The latest news on the Shimano Deore Group reminds us that, as much as we would all like to own a ten thousand dollar trail bike, most of our wives would kick out ass. Plus there is that putting kids through college. Many avid riders, and some first-time mountain bikers will be hitting the trails this season aboard far more reasonably priced machines. The new Shimano Deore M6000-level component group is geared (pun intended) at the entry-level enthusiasts and cash strapped shredders who would much prefer XTR, but don’t quite have the budget
XT like levers
While the levers might now be XT, they sure to look a lot like them. Perhaps this is a sign that they will perform well with just a little extra weight. Wouldn’t that be sweet.
Hydraulic Brakes
Centerlock brake rotors and hubs, and while the Servo-Wave brake levers and Shimano ICE-compatible calipers are modeled very close to the well liked pleasant XT and XTR stoppers, you’ll have to pony up for the finned brake pads, because they are not standard fare.
Entry Level Trail Pedal
Shimano also added an SPD Trail pedal to its range that is reportedly priced to match the M6000 ensemble. The PDED500 pedal once again, puts one of Shimano’s most-wanted products into the hands of entry-level riders. Expect to see the 500-level pedals on demo fleets world wide. No price was available at the time of the press release.
Wheels have gradually become a staple product for Shimano and, while wide rims are still on the horizon, to keep in step, their wheel range is now available in Boost-width as well as standard-width axles. Two new 29” and 27.5” Deore XT wheelsets have wider axle options – a 110x15mm e-thru front- and a 148x12mm rear-axle spacing. Shimano says that the new wheelsets increase stiffness. Also new are rear thru axle hubs (AX-MT700 and AX-MT500) with smaller housings and lighter weights that feature greater clearance for frames and brake calipers.
