Intro
Shimano last updated their flagship XTR group back in 2018, and there’s been a ton of speculation in recent years about whether and when a wireless electronic version would show up (largely due to the popularity of rival SRAM’s wireless AXS and Transmission systems).
That can all be put to rest, because the latest M9200-generation XTR groupset has indeed gone to wireless shifting — but that’s far from the end of the story. Shimano has also overhauled their XTR brakes, returned to offering XTR wheelsets, and a whole lot more.
Some of the things that aren’t new are also notable, especially in the mountain bike world, where standards can often seem fleeting. The new XTR group is still 12-speed and uses the same Hyperglide+ tooth profile as their existing 12-speed offerings (in fact, the current M9100 chain carries over unchanged). The cassettes still use a Microspline mounting interface, the crank spindles are still 24 mm in diameter, and Shimano hasn’t changed their direct-mount chainring interface or I-Spec EV integrated clamps, either.
Shimano plans to continue to offer XTR M9100 mechanical parts for the foreseeable future as well.
There’s a whole lot to cover, so we’ll first dive into all the design details, options, etc., and then we’ll discuss how the new XTR groupset has performed on our test bikes over the past few months.
[We’ve covered the new XTR brakes in much more detail in their own review. Here, we’re focusing on the drivetrain and wheels.]
XTR Derailleurs
One of the big points of speculation about the new XTR group was whether the derailleur would use some sort of direct-mount design a-la the SRAM Transmission, or if it would continue to use a conventional derailleur hanger.
So, we’ll start there: the hanger stays.
Shimano’s take is that a derailleur hanger is still important to protect the derailleur from certain types of damage (e.g., falling straight down onto a rock), and that maintaining the ability for the derailleur to rotate rearward on its mounting bolt is also valuable.
[For reference, SRAM’s T-Type derailleurs can rotate rearward, too, but the mounting interface introduces a lot more friction in that pivot than there is with a normal derailleur hanger mount. That means that a T-Type derailleur doesn’t move as freely and can get stuck back if you hit it on something, requiring you to get off the bike and reset it.]
Shimano has emphasized derailleur durability with their new XTR group and has come up with some interesting design details to meet that goal.
The battery (on versions that feature one — more on that below) is nestled in the middle of the parallelogram and is secured with a slide-on hatch. The motor and gearbox are housed at the back of the derailleur, where they’re shielded from impact damage.
The cage on the new derailleur has been beefed up substantially (still with a carbon fiber outer plate and an aluminum inner one), and the pulleys are now solid so that there’s nowhere for sticks or other debris to get stuck in them. The outer cage plate also fully covers the lower pulley to help prevent sticks and brush from getting sucked in.
The new XTR derailleur includes an automatic recovery feature, whereby it can get pushed inboard (i.e., as if performing a downshift) by an obstacle without overloading and breaking the motor / gearbox. The derailleur then shifts itself back to the selected gear once it’s clear of the obstacle.
Shimano has also substantially slimmed down the P-knuckle (the forward part of the parallelogram where the cage mounts) of the new derailleur, and made it much more wedge-shaped to help it deflect off obstacles more effectively. Doing so required redesigning the friction clutch that manages cage / chain movement on their mechanical derailleurs — to the point that it’s no longer a clutch at all.
Shimano refers to the new system as a “stabilizer,” since it uses a pair of springs rather than a clutch to slow the movement of the cage and keep chain slap in check. Shimano says that the spring-based stabilizer also requires no maintenance and won’t experience any performance degradation as it wears, unlike a friction-clutch-based system. The new design is also claimed to increase chain tension by about 70% (it varies a bit depending on the gear) for improved chain wrap and less chance of skipping, even with a well-worn cassette.
The new XTR derailleurs are also compatible with Shimano’s existing wireless Di2 drop-bar and Cues shifters if you want to mix and match.
