shimano

New Stuff for your approval, early March edition. The springtime release of new products has begun and things got hot and heavy the last few weeks. Here is a digest of a few noteworthy new product releases. Shimano Deore group and SLX 11-46 cassette In a somewhat surprising move, Shimano released a new Deore group. ...

Cyclocross racing, with its drop bars, skinny tires and lycra-clad racers, might seem like a distant cousin to mountain biking, but the two disciplines have more in common than you might think. For example, have a look at some of this video of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup stop in Namur, Belgium this past weekend. ...

The BC Bike Race is the ultimate proving ground for riders, bikes and gear. Charging through seven days of stages across British Columbia, racers push themselves and their equipment through tough times and tough terrain. Over the years, we’ve seen many broken bodies, bikes and spirits. As an exciting stage to test its recently-released electronic ...

XTR M8050 In not altogether unexpected news, Shimano trickles-down electronic shifting to XT level with a new M8050 group. Before you get all excited, this stuff isn’t hitting the shelves until September 2016, so you might still be pulling cable and not pushing electrons to shift for a while longer. The new XT group gets most ...

This is Dirt Rag’s second year doing an official “Editor’s Choice.” With editorial staff of all shapes and sizes, spread out all over the country, we can’t just pick one product per category and call it the best. Also notice our timing. While we could do this in the early spring, how much ride time ...

When Shimano announced the XM9 and XM7 earlier this year, I couldn’t have been more excited. These shoes looked to be perfect for cool-temperature fall, winter and spring riding. Now with a couple weeks of riding in these shoes, I’m stoked to report the XM9 is every bit as good as I had hoped. This is the ...

We field tested three bags for traveling with your bike: Evoc Bike Bag, Scicon AeroComfort MTB and the Shimano Pro Bike Mega. If you’re ready to ditch the cardboard box, considering putting one of these products on your Christmas/Hanukkah list this year. Evoc Bike Bag Tester: Mike Cushionbury Evoc is commonly known as the brand that redefined how ...

The new Shimano gravity series has been designed with input from Men’s Downhill World Champion Gee Atherton, 2013 Downhill World Champion Rachel Atherton and multiple British 4X National Champion Dan Atherton. The Atherton’s influence is clear to see in the AM9, which the whole GT Atherton team has been testing since the beginning of the ...

The fifth annual Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival presented by Subaru of Twin Falls drew a large number of the biking community with an array of two-wheeled events June 25-28. From fierce competition in the SCOTT Enduro Cup presented by Vittoria and the new Shimano Boulder Mountain Fox Trot 50k cross-country race to the comedic ...

As of today, Chris King will be ramping up their production of Shimano Micro Spline freehub options to make them available for purchase on January 31st. Chris King Micro Spline driveshell uses a new bearing and axle design making them their lightest ever ISO hubs! Micro Spline conversion kits will fit all ISO B Boost ...

The new carbon Mach 429SL from Pivot Cycles shaves half a pound off the previous frame to come in at a very respectable 5.3 pounds. Match that to 100 mm of potent dw-link controlled suspension and this venerable favorite becomes even more attractive. New hollow-core carbon technology from Pivot not only reduces weight but also increases ...

By Eric McKeegan The Trail version of Shimano’s excellent XTR stoppers gets all the attention, but there is a Race version that deserves some attention as well. The power and control of the Trail brakes are well documented, but we’ve never had a chance to put the Race version through its paces, until now. Visually ...

In its unending march of product development, Shimano has announced its latest Acera line of mountain bike and trekking components will feature many of its technologies that once debuted at a higher price point. The new M3000 series features a new compact triple crank, the introduction of the Shadow rear derailleur design, and shifters that stand ...

This is Part 2 of my first real shakedown rides with the new Shimano XTR Di2 group. Read Part 1 here. In the span of just a few days since receiving the goods I was able to put almost 150 off-road miles on Shimano’s exciting new XTR Di2 electronic components. Here’s a rundown of how it ...

Shimano unveiled its fleet of long-term test bikes for its revolutionary electronic XTR mountain bike shifting in sunny Palm Springs, California. My bike is the potent Pivot Mach 429 Carbon, which is one of the first available to be designed specifically for all internal Di2 wire routing as well as battery storage. After a few ...

Joe Cocker passed way December 22. Say what you will about his singing, but there is no denying that man put his heart and soul and body into his performances. It was against that backdrop that I unpacked boxes this Christmas Eve, the help from our friends to get the XTR and Deore groups we have ...

First off, this is NOT Ui2. There is no such thing and never will be. A lot of folks think the “D” is for Dura-Ace, the trim level where the electronically-controlled shifting first appeared. It actually stands for “Shimano Digital Integration Intelligence” – Di2, get it? In the six years since it’s introduction, the concept ...

After a first ride on the new XTR at the Orbea Oiz launch this summer, we’ve been impatiently awaiting for the XTR groups to become available.  A few days ago, the wait was over. Peel off that shiny outer layer and things look even more classy. Just before the XTR stuff showed up, we also took ...

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Coming as a surprise, the entire fleet of media demo bikes for the recent Orbea Oiz launch was outfitted with 11-speed 2015 XTR, including four sets of the scarce electronic shifting M9050. We managed to put in a good ride on both groups. Shimano originally announced the new XTR back in April, and we got a ...

Not all hydration packs are created equal. I’ve been using these three all-purpose adventure packs lately and evaluating the pros and cons of each. Get a detailed report below.

