Words: Alex Swann
Photos: Cam Mckenzie/Shimano
Shimano XTR has just been relaunched with it's latest 9200 series. Come on an adventure with Alex for his first look and ride experience.
It started with a phone call in January from our Shimano rep Bas "Hey, we want to take you to NZ to ride bikes for a few days in late Feb, it'll be on new, un-released product, are you in?" Hmmm, let me think about that for a mome... "Yep, I'll send you my Passport details"
Day 1
So off I went for a quick, but action packed 4 days of learning all things new XTR. The best part.... the hardcore powerpoint presentations and tech books were left at home to leave the most amount of time for the action packed fun part, and Shimano pulled out all the stops to ensure this was an unforgettable experience for myself and the 8 or so other Aus and NZ dealers that made the trip.
We were welcomed at Queenstown Airport to be shuttled about an hour to the incredibly picturesque Wanaka. Wanaka embraces all things adventure and is also home to a very famous, fairly avearge tree (look it up).... and a really cool privately owned bike park, Bike Glendhu. This is were much of our riding, dining and hanging out would take place.
Night one was our first introdution to the new look XTR, and the bus ride to Wanaka had us all speculating what it may be. Will it have a cable? Or Di2 wire? How will it mount? Will it connect to E-bikes? Will there be another version of I-spec? Soon we would have our questions answered.
After checking in to our apartment in Wanaka, we wandered up to b.effect Brewing Co for some dinner and a meet and greet with Team Shimano Aus and NZ and our fellow NZ dealers, as well as the big dog itself, XTR. As we sucked back a few limited edition b.effect Shimano Trail Born brews, the covers came off..... Oooh, Ahh, Zip Zap, Shiny. Not a cable in sight, beautifully finished, a Japanese masterpiece. The questions started flowing as we were all super eager to learn the ins and outs of this new groupset, and with every answer we were more impressed.
Some key takeaways from our first look.
- Standard hanger mount, meaning it fits every conventional frame made currently, but also anything made in the past
- Completely wireless for analogue version with increased battery run time over competitors
- Super adjustable shifter allowing for perfect integration and feel of thumb to paddles
- E-bike specific models available, no battery, wired straight to Shimano and Bosch motors allowing auto shift and coast shift, etc.
- Amazing looking cranks and now in shorter lengths to meet modern riders demands
- 12 speed cassette options available in 10-51t & 9-45t. 9-45t allows for greater clearance all round with shorter derailleur cage and smaller front chainring whilst keeping a respectable 500% range.
- New dual spring chain tension device in rear derailleur doing away with the clutch resulting in a smoother, quieter driveline
- New brakes with new LV mineral oil (low viscosity), pads that don't rattle, a more ergonomic lever feel and greater oil volume, all equalling greater performance.
- Fully backwards compatible to your previous gen Shimano 12 speed drivetrain, that's right, you can mix and match your old chain, cassette and chainring with the new derailleur and shifter if you really want to!
Off to bed we went to rest up for what was promised to be an incredible day of riding at Bike Glendhu tomorrow.
Day 2
Team brekky had us well caffeinated and buzzing for the day ahead. On the bus for a short 10 minute drive to our base camp in an old converted shearing shed. None of us knew what bikes we'd be riding so I was stoked when I was given my Trek Fuel EX. I'd never ridden one of these so was excited to put it through it's paces. Mine was equipped with a great talking point being the shorter cage rear derailleur and 9-45t cassette. I got to work dialling the bike in for me, which I was loving how adjustable the shift lever was with the ability to change the shifter reach and angle relative to the brake lever, but also the paddle positions and angles, this worked very favourably for me having smaller hands and offered much more of a conventional lever feel with paddles that travel and give a solid click when pushed.
The bikes were set and the weather was gradually closing in, jackets on and we loaded up the buggy's to let the testing begin. First impression was the hill didn't look that big, but after 20 solid minutes of ascending in the buggy, turns out the mountains around us were just massive. Glendhu boasts a solid network of trails, lots of fast flow and a handful of intermediate and advanced tech trails. The flowy stuff was great to get the initial feel for the shifting and brake performance before we perfectly timed some heavier rain and chunkier rock slabs and tech to finish off the day, slippery mud over steep rocks was a great test for the brakes and managing traction. From dry to wet the brakes were faultless, giving that firm bite when needed that we all know Shimano for. There wasn't a moment that stressed the brakes at all and the shifting gears through the mud even with some intentional 'product testing' nasty shifts was fast and faultless. The shorter 9-45 derailleur also kept itself out the way of obstacles, infact I don't even think I scraped it at all in 2 full days of riding.
Cold and wet, we headed back to get cleaed up before heading back to the shearing shed for one of the most impressive backyard BBQ's I've ever seen. Insert meat sweats!
Day 3
Team brekky before heading back out to Glendhu for the most perfect conditions after the previous days rain. I'd warmed up a little from the day before and was enjoying ripping in to some familiar trails. Half a dozen laps trying to hold on to style lord and Shimano ambassador Dave McMillan’s rear wheel before lunch had everyone smiling and after more fine adjustments to shifter positions and bike set up we were all feeling good on the bikes and loving the crisp and snappy shifting. Back on the bus to head out to Cardrona bike park to properly give the brakes a run.
Up and up and up we went before we finally picked up Shimano athlete Ed Masters most of the way up Cardrona on a training ride. He was pretty happy to jump in for a lift before cutting about 10 laps of the amazing Cardrona trails with us. This was the ultimate test for the brakes and wow, 15 people all hammering 6+ minute descents in some wild exposed terrain and not a single bit of fade or inconsistency, just good firm feel and the right amount of power.
So we thought we'd give them a proper test, Peak to Pub. 10km, 1300m of pure descent, finishing as you'd expect at the Cardrona Pub at the valley floor. A lot more braking and a bit more gear shifting and our product testing experience had drawn to a close. 15 riders and 2 full on days of riding and not a single mechanical or bike mishap, not bad XTR, not bad!