Derailleur Versions
XTR M9250 Derailleurs
- MSRP: $665 (Derailleur only; Battery: $55 / Charger: $45)
- Stated Weight: 389 g (GS short cage) / 391 g (SGS long cage) + 24 g (Battery)
- Blister’s Measured Weight: 393 g (SGS long cage version) + 23 g (Battery)
XTR M9260 Derailleurs
- MSRP: $665
- Stated Weight: 372 g (both versions)
There are also two dedicated eMTB derailleurs, which use a wired connection to the eMTB’s main battery for power instead of having their own dedicated power source.
Both feature a long (SGS) cage; the difference is that one (RD-M9260-12) is designed for 12-speed Hyperglide+ and the other (RD-M9260-11) works with 11-speed Linkglide cassettes and chains. Shimano’s take is that the 12-speed version will be the main OE option offered on complete eMTBs, with the 11-speed Linkglide setup offered aftermarket for folks who want a more durable chain and cassette at the expense of one gear and less smooth shifting. Adapters are available to plug the derailleur into eMTB drive systems from Shimano, Bosch, and TQ; support for more drive systems is planned in the future.
Both the eMTB versions support Free Shift (pulsing the main drive motor to allow for shifting while coasting) and Auto Shift (automatic gear selection based on cadence and other factors), both of which can be toggled on or off in Shimano’s E-Tube app. There’s also no reason you can’t run the standard M9250 derailleur on an eMTB (with a HG+ 12-speed cassette and chain) if you’d prefer. You cannot add a battery to the wired eMTB derailleurs, however.
Shifter
- MSRP: $220
- Stated Weight: 97 g (I-Spec EV Integrated Mount) / 104 g (Standalone Clamp Mount)
- Blister’s Measured Weight: 93 g (I-Spec EV, including batteries)
For reference, Shimano’s main rival, SRAM, has evolved their own wireless MTB shifters over the years, but a consistent throughline is that SRAM has used the freedom afforded by electronic actuation to come up with novel form factors and decidedly different ergonomics vs. conventional cable-actuated options.
With their new XTR shifter, Shimano has taken the opposite approach and come up with an electronic shifter that looks and feels much more like a mechanical one.
That wasn’t a given. Shimano says that they tried several more out-there prototypes, but the feedback they got from their athletes and other internal testers was that they wanted a shifter that… feels like a shifter.
The XTR M9200 shifter uses two thumb-actuated paddles, with distinct clicks for each press. The paddles are mounted on something akin to a ball-and-socket joint, so that their orientation and placement are individually adjustable. An Allen bolt on the end of the paddle locks them down; with the bolt loose, you can rotate the paddle on the joint in two axes. The direction that the paddle moves when you shift does not change with that adjustment.
By default, the higher, more rearward paddle shifts your gears down, and the lower, more forward one shifts up, but the mapping is reversible in the phone app if desired.
As with Shimano’s higher-end mechanical shifters, the XTR M9200 also features two clicks / gear shifts per paddle, with a second, firmer detent following the first one to indicate a second gear shift. Both paddles are designed to be actuated with your thumb, only — the option to pull the upshift paddle rearward with your index finger has been dropped.
The multi-click feature can be enabled or disabled with a quarter-turn screw on the bottom of the new XTR shifter. One setting opens up both clicks on both paddles, while the other physically blocks the second click. This setting applies to both paddles (i.e., you can’t set one to have two clicks and the other to offer just one).
However, there’s more to it — thanks to its electronic adjustability, the new XTR shifter opens up a lot of possibilities for customization. There’s a lot to cover, but we’ll do our best to detail the highlights with some degree of brevity.
Through Shimano’s app, you can program the shifter to ignore the second click on one or both of the paddles. E.g., if you want to allow two clicks on the downshift paddle and only one on the upshift one, you’d turn the quarter-turn screw to its multi-click setting, and then disable the “use multi-click” setting for the upshift paddle in the app. In that case, you’ll feel the second click on both paddles if you press through to it, but the second click on the upshift paddle won’t command the derailleur to do anything.