For a long time there were two kinds of shoes to ride in: super-stiff race-type clipless shoes and skate-type flat pedal shoes. Luckily, the big brands have caught on that most of our riding falls somewhere in between. Shimano is the latest to offer a line of trail and enduro shoes that offer enhanced protection, ...

Electronics are all around us. When was the last time you rolled up a window in a car? Turned a dial to tune in a radio station? Wound up an alarm clock? Been awhile, right? Well, we’ve been pulling cables to change gears on mountain bikes for decades. Our road and cyclocross brethren have been ...

It was time for a new XTR, and with the introduction of single chainring groups from SRAM knocking at the door of the premier mountain bike component group, Shimano was facing a serious challenger. When the press gathered a few weeks ago at Shimano’s U.S. headquarters in Irvine, Calif., we were aware of the basics, now ...

Way back in issue #151, I reviewed Shimano’s MP66W shoes. Since then, Shimano has introduced the AM45 model to replace the MP66. I really liked the MP66, so I’m happy to see their spirit carried on in the AM45, with a few improvements. While the MP66 came to us from the BMX world, the AM45’s ...

If 10 or 11 gears are just too much for you, don’t fear, Shimano’s eight and nine speed drivetrains keep getting better and better, receiving many of the trickle-down technologies from higher priced units. For 2015 Shimano has updated the Tourney and Alivio groups, plus made tweaks to Alfine and Nexus. 

Shimano’s redesigned Saint group has garnered much attention this year from those looking for the crème de la crème of Shimano’s gravity line. Fortunately for budget-minded shredders, Shimano trickled many of Saint’s technologies down to a new, mid-priced rival called Zee. As with many of Shimano’s budget-friendly component offerings, Zee utilizes similar high-end technologies and ...

Shimano has never been known for its electronics – apart from the excellent Di2 shifting systems, today it announced it is joining the fray of action sports cameras with the CM-1000. The new camera is the latest from Shimano’s new Lifestyle Gear Division, targeting fishing AND cycling customers. I guess fishermen love HD video as ...

Photos by Maurice Tierney and Shimano In response to its rapid growth, Shimano American Corporation has expanded its Irvine, Calif., office building by some 48,000 square feet turning it into a massive 51,000 square foot distribution center. An entirely new, modern business center also opened directly across the street for Shimano’s marketing, R&D and inside ...

This Saint group is the third generation of Shimano’s high-end gravity offering. Where the previous two iterations erred on the heavier-duty freeride side of gravity riding, the new group has been nipped and tucked for a new focus on DH racing. We previously review Shimano’s Zee group in issue #169. Since Zee features a lot ...

Photography by Paris Gore and Sterling Lorence The long-awaited updates to Shimano‘s Deore XT and SLX groups have finally arrived. Last year the top of the line XTR group took it to 12-speed with a lot of significant updates and upgrades to the componentry. As of today, XT and SLX enter the 12-speed arena with ...

If you missed it last week Shimano has released the newest addition to their family of componentry in GRX. Geared (pun totally intended) towards gravel, cyclocross and adventure riding, Shimano builds on their existing road platforms by offering components to meet the demands of steeper and more grueling terrain. The GRX group will be offered ...

While the debate over ebikes continues on our mountain bike trails, there’s one place where there’s no question: the cargo and utility departments, where the ability to more easily transport one’s self-and-things without a car is changing lives for the better.

A few weeks back, Shimano took me (and other media) to the mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado for a few days of high-altitude riding on the newly-released, 12-speed XTR M9100. Unlike the previous two generations, this newest version of XTR looks and feels like a true redesign rather than a few small updatess. Shimano ...

Shimano’s component arm moves slowly with new product development, but when it comes to its shoes, Shimano clips along at a pretty fast rate. The new AM7 is Shimano’s newest clipless all-mountain/gravity shoe, also known as the SH-AM701. The old AM700 was a platform pedal shoe. The platform pedal version of this new shoe is ...

Everyone knew a new XTR group was coming, but what Shimano released today is still unexpected. The new 12-speed 10-51 cassette wasn’t that hard to guess, but three cassette choices are unexpected. There are new hubs and brakes as well, but let’s tackle the drivetrain first. (Full disclosure: this is all info from Shimano’s press ...

Casey Brown finds her passion living in Revelstoke, British Columbia – where the drastic season changes from winter to summer keep her life grounded as a professional mountain biker who has an appetite for the snow. Casey loves the town for its community and proximity to the mountains. “The thing that’s kept me here is ...

Words by Mike Cushionbury, photos by Eric McKeegan  When Shimano introduced its XTR Di2 electronic shifting system two years ago it was obvious that this technology would trickle down to the more affordable, second tier Deore XT. As in the past, trickle-down tech from XTR gets tweaked and improved when it reaches XT. In this ...

Shimano pedals and shoes Saint clipless pedals are now a thing, with replaceable traction pins. Deore XT trail pedals in two sizes! And a whole mess of new trail shoes in both clipless and flat pedals versions at more price points than I am capable of talking about right now. You should be able to ...

Words by Kurt Gensheimer, photos by Colin Meagher I’ve hauled ass down Baby Heads more times in my life than I can count, a thrilling high-speed jeep road descent that’s a staple of the Downieville Classic Cross Country race. It’s a trail that claims countless tires, rims and even bodies, because slamming into baby head ...