We've had a few months on several sets of Shimano's new flagship mechanical groupset so what do we think and where does it rank in the drivetrain charts?
On the bike the first thing you'll notice is that it's by far the most aggressively indexed shift feel Shimano has ever released with a proper 'snap' into each gear that you can feel however rowdy the trail is getting. The almost instant shift is still light (thanks in part to new lined cables) and there's no increased clutch resistance in the bigger cogs.
You're now getting 11 gears across a 11-40T cassette too. Not as broad as SRAM's 10-42T spread but certainly enough for an aggressive rider. You can jump four gears with one sweep of the grip dimpled DH-style lower lever but testers were still divided between liking the closer spaced ratios or preferring the ability to grab an even lower ratio faster with SRAM. On single ring setups the very subtly hooked and broadened DCE tooth profile is claimed to give quieter and less chain wearing security than thick/thin tooth designs and we haven't dropped a chain yet.
If you're running it as a double with the radical new side swing mech then front shifts are almost as positive and fluid as the rear with a fraction of the drag and grind of normal chainring changes. The side swing needs a cable run down the right side of the downtube, which is very rare so most bikes will need to use the more conventional but laborious top or bottom pull mechs.
Whether you run single (525$, 565g) or double (555$, 621g) chainsets, titanium teeth imbedded in a carbon reinforcing ring give serious stiffness and longevity. There are solid forged trail and narrower stance hollow forged XC crank options too, both of which are very noticeably stiffer than SRAM's XX1 (532$, 568g) and XX (720$, 674g) carbon cranks.
Immediate, obvious scuff damage on the grey polished finish is disappointing cosmetically. However, past XTR performance and the amount of titanium in key wear areas would suggest mechanical durability will be truly epic. You won't have to fork out for a new freehub/ wheelset (like SRAM) either as it uses a standard 10-speed body. This increases the 'package' value that's already dramatically cheaper than the SRAM opposition (493$ than XX1, 690$ less than XX and even 84$ less than X1 if chainsets aren't included) and puts XTR into the performance for pound pole position by a big margin.
Crank scuff but super positive, swift shifting, ultra durable 11 or 22-speed gearing at a SRAM smashing price.
Price 1200$ (11-speed), 1495$ (22-speed)