The XTR shifter also offers a number of options for “multi-shift” functionality, independent of whether or not the second physical click on the shifter is enabled. Enabling multi-shift tells the derailleur to shift multiple gears if you hold down the paddle, within certain customizable parameters. Here’s the short version of the options:
- Multi-shift disabled. The derailleur shifts once per click of the shifter. You can choose whether you have one or two clicks available per sweep of the paddles using the quarter-turn screw on the shifter.
- Multi-shift enabled. The derailleur can shift multiple gears per click on the shifter, with several customizable options.
- Multi-shift can be enabled for only the “first level” (i.e., the first click on the shifter), only the “second level” (the second click deeper in the paddle’s stroke), or both.
- The number of gears shifted per multi-shift event can be set to unlimited (i.e., the derailleur will shift across the entire cassette if you hold the paddle down long enough) or to only allow either two or three shifts for each time you perform a multi-shift.
- The speed at which the derailleur shifts in multi-shift mode is customizable with five different settings (very slow, slow, normal, fast, and very fast).
Separately, there is a dedicated e-bike mode that limits how quickly you can shift across multiple gears to avoid drivetrain damage. All of the same multi-shift options are still available, but the derailleur will limit how quickly it executes multiple shifts to preserve the chain and cassette.
The XTR shifter is powered by two CR1632 coin cell batteries and is available in both standalone clamp and I-Spec EV integrated mount versions.
There’s also a third button on the face of the shifter, which defaults to putting the shifter into “trim mode” with a long press (i.e., working like a barrel adjuster on a mechanical shifter). In trim mode, the shift paddles make slight adjustments to the derailleur alignment relative to the cassette, rather than performing full shifts. A second long press of the third button reverts the shifter to its regular shift mode.
XTR M9200 Cassette
- MSRP: $500
- Gearing Options: 10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-33-39-45-51 / 9-11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-33-39-45
- Stated Weight: 369 g (10-51 version) / 327 g (9-45 version)
- Blister’s Measured Weight: 367 g (10-51 version)
Shimano is still offering two different cassettes with different gearing options for the new XTR group, but interestingly, their overall gear ranges aren’t very different.
The gearing on the standard 10-51 tooth cassette is unchanged from Shimano’s current 12-speed options, but the compact version now gets 9-45 gearing, rather than 10-45 as before. That, of course, produces higher gearing than the 10-51 cassette if used with the same chainring, but the overall range on the compact cassette (500%) is very close to that of the larger one (510%).
That means that the 10-51 and 9-45 cassettes produce very similar gearing if you run a four-tooth smaller chainring on the 9-45 one (e.g., a 32-tooth ring on the 10-51 cassette and a 28-tooth one on the 9-45). Shimano says that the compact cassette (and the shorter-cage derailleur that goes with it) saves a bit of weight, offers better chain control due to the shorter derailleur cage, and increases ground clearance both at the derailleur cage and the chainring (assuming you size the chainring to maintain similar gearing across both setups).
The potential downsides to the compact setup are that it won’t fit on every bike, either due to clearance at the dropout for the nine-tooth cog, or (more likely) at the chainstay if you’re running a small enough chainring to produce similar gearing to the 10-51 cassette with a normal sized chainring. Shimano also doesn’t make a chainring smaller than 28 teeth, so your options are limited if you want to replicate your preferred gearing via a sub-32-tooth chainring on a 10-51 cassette. Changing the chainring size that much will also make some changes to a given bike’s anti-squat behavior, though how significant (or not) those are will depend on the bike in question.
The construction of the new cassettes hasn’t changed all that much. Both versions still use aluminum for the three largest cogs, titanium for the middle five, and steel for the four smallest. The aluminum cogs are no longer painted black so that they don’t show wear as quickly, and the bases of certain teeth have been beefed up for improved durability, but that’s about it for changes.
