Loenel,

No 10sp (didn't make sense with current spacing). Big changes, however, that are pretty awesome.

Shifting (and brakes) -- imagine road dual control shift/brake levers turned on their side, but with bombproof 3 bearing XTR shifter internals attached to super svelte, one-piece body hydraulic disc brake calipers.

Cranks -- Two piece system featuring hollow crank arms, super oversized hollow BB spindle and oversized cartridge bearings (save over 70 grams over current XTR BB/crank combo).

Vova,
Don't know of any pics on line yet, but maybe MTBReview. I know Mountain Bike and VeloNews will have print articles any time now and their will be stuff up on the Shimano web site within this month.

You definitely have to experience it to fully appreciate it though!

Devin

Awww Man I was hopping you'd say that thumb shifters were comming back.......:(

When I was working at a shop earlier this summer, we got a nice little card from Simano informing us we'd need a whole bunch of new tools for the new XTR :rolleyes:

Shimano, the Microsoft of bikes. Except Shimano's stuff works :D

Those shift/brake levers sound cool for XC, but for FR or DH I bet you'd get accidental shifts.

I've never thought XTR justified the cost. Shimano makes great shifters and derailleurs, but everything else you can get better quality for less.

Jeez, am I turning into the DRM of the MTB board ?!?!?! :p

You'll need three new tools, total.

Two of them, for the bottom bracket, will be supplied with the crank / BB assembly. A lot of the shops will also get them sent to them for free.

The third tool is for the disc brake rotor lockring. The tool is actually a new version of the cassette lockring that is a little deeper so that it can accommodate the rear axle. So this tool will replace a tool currently on the bench and work on more parts.

Don't know if accidental shifts will be a problem or not, but even though XTR is designed for XC, a lot of the downhiller / dual guys are interested in trying the shifters for that use.

As far as better parts for less money?....LOL. I suppose the best I can say is reserve some judgement for when you get to check it out in person. No doubt it ain't cheap!

I just bought a new Snata Cruz and I couldn't justify the extra cash for the XTR so I went XT again. :D Mission Viejo, how far south of LA is that? Maybe we can ride.;)

Congrats! At least you got a great frame that will justify an upgrade on components later if you decide you want to do that. I know several guys riding the Superlights and we recently had a Blur at our office that we got to play around with. It's nice stuff.

MV is about 5 miles south of the 5 / 405 FWY split, so depending where in LA you are 35 to 60 minutes.

Let me know if you'll be in the area and we'll see if we can hook somethin' up. I'll be travelling a ton over the next six weeks, but it'll slow down a bit after that.

What do you do?

Sounds to me like he's a Shimano sales-drone :flipoff2:

I'm a product manager for Shimano, but even if I were a "sales drone", I'd still dig my job more than most guys out there.

Very cool. How about some free stuff?:flipoff2: Seriously though, I'd love to hook up and ride.:D

Sloan,

Check your PM's.

Devin

So do we get a POR discount;)

Sorry, you'll have to talk to your bike shop about that;)

But, of course, advice (good and bad) is still completely free.

Sweet... but still no thumb shifters?

Still no thumbshifters.

You'll have to try this guy out:

http://www.geocities.com/bultillo/

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/?id=2002/features/shimanoXTR2003

Here ya go. Is it just me, or is that an ugly crankset?:barf:

Originally posted by Devin Walton
Sorry, you'll have to talk to your bike shop about that;)


If the indy bike shops got the same discount on Shimano components the mail order outfits did, that might work.:rolleyes:

Originally posted by Devin Walton
Still no thumbshifters.

You'll have to try this guy out:

http://www.geocities.com/bultillo/

Thanks :beer: , for some reason I couldnt get that link to work when I saw it in Dirt Rag

The XTR wheelset is really nice ,especially the part about being able to use either tubeless or regular tires http://velonews.com/tech/report/articles/2964.0.html
but the price is a little too high.i guess I will stick with my Chris king wheels:rolleyes:

Your Chris King set up is probably lighter anyway. The two biggest reasons to switch to the new XTR wheels (if your current wheels are in good shape) would be to get a superlight tubeless set-up and to get the trick new disc rotor mount set up (no more broken or stripped out rotor bolts!).