A fortnight after launching their flagship groupset, XTR Di2, their venerable XT and Deore drivetrains get the same wireless treatment.
Mountain bike Shimano Di2 groupsets triple with the addition of XT and Deore Di2 offerings with the lower tier offerings retaining the critical parts of the XTR Di2 with different materials used to come in at lower price points.
Shimano XT Di2
On the rear mech, the XT Di2 sports an alloy cage compared to XTR’s carbon fibre number. It retains the Shadow ES technology, impact recovery, battery integration and protection of its bigger brother. A wired EMTB option is available and the mech is available in long or short cage. It’s also available in Linkglide too.
The chainset retains much of the XTR tech with Hollowtech II arms and steel axle. Primary differences are choice with only one option on the cranks rather than the gravity and endurance options of the XTR. You get a 176mm Q-factor, 160 to 175mm arms in 5mm increments, 55mm chain line and chain rings from 28 to 36t.
The shifter looks to offer all the mounting and adjustability options of the XTR. Brakes also have the three options. $-piston, 2-piston and 2-piston post-mount. The latter mostly being for XC bikes with brake mounts inside the rear triangle.
An XT Di2 mech will set you back £429.99, the shifter £159.99, £149.99 for the cassette, £39.99 for the battery and £29.99 for the charger. Total is £809.95. Price for cranks were not in the original pricing we saw, but with SRAM XO transmission, XT’s main competitor, being £1700+, the cranks will have to be made of solid gold for this not to be a considerable saving.
Shimano Deore Di2
There’s a strong family resemblance with Shimano Deore Di2 and again, it’s more in the materials than the function allowing it to be more wallet-friendly. Starting with the mech, the cage is now steel rather than aluminium or carbon fibre. You also get solid jockey wheels rather than the lighter ones of its more expensive siblings. You also only get a long cage option but in both wireless and wired. It’s also available in Linkglide too.
The shifter again sports the same features as the big dogs, making the Deore model the cheapest of the lot, and from what we can see, doesn’t offer any difference in performance. Again, the materials may be different… Beyond this, Deore doesn’t get a new raft of brakes and wheels with the venerable brakes etc continuing to provide solid service.
A Deore Di2 mech will set you back £374.99 and the shifter £124.99.
You can check out the new Shimano XT and Deore Di2 over on their website here.