Shimano’s Microspline mounting standard carries forward unchanged. The 10-51 tooth cassette uses a standard lockring, but there isn’t room for a standard cassette tool inside a 9-tooth cog; the 9-45 cassette integrates the 9-tooth cog into the lockring and thus requires a special tool.
XTR Cranks
Shimano has streamlined their crank offerings by designing the new XTR drivetrain around a 55 mm chainline, intended for use on a 148 mm Boost rear hub, and finally dropping the option for a 2x chainring setup.
There are now just two XTR crank variants on offer. The M9200 XC version gets a lighter spindle and a 168 mm Q-factor, while the Enduro-oriented M9220 crank has a beefed-up spindle and wider 176 mm Q-factor.
Both versions still use Shimano’s signature hollow-forged aluminum crank arms (Shimano says they’re the lightest they’ve made yet) with a 24 mm diameter spindle that’s permanently fixed to the drive-side arm, as has been the case with Shimano’s mountain cranks for a couple of decades now.
XTR M9200 Crank
- Intended Use: XC
- Lengths Offered: 165, 170, and 175 mm
- MSRP: $310 (Crank Arms & Spindle) + $150 (Chainring)
- Stated Weight: n/a
- Blister’s Measured Weight: 733 g (170 mm crank arms and spindle, 32t chainring, 2x bash guards)
XTR M9220 Crank
- Intended Use: Trail / Enduro
- Lengths Offered: 160, 165, 170, and 175 mm
- MSRP: $310 (Crank Arms & Spindle) + $150 (Chainring)
- Stated Weight: n/a
- Blister’s Measured Weight: 530 g (170 mm Crank Arms & Spindle) + 65 g (32t chainring)
XTR M9100 Chain
- MSRP: $85
- Stated Weight: 242 g
- Blister’s Measured Weight: 264 g
The XTR chain hasn’t changed at all — the M9100 version carries over to the new group. As such, the new XTR cassettes are compatible with existing Shimano 12-speed mechanical drivetrains, and vice versa.
I.e., if you’d like to upgrade your current Shimano 12-speed drivetrain to wireless shifting, you can just swap in the new XTR shifter and derailleur and be off and running.
XTR M9200 Di2 Upgrade Kit
- MSRP: $985
- Includes: Derailleur, Shifter, Battery, Charger, & Chain Quick Link
Given the cross-compatibility between the new XTR Di2 group and the existing mechanical 12-speed one, Shimano is offering a Di2 “Upgrade Kit” that includes the new shifter and derailleur, a battery and charger, and a new chain quick link (they’re not officially reusable) to make it as easy as possible to swap the new Di2 shifter and derailleur onto an existing Shimano 12-speed-equipped bike.
Shimano does say that the new XTR Di2 derailleurs are optimized to work with a 55 mm chainline on a 148 mm Boost rear wheel; Shimano’s 12-speed mechanical groups offer crank versions for both 52 and 55 mm chainlines. Shimano’s take is that running a 52 mm chainline on a 142 mm non-boost or 148 mm Boost rear end still works okay, as does a 55 mm chainline on a 157 mm Super Boost hub; a 55 mm chainline on a 148 mm hub is the only combo they describe as “optimal.”
I’ve run the new group on both 148 mm Boost and 157 mm Super Boost bikes, and frankly haven’t noticed any real difference in shifting performance. I don’t think most people need to worry about it too much, but it is worth keeping chainline and hub spacing in mind if you’re taking the upgrade path. If need be, running the new XTR chainring (zero offset) on one of Shimano’s prior-generation 52 mm chainline cranks (which use 3 mm offset chainrings) produces a 55 mm chainline.
XTR Wheels
Shimano is also bringing back XTR wheelsets, again in M9200 (XC) and M9220 (Enduro) versions.
