an xx1 which is all steel except the 52, heavier than the XX1 10-50, and the top end Transmission cassette is even lighter, so but of catch up to do
9-45
There's 9-45/mid cage 'optimised for impact survivability / with 23mm more ground clearance for a bash free ride' aimed at racers (weight) and enduro (clearance) I guess
as well as full 51t cassette/long cage.
“do you think there might be some issues with the Shimano 12s stuff being fragile?”
I’d read that as a response to T-Type’s claimed durability. I’m still on original XT and XTR 12 speed mechs that I’ve been using for 5 years, so while some seem to find them fragile, I haven’t had that experience.
The narrow range cassette isn't really about weight savings. It's for smaller more even changes between gears. It's also smoother, with quicker and more consistent gear changes. I've been running one bike with 10-45 since it came out. For me it's preferable most of the time, when I don't need a lower gear. Doesn't seem to be a popular option though. Most people care more about having a dinner plate.
Agree about Shimano cranks rubbing. Super annoying. Shame they stopped doing silver just to chase black like everyone else.
A mate sent me some screen shots from Weight Weenies that shows XTR, XT and Deore.
Official release is 5th June according the the youtube short on Shimano's channel:
https://youtube.com/shorts/FTpm8nydD2k?si=2i8PGOIzbNckQ0mE
That said, the XTR 10-45 with 3 alu cogs is still only 10g less than an xx1 which is all steel except the 52, heavier than the XX1 10-50, and the top end Transmission cassette is even lighter, so but of catch up to do
Yea...... but the RRP is £590, for a cassette! Even discounted they're over double the cost of an XTR cassette (~£450 Vs ~£220)
NickC commented on the previous page that perhaps Cues was Shimano giving up on competing with the top end groupsets. I think it's the other way around, XO/XX/XXSL are just SRAM giving up on reality 😂
I know the last decade or two has made the UK poorer, and that maybe in the USA which is a bigger market those £500 cassettes are more justifiable. And there's always been a weight-weenie market prepared to pay massively over the odds for small advantages, so maybe they've not quite given up on reality, they've just moved into the space previously occupied by some very niche companies. XTR still seems like it's aspirational, XXSL is just expensive.
The narrow range cassette isn't really about weight savings. It's for smaller more even changes between gears. It's also smoother, with quicker and more consistent gear changes. I've been running one bike with 10-45 since it came out. For me it's preferable most of the time, when I don't need a lower gear.
10-45 yes I agree. 9-45 though just gives you exactly the same range as 10-50 with the same jumps (+/- rounding errors) except the 9t weights a lot less than the 50t it replaces.
Yea...... but the RRP is £590, for a cassette! Even discounted they're over double the cost of an XTR cassette (~£450 Vs ~£220)
Exactly this. I switched my xc bike to xtr 12 speed for much less than a SRAM cassette would have cost. SRAM pricing has lost touch with reality.
10-45 yes I agree. 9-45 though just gives you exactly the same range as 10-50 with the same jumps (+/- rounding errors) except the 9t weights a lot less than the 50t it replaces.
If you switch to a 28t chain ring you get the same range of gears too. The other big advantage is you can then use the medium cage rear mech which keeps the thing more out of the way from things you hit
A mate sent me some screen shots from Weight Weenies that shows XTR, XT and Deore.
The last time they re-vamped the whole line up together it was 10speed because they were breaking compatibility between mechs, so that doesn't give me a good feeling 😂
Unless they're just adopting UDH into the existing shadow-link / direct-mount which would make sense and be easy to implement as a few aftermarket suppliers already do it. And give them a quick marketing win "hey, we're up to date with the latest standard, they're a bit stiffer than they were,, and still have a frangible link that won't trash your frame".
10-45 yes I agree. 9-45 though just gives you exactly the same range as 10-50 with the same jumps (+/- rounding errors) except the 9t weights a lot less than the 50t it replaces.
Same principle as Suntour Microdrive 30+ years ago!
Same principle as Suntour Microdrive 30+ years ago!
Now there were some components! XC Pro(?) thumb shifters were the nicest component on my bike at the time
10-45 yes I agree. 9-45 though just gives you exactly the same range as 10-50 with the same jumps (+/- rounding errors) except the 9t weights a lot less than the 50t it replaces.
It'll weigh less but Shimano are doing it to avoid bigger or uneven jumps in the gearing, which happen at the lower end of the cassette. Not that most people care but Shimano are better than Sram on this, even with the 10-51. Sram's one-upmanship going to 52t means a huge jump between 1st and 2nd.
The signs that Shimano were preparing to offer this were there. Composite chainrings with steel teeth surfaces but lightweight (and stiff) carrier can be made small without sacrificing wear or efficiency better than all aluminum chainrings. Microspline allowing for fewer than 10t on the smallest cog.
All seems to be live on the shimano website now:
https://bike.shimano.com/en-UK/products/series/xtr.html
Definitely lots of options to chose from, including an 11 speed linkglide mech.
Surprised (and pleased) to see a mech for all cassette options. Rather than trying to sell you a whole new system.
EDIT : Ah, no… those are e-bike only… makes sense though. Thought there was an 11 speed mech for normal bikes for a moment there.
I just had an email sent to me personally from Shimano.
"Designed for the demands of professional racing"
I checked my CV, I'm not a professional racer so no-one is going to give me a groupset. After that I checked my bank balance and can confirm this will not be coming to a bike near me any time soon.
It was nice of Yozo Shimano to keep me updated though. That's customer care that is.
That 9-45 cassette is interesting. I think the following are all true:
11 and 12s cable mechs have the same actuation ratio.
