- XTR is Shimano's flagship racing group set,
and where it differs from the classic XT workhorse
is the fact that this is the no expense spared,
all bells, all whistles transmission.
Let's take a look at the brand new M9100 XTR.
So one of the particularly cool things about
the Shimano XTR group set as a whole
is it's a no compromise group set,
so you can actually spec it the way you want it.
So it will suit cross country races,
it will suit enduro races,
and it will also suit XC marathon type riders.
And they all look for slightly different things,
but they all want that no-nonsense,
super lightweight, high performance transmission.
So, first up is a cassette,
and there's three options within that.
So, option one is of course the flagship, one by setup.
So this is a huge 10-51 12 speed transmission.
Of course Sram already had the 10-50, this has the 51,
and you might think, "Why have they got the extra one?"
"Is it just to have the extra tooth?"
Well, actually, no, this is Shimano you're talking about
here, and Shimano are all about efficiency.
So it's because there's a six tooth difference
between each of the top three there.
So that's a 39, a 45, and a 51.
So six teeth between each of those,
and it's for even cadence as you're going
up through the gears, which of course,
does make things a bit smoother.
There is the 10, 12, 14, 16, 18,
21, 24, 28, 33, 39, 45, and 51.
It's a very, very even spread throughout that,
and in fact, you can actually see that just by looking
at the profile of the cassette.
Now, there's quite a few special things about this,
the way it's constructed, it's actually using
three different metals here.
At the bottom end here, on the smallest sprockets,
are in fact made of steel, and these slide
directly onto the splines of the new micro shift hub,
which we're going to take a look at next.
Middle sprockets are made from titanium,
and they're bonded directly onto a carbon spider,
and the spider itself is a very, very cool and
intricate design, which you can see on the back there.
Now, the top sprockets, the biggest ones,
these are made from aluminium.
Now, the reason for that is that they have to be
very stiff but also very light.
Now, of course, you do know that aluminium wears faster
than titanium or steel does, but of course,
you're not actually going to be wearing these
half as much as you are the others,
because there's going to be more chain wrapped
around them, and of course that's less friction on there.
Now, of course, being Shimano,
it's got the hyberglide system,
which they've had for years and years on there,
but now it's got the hyperglide plus.
So, not only does it have incredibly smooth
and accurate shifting, shifting into the lower gears,
but it's actually even better now coming back down again.
Which is more and more important
with a bigger spread of gears,
the derailleur has to do a lot more,
and it's now a very, very punchy and accurate
bang, bang, bang, bang all the way back down that cassette.
Very different and a very new feature for Shimano.
And the weight, well, it's not really a lot actually,
it's 367 grams.
As you can see, the design of it is absolutely magnificent,
and it's using that new microspline system
which we'll check out shortly.
Now, option two is a very similar looking cassette,
this is 10-45.
Now it's got the same construction:
the steel, the titanium,
the aluminium there, it uses the hyperglide plus.
Basically it's the same stock cassette base,
it's just a closer and slightly smaller and lighter setup.
This weighs about 357 grams, not that much lighter,
but nonetheless when you're counting those grams,
it's all important.
Now, of course, this is also aimed at one by,
but it's also compatible with a two by system,
so that's a two by twelve system,
24 gears, and the intention for that is aiming
directly at the marathon racers.
Of course those marathon racers doing huge stage races,
like the Cape Epic, need all the help they can get
when they're absolutely cranking in those miles,
and that is what they're going to be running.
Now I'm a complete convert on a one by system,
and if I was going to run this transmission
I would definitely be getting the 51.
But I love the fact that Shimano are actually offering
a one by and a two by setup, despite a lot of you
might wonder why they're still doing it,
I think it's great because there are people that want this
and would benefit from it.
And again, it just emphasizes that no compromise point.
It means you can get the XTR transmission that suits you,
and it's going to perform as you need it to.
Okay, so, there's also an option three,
as you might have spotted on the desk here,
and in case there wasn't already enough options,
they're also offering an 11 speed one.
But it's not just an 11 speed with and 11 speed spacing,
it still has 12 speed spacing, it uses the same chain,
it uses the same derailleur, the thing that's different
about the 11 speed is it's basically
the 10-51 with the 51 removed.
I mean it's specially manufactured,
they haven't just lopped it off.
And the idea is it's an even smaller, lighter transmission,
for those people wanting to save the weight.
Now the hub design is very slightly different,
it does cater for this, so the actual body of the microspine
is slightly shorter, the flange is slightly stepped out
to the outside of the hub, so you also get
a slightly better bracing angle on there.