Both use the same new hubs (which are available on their own as well) and carbon fiber rims. Both are available in 29’’ diameter and in 110×15 mm (front) / 148×12 mm (rear) Boost spacing only, with Centerlock rotor mounts and a Microspline driver.
The hubs now roll on sealed cartridge bearings with ample secondary sealing built in. Shimano says that they stuck with cup and cone bearings far longer than most manufacturers, not out of principled opposition to cartridge bearings in general, but because they hadn’t been able to achieve the combination of low drag and robust sealing that they were after.
XTR M9200 Wheels
- Intended Use: XC
- MSRP: $1,145 (front) / $1,250 (rear)
- Stated Weight: 517 g (front) / 640 g (rear)
The M9200 XC wheelset uses hooked carbon rims with a 29.6 mm internal width and 24 straight-pull titanium spokes per wheel; they come in at a remarkably low stated weight of 1,157 grams for the pair.
The hooked rim design is unusual these days, but it helps Shimano save some weight off the rim as compared to a hookless design (though Shimano doesn’t publish a weight for the rims on their own). The rims are asymmetric to even out the spoke bracing angles.
XTR M9220 Wheels
- Intended Use: Trail / Enduro
- MSRP: $800 (front) / $915 (rear)
- Stated Weight: 840 g (front) / 951 g (rear)
- Blister’s Measured Weight: 845 g (front) / 972 g (rear)
XTR M9200 Hubs
- Versions Offered: 110 x 15 mm front / 148 x 12 mm rear axle spacing, Centerlock rotor mount Microspline driver, 28- or 32-hole drilling
- MSRP: $170 (front) / $365 (rear)
- Stated Weight: 121 g (front) / 231 g (rear)
On-Trail Performance — XTR Di2 Groupset
To cut right to the chase, the new XTR group shifts extremely well. It’s smooth, quiet, shifts well under load, and I can’t recall missing a shift over my time on it. It also shifts a whole lot faster than SRAM Transmission when you want to make a bunch of shifts in one go.
The XTR M9200 group shifts a lot like an electrified version of the current mechanical XTR group. Given their commonality in cassette and chain profiles, that isn’t a huge surprise. But what does that mean in practice?
The XTR Di2 group can’t run across the entire cassette quite as quickly as the mechanical version can (especially in a workstand; the differences are less pronounced in most real-world scenarios). However, the electronic version shifts more accurately and is far less prone to skipping gears when downshifting a bunch of gears at once.
The faster you try to make a whole bunch of downshifts (on any drivetrain), the more likely you are to have the chain skip; the XTR Di2 group does a nice job of shifting fast enough for most real-world purposes without letting you overdo it too badly. (And, again, a bunch of parameters relating to shifting speed are adjustable, as we described above.)
I’ve been mildly annoyed by the shifting speed of SRAM Transmission at times, but haven’t found the XTR Di2 group to be lacking on that front for my purposes. If you want to be able to downshift across the whole cassette as fast as is absolutely possible, the XTR mechanical group is probably still a little faster, but also requires more finesse to get the most out of it; the Di2 version is pretty quick, while just shifting accurately and without fuss even if you’re pretty ham-fisted in your shift timing. There’s a bit of a chirp from the motor / gearbox on each shift, but it’s substantially quieter than SRAM’s AXS derailleurs.
I’ve generally been a bit lukewarm about the concept of electronic shifting in general — it’s way more expensive than mechanical systems, the derailleurs are heavier, and I’d rather not worry about charging batteries if I don’t have to. But there are some real upsides when it comes to shifting accuracy.
I’ve found electronic derailleurs, the new XTR one included, to require far less adjustment over time than their cable-actuated counterparts, and to shift more crisply and precisely in certain challenging situations, particularly when the bike is bouncing around over rougher terrain.