11s mechs cover to a 46t cassette
The new cassettes are the same spacing as existing 12s cassettes.
If so, i think there’s a good chance I could run a cabled drivetrain with 12s shifter, 11s mech and the new 9-45 cassette. Fairly light, no need to charge, decent range (albeit the 9 is just for the odd road section), mega ground clearance. Thoughts?
Be interesting to aee what the ‘best’ non electric option will be.
Why not just go with the GS M8100 or M9100 mech?
Mostly because i already have an M8000 mech! Although also perhaps a little lighter, a bit shorter.
New stuff mostly looks decent to me. The backwards compatibility is good. Faster shifting speed than Transmission. Prices are a bit too steep to justify upgrading just to be cable free for me. Might have to wait for XT and/or discounts. Still prefer to have cables, but market forces appear to be pushing the other way.
Pinkbike seems to have flagged up the lack of clutch, but haven't seen anyone else say bad things about that yet? Maybe Dario received a bad one? I've got a X01 mech now where it feels like the clutch is getting weaker. Shimano being adjustable was a huge plus point.
Just going to cartridge bearings in the hubs will instantly make Shimano wheels a lot more saleable.
Dunno what Shimano were thinking copying Sram with that stupid brake hose rubbing and rattling on the bars situation.
Pink bikes negatives are funny. 'still using a hanger', that's not a negative!
yer i saw the PB review first and the first negative was relating to the chain tensioning... which was literally one of Shimano's best points...
however.. another video review suggested it worked great.. .so......
With narrow wide rings I don't always use the clutch anyway or have backed them off. Better shifting that way.
Just going to cartridge bearings in the hubs will instantly make Shimano wheels a lot more saleable.oh dear, draggy hubs... (still got 9 and 10 speed shimano hubs that run beautifully with 10s of thousands of all weather miles on them)
Hmm. Some odd decisions-
no forefinger shifting
Still using hanger (udh doesn’t bend IME - it’s not sacrificial) (and as a result set up is still manual as position isn’t fixed. Tester also talks about using the trim button a lot which doesn’t sound good)
no mention of rebuild ability no personal experience but I’ve heard you can actually buy all the spare parts for sram transmission at a reasonable price and quickly rebuild a mech
haven't heard about the forefinger shifting? it looks possible? have heard about the customisation for how many/ how quick it shifts
one review said not rebuildable.. but historically I've been able to find Shimano component parts, and not SRAM
UDH is SRAM's patent so not sure how that works?... or if it's a real issue or not? but yes heard it's set up like a conventional mech which is no big deal, IMHO it's much easier to set up a Shimano mech than a SRAM none transmission mech, but that's mostly due to experience. But i guess with Transmission you set it once and that's it, so no big deal either way?
Several things I've read says you can convert a GS to an SGS mech, which implies the cage is available to buy separately at the very least.
Tbh in think it looks a nice implementation. Adjustability of the shifter looks great, purportedly far quicker shift than AXS.
The price is hard to stomach, but this is the halo range. Cassettes are still about half the price of SRAM!
I guess the thing I'm really pleased about is that (finally) robustness/resistance to impacts on the trail/debris collecting in jockey wheels is a point that SRAM/Shimano are competing on and designing around, rather than weight and 'performance'. That's a big positive
Definitely lots of options to chose from, including an 11 speed linkglide mech.
Ok, now that *is* interesting. Although they've seemingly made it direct power (from bike battery) only, but that's just feeding a cable through the old routing to a manual mech on your bike and plugging it into the spare port on the motor. Simple enough and removes the weight/charging hassle of a mech battery.
https://bike.shimano.com/en-UK/products/components/pdp.P-RD-M9260-11L.html
The one thing I'd really like to see is Linkglide cassettes using Microspline. All my wheels are now microspline and so far it's definitely got a lot less cassette-eating-freehub issues (yes, could run steel HG hubs but then that's even more weight on top of the lardy cassette.
back in feb, https://magazinebike.com/2025/02/08/shimano-di2-new-xtr-xt-and-deore-in-wireless-version-new-patents-reveal-details/ suggested that XT and deore would have Di2 versions. XT level is going to be a certainty really, as the 'workhorse' groupset (though SLX is probably more that now) and I guess Deore level is to directly compete with GX?
one thing I did like the idea of, but I don't think it's made it to XTR, and why would it for a racing groupset, but may be more aimed at deore level, is the 'number of sprockets' selector (fig 11 in the link), in app I'd guess? the fig in the link does look like it's a select mode for the shifter, and there are 3 different derailleurs illustrated.
Pic from Bikeradar showing how the crank has held up 🤨
Guessing no protective tape? Came prefitted on Shimano mtb cranks I thought
Pinkbike seems to have flagged up the lack of clutch, but haven't seen anyone else say bad things about that yet? Maybe Dario received a bad one? I've got a X01 mech now where it feels like the clutch is getting weaker. Shimano being adjustable was a huge plus point.
The pb video seemed determined to give the win to sram from the start. The whole tone of it came across as nitpicking but giving sram a free ride. Perhaps it’s just me.
Guessing no protective tape? Came prefitted on Shimano mtb cranks I thought
The pb video seemed determined to give the win to sram from the start. The whole tone of it came across as nitpicking but giving sram a free ride. Perhaps it’s just me.
Definitely just you.
The pb video seemed determined to give the win to sram from the start. The whole tone of it came across as nitpicking but giving sram a free ride. Perhaps it’s just me.
I thought that as well. They went to great lengths to show nothing much about the difference in chainslap. Yet several other reviews are saying the opposite, Shimano quieter and chain tension still stronger without a clutch. Somewhat confusing.
