Shimano 2016 Products at Eurobike

Shimano, always a big presence at Eurobike!

Shimano were out in force as usual, the component manufacturer has been supporting the show for years and naturally has a huge space, especially as they have a hand in every form of cycling that there is, from Urban to Electric, from the front of the peleton to the top step of the DH World Cup Podium!

XTR and Di2 were big launches last year, the electric gear shifting will be popular with high end users as will the XTR Groupset, but for most riders it’s too expensive and doesn’t offer a big enough benefit over the very popular XT range. XT has for many years been the staple of the mountain bike publics gearing options, it’s light, works well and is durable enough for it to make sense for every day riders whilst not breaking the bank.

Well it is the XT Groupset that saw its first outing at Eurobike, OK so it’s been around for a few weeks now, but for many people this was the first chance to see it up close… The headline news is that XT now looks to be the cheapest way into an 1×11 drivetrain. They have two cassettes on offer, a 11-42 and a 11-40. Neither of these offer the range of the SRAM 10-42 set up, but they do offer something Shimano call Rhythm Step, which essentially offers a different range of gears so you don’t end up with the big 36-42 jump found on the SRAM set up. The ratio is as follows: 11-13-15-17-19-21-24-27-32-37-42 and offers smooth shifting right through the entire cassette.

The new 11-42 Tooth XT Cassette…

The other bonus is that this will run on a standard Shimano cassette body, so you won’t need a specific cassette body on your wheelset to run the new XT 1×11. That will save a bunch of riders a few quid when they upgrade, and if you factor in the base cost of the cassette as well it is a really competitive price point. £79.99 is the RRP in the UK, currently SRAM’s cheapest cassette, the GX, is £115, add in the cost of the XD Driver needed for the SRAM system which can be from £39 and up and you get an idea of what a bargain this groupset is.

Single ring Narrow Wide HollowTech II Crankset

The crankset features single, double and triple chain ring options and the single ring comes in a ‘narrow wide’ offering with 30, 32 and 34T options. The chainrings use the same hooked teeth as the XTR set up which increases chain retention by up to 150% and also reduces chain wear too. The cranks themselves are utilise the Hollowtech technology to save weight and the new bottom bracket uses smaller cups, better seals and lighter bearings.

Rear Mech featuring the same Clutch Tech as found on XTR!

There are minor tweaks to the derailleurs, the rear one now has taller teeth on the upper jockey wheel to improve shifting and uses the same clutch mechanism as found on the XTR mechs. Two cage lengths are available, GS and SGS. The front mech features a multitude of mounting options that cover every eventuality as well as top and bottom pull options. The shifters can be mounted to the brakes as well to keep the cockpit clean and while the brakes have remained largely unchanged (they were excellent anyway) the size of the master cylinder has been reduced and the servo wave system has been tweaked.

The clutch set up and longer teeth on the upper jockey wheel…

Overall the entire groupset comes in cheaper than the SRAM GX option, although in the past XT is usually ranked alongside XO and it absolutely hammers that on price!