So, kind of cool that you can do that,
and on the shifter itself you can actually alter it
from 11 to 12 speed, or vice versa, to suit that.
So again, it's another option,
you're not forced into doing the 12 speed,
it's just another part of the XTR's sort of ecosystem.
Oh, oh yeah, and the weight of course: 310 grams.
And last, but not least, of course,
is the dedicated 12 speed chain.
Now it's got all the bells and whistles
that Shimano chains are renown for,
it now joins with their dedicated quick link systems,
so there's no more having to do the dedicated pin
and snap off the end on those.
Now, the inner parts of the chain themselves are extended,
so the reason for that is they contact
with the narrow part of the narrow-wide chainring teeth,
just for a better retention on there.
And the other benefit of that is that it actually
decreases one of the other problems,
which is the vibration that you can get.
Have you ever noticed, you're shifting on any sort
of wide-ranged cassette, that sometimes the extremities,
like using the lower gear or the biggest,
say the 51 on this, you can, sometimes,
on some bike designs, maybe a super short chainstay,
have the chain vibrating slightly?
Now this, you won't actually get that.
So, a chain that's vibrating is creating
slightly more friction, and the fact that you won't
have that with the Shimano chain.
To accommodate the brand new 12 speed cassette
on the new drivetrain from XTR,
Shimano went back to the drawing board,
completely redesigned the hub,
so not only does it have this brand new microspline system,
but it also has the silence internal system,
which is a brand new ratchet that's completely silent
in operation.
So the previous Shimano splined system has been around
and been used by many different brands for a long time.
Now whilst it does work very well, it is prone to problems.
If you want to save weight,
and have a lightweight body on there,
it can get damaged easily, so it had only 13 splines.
This new system has 23 splines.
Not only does it have the 23 splines, but they're deeper,
and there's much more purchase on them,
so it's going to distribute the torque that you can put
into that cassette and through the hub
with that huge 51 much, much better.
So on previous hubs, on the internals,
Shimano have used the tried and tested pawl system,
which basically a sprung loaded pawl,
basically locates as you drive the system.
Now, whilst that is effective,
they are prone to some niggles here and there,
so they've gone back to the drawing board
and come up with a silent system.
Now this has a ratchet on the inside
with a very strong spring that pushes it apart,
so it disengages it when you're freewheeling.
And there's nothing to drag, so there's no dragging pawls
on there to add any friction, and of course,
there's not even any dragging ratchets,
which you get on some of those ratchet star hubs.
There's nothing there at all.
And the pickup itself is actually just 7.6 degrees
of rotation between them, it's so instant,
it's quite incredible.
But it's very odd actually, just having that silence to it.
I know it's that Niall actually really liked
when he did the first ride on the video,
the link to that by the way is following this video.
As for the lack of sound, I'm not
quite sure how I feel about this.
Part of me does miss the traditional clicky-click
of a freewheel hub that you get,
and it's something I've always grown to like,
but since the clutch mech designs came in,
bikes have got increasingly quiet,
I could definitely see myself preferring
a completely silent bike.
What you're going to be able to hear
is your tires scratching for grip,
suspension going through its cycle.
I actually think Shimano have got this bang on.
Currently it's only Shimano and DT
offering a microspline system,
but we may well see some other brands follow suit.
So as far as options go, up front is 15 mil,
and you can have 100 mil, or you can have boost 110,
you can also have it in conventional
j-bend spokes or straight pull.
Out back, of course, same thing applies.
You can have that in regular 142 or boost 148,
again, in conventional j-bend spokes or straight pull.
And lastly, just for the 11 speed option,
the flange on the drive side is actually
4.7 millimeters further outboard on the bike,
just to compensate for that extra sprocket that
would have been there in the 12 speed.
Of course, it's just going to give you
a slightly better bracing angle on there.
Now that's dedicated for the 11 speed option.
So, the chainset.
So, XTR cranks have always been lovely little bits of kit,
and these latest ones are no exception.
So, taking a typical XTR high-end, premium feel to them,
they're hollowtech, as always,
but it's a few slightly different things.
So, as you can see here, there's two main models.
There's the one by, and there's the two by.
Both of which have direct mount chainings on them,
there's no sort of spiders as such,
although on the two by, the inner chainring
does bolt to the outer chainring.
On the two by system, it's a 28
and a 38 tooth on there as stock,
and on the one by, it's anything from 30 up to 38.
