More or less everybody has owned Shimano on one of their bikes at some point. Peronally, I’m a grip shift lover and have opted for SRAM X.0 Twist Grip shifters on many occasions over the last decade.
Readers will also know my love for Rohloff gear hubs which offer trouble free shifting and no chain slap on a hardtail or almost none on a full suspension bike.
With the desire to run axle widths a Rohloff hub can’t match, such as 142mm standard, derailleurs are the only option.
I can’t stand a slack chain and noise however, so the release of the Shimano XTR Shadow Plus derailleur, with it’s inertia resisting feature is quite exciting. Yes friends and family, I do find this kind of thing exciting.
The new Shimano XTR Shadow Plus is not cheap, but at £169.99, is totally comparable to other top-end mech’s like Shimano’s Dura-Ace mech from the Road groupset, or SRAM’s X.0 and cheaper than their range topping X.X.
The unique feature that sets this unit apart, is it’s chain stabilising switch, that when on will reduce chain bounce in rough terrain, maintaining more stable drive and shifting. You can even adjust how taught this switch makes the mech. Shifting is still super smooth in the usual light feeling XTR manner.
Also in the typical XTR fashion, the mech is surprisingly light for such a rugged edition to the range topping groupset. Minimal material and a carbon carbon help towards this low weight.
Video Full review coming soon. But for the time being, here’s MPORA helping us understand how the Shadow Plus actually works.
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