My hunch is that the added rigidity offered by the electronic actuation helps there. On a conventional cable-actuated derailleur, the only thing stopping the derailleur from moving farther inboard (i.e., shifting toward a lower gear) than desired is the parallelogram spring, which can’t be too stiff because you need to overcome it to downshift; with an electronic derailleur, the gearbox can hold the parallelogram rigidly in place in both directions.
As much as I like the shifting of the XTR M9100 mechanical group, the Di2 one feels more precise in how it shifts, especially when dropping to a lower gear.
The biggest thing I haven’t liked about electronic mountain bike shifting — by which I mean SRAM’s offerings, since they’ve been the main game in town until now — is the shifter feel and ergonomics.
Most of SRAM’s various AXS shifter variants — especially the Pod controller that they debuted with Transmission — haven’t provided nearly as much tactile feedback as I’d like when it comes to which of the two shift paddles / buttons my thumb is on, and whether or not I’ve actually pressed it. The pre-Pod AXS Rocker Controller is my favorite option from SRAM, since it separates the up- and downshift paddles most clearly, but their layout isn’t quite dialed for my preferences, and there’s still little feedback about when and whether you’ve actually pushed one of them fully.
XTR M9200 Di2 Shifter
That brings us to the XTR Di2 shifter. I’m a huge fan of Shimano’s decision to try to make it feel like a regular shifter. They’ve done an excellent job of making it extremely intuitive to use, with great tactile feedback on each click, but a shorter throw and much lighter action on the paddles than you get with a standard mechanical one.
And that combination is great. The action of the XTR shifter is light and the throw is short, making it super easy to actuate with minimal thumb movement, but there’s super clear delineation between the two paddles and great tactile feedback for each click. It’s my favorite mountain bike shifter I’ve ever used — electronic or mechanical — and is miles better than any of SRAM’s electronic options in my book.
The adjustability of the XTR Di2 paddles is also excellent. I’m able to get both of them positioned just where I want so that my thumb falls neatly on both. And, because the throw is fairly short, you don’t need to compromise between having both the start and end positions of the paddle reachable for it to all work well.
I like Shimano’s 12-speed mechanical shifters overall, but would love to be able to have the larger downshift paddle tucked under the bar a little more without rotating the whole shifter down and moving the upshift paddle down/forward as well. The XTR Di2 shifter leaves ample room to set things up just so.
That said, I can’t adjust the shifter quite as far inboard as I’d like with the integrated I-Spec EV mount. For reference, I’ve got big hands (XL or XXL glove, depending on the model) and consistently run my shifter and dropper lever inboard of the brakes when using standalone clamps for both, so that my thumbs don’t overlap with the paddles on those controls too much.
I needed to use a Wolf Tooth Shift Mix clamp to convert the I-Spec EV shifter to a standalone clamp to get it where I wanted; the standalone clamp version of the new shifter would probably work, but I haven’t gotten my hands on one.
XTR M9250 Di2 Derailleur
I’ve also had good luck with the durability of the new XTR derailleur so far. I really like the shifting performance of the prior-gen XTR mechanical group, but its derailleurs are relatively easy to bend out of alignment, and tough to fix once you’ve done so. I’ve hit the new one quite hard a few times (and bent one derailleur hanger in the process), and the derailleur is still straight and shifting perfectly. The new derailleur seems to be quite a bit beefier than the prior-gen one.
Shimano’s new spring-based chain stabilizer (which replaces the friction clutch in their mechanical 12-speed derailleurs) seems to have some pros and cons.
Just from a packaging perspective (which was Shimano’s main rationale for the switch), the ramped P-knuckle that it facilitates seems like a real asset in protecting the derailleur from impact damage. The spring-based design also shouldn’t wear down and lose efficacy over time, or need periodic maintenance — and it certainly hasn’t so far.
I also think the spring-based design might make for slightly smoother downshifting. A friction-clutch design will provide more resistance before it starts moving, and a bit less once it’s actually sliding. This can lead to a slightly stiff, crunchy feel when you start to execute a shift (especially, but not exclusively, if the clutch is a bit gunked up or corroded). That’s not the case with the spring-based design. In theory, the spring-based design should also be a little bit less of an impediment to suspension performance, but I can’t say I’ve really noticed a clear difference there.
