Shimano XTR M9100

Crankset £309.99, chainring £99.99, chain £49.99, cassette £289.99, Boost rear hub £249.99, rear mech £189.99, shifter £94.99 Category-leading shifting, at a high price

Never ones to be outdone, Shimano’s highly anticipated 12-speed XTR M9100 transmission is finally out there in the wild and initial impressions are seriously positive. The new ‘Hyperglide+’ cassette trumps SRAM’s benchmark Eagle offerings, in terms of gear range at least, thanks to its biggest 51t sprocket (the smallest is 10t, just like SRAM’s). This means its overall range is a massive 510 per cent. It does require Shimano’s new ‘Micro Spline’ freehub to work though, which features a 7.6-degree engagement angle and is silent when not pedalling (because the ratchet system disengages). The new XTR ‘Rapidfire Plus’ shifter offers more adjustment than the previous iteration, to get it sitting just where you want it on the bar, and has been designed to have a lighter and faster action. A neat rubber pad on the thumb paddle gives an improved feel and better purchase. The beautifully-sculpted ‘Hollowtech II’ crankset features Shimano’s latest direct-mount chainring (attaching in a similar fashion to their ‘Center Lock’ disc rotors), which has been reshaped for better chain engagement and less noise. There’s an all-new rear mech too, which has been made as slim as possible for maximum clearance, has less tension when in the lower gears to keep things smoother and quieter, and features a cage bumper to stop the mech contacting the chain when it’s on the smaller sprockets. www.madison.co.uk