Chain tune up is a no-fuss affair,
just by simply removing that on the back,
sliding it straight off the hollowtech axle there,
so a really nice system.
Now something else that's a little bit different
on the new XTR cranks is there's no longer
the twin pinch bolt design and pre-load cap
as it used to have, it's actually got
a captive 8 mil bolt in there,
so you can actually extract the crank using that,
and it's got a pre-load ring for adjusting it once it's on.
Very neat and tidy.
There are 62 millimeter and 68 millimeter
Q factors available, the 62 is only compatible
on non-boost frames and it's obviously designed there
to feel a bit more like how the road Q factor would be.
So, anyone transitioning across from road cycling
into the world of XC racing would find that the Q factor
is the same as their road bike.
And the one by has a 52 millimeter chainline
that's compatible with both 142 and boost 148 out back.
And the two by crank comes in both
49 and 52 millimeter chainlines,
to suit both 142 and 148 boost.
As with most Shimano products,
all the usual lengths and cranks are 175s, 170s,
and all the bottom bracket variations are available.
As always, the rear derailleur is a bit of a work of art,
and it's had a lot of new technical developments in it.
There's also a front derailleur
for those choosing a two by setup,
and a really cool little enduro chain guide
for those favoring the one by setup.
Now the actual cage itself, I don't know if you can see
how beautiful this is, carbon construction on there,
and it's got brand new 13 tooth pulley wheels on there.
So basically, that reduces the friction,
of course the chain will have to wrap
around a smaller wheel, which increases that friction,
it also increases the chain retention capabilities.
And as with all Shimano shadow plus mechs these days,
it's got the clutch system with the on and off switch there,
which of course means it's on it's locked on,
and when it's off it's easier to manually manipulate
the cage for removing the rear wheel from the bike.
And of course the last thing to mention, of course,
is the shadow plus design on there,
so it's a very low profile design.
Certainly as low profile as you can get
with a big, high-tech, modern derailleur.
And of course, it has to be low profile
for threading your way through rock garden stuff,
you don't want to be smashing off something like that.
Now the front derailleur, if you're picking up
the two by system, is a direct mount offering,
it's available with d-type, e-type, and m-type,
there's also a side swing operation.
Also, if you're going for one by, you've got
this really, really neat little upper chain guide.
Of course, they're not essential,
chains do stay on mostly these days,
but if you're an enduro racer,
or you do fancy that extra little bit of protection,
this is what you want.
Available in e-mount, d-mount, and of course,
ISCG as well.
Okay, so shifters and brakes.
There's a whole bunch of cool stuff here.
First up, let's just take a look at the rear shifter.
So this is the new I-Spec EV system,
and there's far more adjustability than ever,
so you're going to be able to get this
in the exact position you want.
So there's 14 millimeters of side-to-side movement there,
so you can really sort of tailor the position
of that shifter in relation to the brake lever,
and there's a whopping 60 degrees of movement here.
So, again, depending on how you like
your brake lever position,
high, low, want to shift it in relation to that,
there's all the adjustability that you need.
Now as far as the actual shifter goes,
you might notice it's got rubber on the actual paddle there,
now this is really cool because you see a lot of pro riders
making modifications to their shifters,
especially the racers, they get extra traction
in both bumpy conditions and wetter, muddy conditions.
Don't have to do that with the XTR stuff,
but of course it's the XT racing transmission,
so it's designed to cope with the rigors of racing.
There's dropper post remote using the same I-Spec EV mount,
which has all of that movement side-to-side,
that 14 millimeters and that 60 degrees up and down.
It's designed to work with virtually
every cable operated dropper post on the market,
and of course, it really neatens up the cockpit there,
especially if you're running a one by,
so you can maximize on the real estate on your bars there,
by using that position.
If you're one of the riders that's going to be spec-ing
a two by setup on the front, then you have the luxury
of having this mono lever design for your left-hand shifter.
So, a single lever for upshift and downshift.
Really cool system.
Last, but not least, the extra cool thing you'll find
on the bottom of the shifters,
is the capability of turning into an 11 speed shifter.
Of course, that is with the 12 speed spacings,
designed for use with that 11 speed Shimano XTR cassette.
Very cool, it's the shame shifter,
literally turn the dial there and it becomes
11 speed or 12 speed.
There are two brake lever designs in the XTR range,
there's one for enduro focused riding and racing,
and one for cross country.
The cross country one has a carbon fiber blade on there,
and it's a magnesium body, it's a very lightweight
design, and just has a simple reach adjustment
tucked in behind the lever there.