The tradeoff is that I’ve found the new XTR derailleur to produce slightly more audible chain slap than the prior-generation mechanical version. I haven’t had any issues with dropping chains or anything like that — despite not running a chaingude throughout my time with the new group — but I have heard a little more chain slap. How much of an issue that is, of course, depends a lot on the bike in question — some are much louder than others. I noticed more noise on the Transition Sentinel that I used for the first part of the test; the We Are One Arrival that I switched to partway through is a lot quieter.
Battery life on the XTR Di2 derailleur has been quite good as well — a little better than SRAM Transmission, at least in my case. Unlike SRAM’s wireless derailleurs, the XTR one doesn’t wake up when the bike is shaken, to avoid draining the battery in transit. The upshot is that you need to push the shifter a couple of times to awaken the XTR derailleur, and it doesn’t respond to the first attempted shift, but I haven’t had any issues with it timing out mid-ride or anything like that. I make a habit of charging the battery every few rides so that I don’t need to worry about it going flat on me, and I haven’t come close to that happening.
XTR M9220 Cranks & Wheels
I don’t have much to report about the new cranks — they’ve done their job without fuss. I’m also glad to see the pinch-bolt interface return to the XTR crank. The self-extracting design on the prior-gen XTR crank works fine (and arguably looks a little cleaner), but the pinch-bolt layout is a little quicker and easier to work on (especially trailside with a multi-tool). The M9220 Enduro-spec crank feels a little stiffer than the prior-generation M9120 crank, though it’s also a little heavier (530 g for the arms and spindle vs. 486 g, in a 170 mm length for both).
The M9220 Enduro wheels have been similarly trouble-free. The new hubs roll well, engage plenty quickly for my taste, and the freehub mechanism feels reassuringly solid. The freehub is far from silent, but it’s not massively loud either, and its tone is a bit lower-pitched than average. The sealing on both the freehub and axles seems especially robust, particularly given that the new XTR hubs roll pretty well — all the internals are remarkably clean, even after a combination of some Arizona dust and a wet Pacific Northwest spring.
The wheels are on the stiffer side by modern standards, but they don’t feel totally off the deep end on that front. If you’re looking for a notably compliant carbon wheelset, I’d look elsewhere (FWIW, I found the XTR M9220 wheels to be stiffer than I wanted on my hardtail). But on a bike with more suspension, they’re a reasonable option for folks who want something pretty stout-feeling. At just over 1,800 grams for the pair, they’re also on the lighter side for an Enduro-rated wheelset.
Bottom Line
Shimano took their time bringing their first wireless MTB drivetrain to market, but the end result is impressive.
The XTR Di2 group shifts extremely well — and notably faster than SRAM Transmission. The XTR Di2’s shifter feel and ergonomics are stellar, and the Di2 rear derailleur has shrugged off some impacts that I think would have probably damaged its mechanical counterpart.
Whether that’s all worth paying for or not is going to be much more subjective — a top-tier wireless drivetrain is almost definitionally not the best bang-for-buck option out there — but the performance of the new XTR Di2 group is truly excellent.
Great writeup. No word on the xc wheels? Scary light. They almost need a wheelset smack dab between the xc and enduro.
In the end, this almost reads like: The new Di2 stuff works really well, or, for a lot less money, you can still buy the mechanical version, which works just as well.
No, we haven’t gotten our hands on the XC wheels yet.
As for the Di2 vs. mechanical comparison, I’ll put it this way: taking price out of the equation, I’m taking the Di2 one, and it’s not a hard call. The shifter is spectacular, it shifts more accurately, and the derailleur seems decidedly burlier. I’ll happily live with managing batteries for all that.
Looks rediculous