SHIMANO’S FLAGSHIP DH brake delivers vast amounts of smoothly controlled, reliably heatproofed power, but it’s not totally niggle-free.
The lever mixes an XTR body with the tougher SLX lever blade for smoothly squeezed control of the vast four-pot brake power. The Servo Wave cam increases pad retraction so the big calliper is still easy to set up rub-free and reliability is excellent.
The radical Stegosaurus-finned pads and pastry-crust
radiator section on the Ice Tech FREEZA rotors reduce heat on long drags. The
latter are overkill for the UK, but the brake-only option (234S) lets you use your
own discs.
Some of our testers preferred the more abrupt feel of
the previous Saint brake though, and the bite point adjustment is barely
noticeable.
WEIGHT 474g
POWER 146Nm