The enduro design is a bit more rugged,
it's fully made from aluminium,
both the body and the lever blade itself,
and it has a tool-free reach design on there,
as well as the free stroke adjustment.
Now both levers have the new mounting system,
it's very inboard but it has two points of contact
on the handlebars there, and the reason for this is
both to put the brake lever in the optimum position,
but also to increase rigidity on the bars.
Now in previous XTR brakes and sometimes on the XT brakes,
there's talk that the amount of power that can deliver
wasn't matched by the stability on the bars.
It's been addressed now, so this thing is absolutely
rock solid on the bars, it's fully supported
in two positions, and of course you can mount it
wherever you want.
And as far as the actual brake calipers go,
for the cross country racers there, and the marathon racers,
there's a regular two piston design.
It's really, really neat, probably one of the best looking
break calipers I've seen, and it's in the classic,
XTR gray finish, really high-end, luxurious item there.
Now for the enduro racers, and those wanting
a bit more power, there's the four pop design.
So that's four pistons in this,
and this also maximizes on that by having
the finned brake pads there, which are available
in both resin and sintered.
Now the four piston design is said
to have very similar power to the saint,
so maximum braking power, but of course,
this is the lightweight and minimal racing brake,
where the saint of course is going to be
a lot more durable for day-to-day stuff.
I emphasize the fact that this is
the XT Racing transmission, so it's all about
having the maximum performance in a racing package.
And then finally with the brakes there are new rotors.
So these are the new Ice Tech Freeza rotors.
They're actually a three piece design,
so it's stainless steel sandwiching aluminum inside,
and the aluminium was actually designed to take the heat
away from the braking surfaces.
Very, very, effective.
It works so well that on the 180 and the 203 mil rotors,
Shimano actually found it was 20% cooler in testing.
And of course, if your brakes are cooler,
you're going to have a lot more consistency of power,
which in racing is absolutely everything.
And finally, the last part of the XTR group set
is the pedals, and this is something that Shimano
have always done excellently.
So there's two options, as with most things
in the XTR range, there's the SL which is your
cross country race pedal, and then there's the trail,
which is for your trail and enduro.
They both have the same mechanisms,
but they have a few different things on them.
So of course, the SL is tiny, there's not much to it,
there's the bare minimum as far as SPD pedals go.
And it's got a slightly wider axle base
on the pedal unit itself there,
which actually gives your shoe more support,
and it's slightly raised in profile there too.
Now there's two axle lengths available,
there's 52 millimeters and 55.
The 52 is ideal for those who train on road bikes,
or perhaps someone coming from road into mountain bike
cross country racing because the Q factor will be the same.
So if you're used to extended periods in the saddle,
and you're swapping between bikes,
that is the pedal for you in that option.
The 55, most mountain bikers will be familiar with that,
a slightly wider stance, a little bit more stable out there,
but having that option is a really, really good thing.
Now with the trail pedal, you don't actually have
that option, it sticks with the wider stance to start with.
The actual platform of the pedal offers
a little bit more support than previous models,
and there's also a slightly wider contact patch on there,
again, just for a bit more stability with your shoe
when it contacts with the pedal.
I really do like the design of the trail pedals,
it's got the minimal design mechanism on there,
but it's got everything you need to support the shoe,
and of course, those wings do protect
the pedal itself as well, when the inevitable rock strikes.
Now one extra thing, just so they make sure they suit
more riders from now on,
is the cleats come with a one millimeter spacer,
so you can lift the cleat off the shoe.
So the reason for that is there's a lot more shoes out there
with deeper tread profiles on there,
so you want to be able to get in
and out of the pedal appropriately,
but also you can tune the way the pedal feels
for the way you want to ride.
As with all Shimano SPD pedals,
you can adjust the retention on the jaws themselves here,
with an allen key on both sides,
and there's indents in there, so you'll know,
you're familiar with how many clicks
you're putting on or taking off.
So there we go, that is the brand new XTR M9100 group set.
Of course, there's various options within here:
the 12 speed, the 11 speed, the one by, the two by.
What options would you run if you could run any of this?
What's your favorite bit as well?
And what do you think, more importantly,
I really want to know what you think of the hub.
I think that's really cool.
If you want to see how this stuff actually works out
on the trail, check out Niall's first ride just down there.
As always, click on the round globe
to subscribe to GMBN Tech, we've got more content like this
for you every single week, and if you like the new
XTR transmission and group set, give us a thumbs up.