SHIMANO XTR
For all-mountain/trail use it really is hard to fault this XTR set-up. XTR has always been revered as the ‘best of the best’ and we think it is fair to say that Shimano are doing a good job of keeping it that way; superlight, super-efficient and super-cool. Constant innovation and refinement to XTR has brought it well and truly into the new-school of trail riding and we can be very thankful to Shimano for bringing us the Shadow+ rear mech with its clutch system – probably the greatest advance in component technology in recent times. It’s simple, but not having your rear mech slapping into the frame or your chain flapping in the wind is such a revolution that it seems absolutely mad that someone didn’t think of it before.
Never the cheapest, in fact quite the opposite, but with XTR you know you’re getting the finest, most desirable components available, and with this set-up you’ll get perfect shifts every time for a long time.
Price: Rear Mech : £174.99, Shifters : £174.99 (pair), Cassette : £209.99, Chainset : £459.99
