Component of the Year Winner
Shimano XTR Di2 DrivetrainThis year's Product of the Year finalists included Schwalbe's ProCore system, 9Point8's new dropper post, and Shimano's XTR Di2 drivetrain. All of them help advance the sport in some way, whether by preventing flat tires, eliminating dropper post maintenance woes, or delivering perfect shifting every single time.
Of course, there can only be one winner, and that honor goes to Shimano for their introduction of electronic shifting to the mountain bike world. XTR Di2 takes the lessons that Shimano learned from their electronic road gruppo over the last six years and applies them to a drivetrain that can withstand the mud, water, and grit that accompany mountain biking, all without missing a shift.
Shimano Di2 XTR Drivetrain The exorbitant price of the XTR Di2 drivetrain prevent it from truly disrupting the industry, but it's a sign of things to come, and it's not unreasonable to think that electronic shifting could someday be the norm at a certain pricepoint. As battery life has increased and the size of electronic components has decreased, it's becoming more and more feasible to integrate them into a mountain bike. Shimano's no stranger to alternative drivetrain technologies (anyone remember Airlines?), but electronic shifting looks like it's here to stay, especially since SRAM is rumored to be throwing their hat into the ring in the near future.
Our time on Di2 made it clear just how impressive the shifting performance of an electronic drivetrain can be, and Richard Cunningham put it best in his long term
review when he wrote,
| The bottom line is that Shimano's take on electric shifting will make you a better rider, and that is true whether you are a top pro or a rank amateur. No. You don't need it. Yes. You will want it. |
Precise shifting, even under load, and the ability to operate both a front and rear derailleur with one shifter make XTR Di2 an appealing choice for riders in search of drivetrain perfection, and for that it earns the title of Pinkbike's Component of the Year.
Sure I can understand the loss of the tactile feel and sound of shifting, but if it's replaced with the seamless shifting that I hear di2 offers, then that's not so bad.
My bike never 100% works anyways, I can't add anything else to go wrong.
The spirit of MTB is to go out and have fun, so get off your computer, stop whining about shit you weren't going to buy anyway, and ride.
Carry a spare.
Carry a portable charging device.
Also keep in mind these batteries get tens of hours to the ones of charging. Not exactly like most of us do 18 hours of riding before heading somewhere with a charger.
Shimano spent a LOT of money getting this right, I think it's brilliant and a step into what might be the next generation of components.
Does it deserve component of the year, I believe it does.
RRS, what issues did you find with GX? Been absolutely charming on the bikes I've set up this year.
Also, side note, seems like powered shifting could be a way for a new component company to come to market with a mid priced offering and make a very big splash. It might also be easier to get a powered shifting setup working great than it would be to get a cable system working as well as the SRAM/Shimano - the incumbents have so many years of engineering tweaks and patents for a new company to overcome, just to get to "normal" shifting quality. Cost would be a big driver especially since Di2 has pretty large margins for Shimano, and is going to be slow to trickle down the product line.
God dammit pinkbike. If you don't want to partake in the activities, you don't have to, but don't shit on other people for no reason.
Yeah. It'll be interesting to see where drivetrains end up 5+ years down the road. Di2 has been such a charm from a mechanics point of view. Setup is way easier, and as it self adjusts, people tend to wear it out much less quickly. It just makes life easier in so many ways.
It's like buying a toyota tacoma/hi lux because it's cheaper and has more gadgets instead of buying a Toyota landcruiser workmate which has less electronics but is more expensive due to the use of better materials in the basic components.
I don't want no cheap crap that catches my eye on the showroom floor. I want the confidence to go out back and beyond, safe in the knowledge that the simplicity of my parts will lead to easy field repairs in the unlikely event of a breakdown.
I ride like I'm a pro but I don't have the team support. I don't want to have to pay people to fix my shit just so I can put down faster times than guys who get given their shit.
But as long as the SLX line won't be electric, it will be way out of my budget. But that's just a matter of time. Hope they'll start with e-XT's soon.
PS: Huge price tag indeed. Thereby I think the technology that the XTR uses deserves to be the winner. Not necessarily the expensive dérailleur itsself.
Yeah... What about stuff people can buy in the damn year?
All the new tech helps the human use their own power better and more efficiently. The battery seems to sever that connection to the bike/ or replace it entirely.
Either you or your buddy is full or shit, or he seriously needs to go to a new shop.
But seriously, how are these posts getting upvoted? A two second google shows that this is false. Stop listening to hearsay on the internet, go form your own opinions. The circlejerk is real.
even w/DH rigs...there are probly gonna be more & more wannabe well to do riders that can shell out
7-8k for a rig. not really my style, but i xpect lotsa bike industry types are lovin' this trend
of upselling w/new bikes & upscaling w/aftermarket components.
these buyers will probly shell out $$ for coaches at xpensive bike retreats too!!
You can't run a 1x11 thats wide enough. 11-40, even if they eventually support 11x42 isn't quite wide enough. Sram, with 10% more range, just squeaks by. I know that a 2x11 gives you more, but tell that to a Kona process owner, or any of the newer bikes that don't support a front derailleur anymore. A front derailleur adds weight, complexity, and needs a chainguide.
Battery and electric motor tech hasn't stalled, but its plateauing. Lipo batteries in RC cars haven't changed their capacity/weight in over 10 years. Ditto in brushless servos. Governments and companies like Tesla and Samsung are dumping billions into battery research, and we are at a point where the improvement is very incremental. A 10% increase in capacity/weight would allow it to be 10% lighter, which would be a herculean effort to get to for only a few grams improvement. The same for a 10% decrease in battery costs; that would barely budge the MSRP and it would take a great leap forward in lithium tech.
Electronically controlled gearbox? TOTALY! rear mech? Not in the whole world, not even if someone gives me one for free. Just because it is too bloody expensive to replace it. Only that.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/13049543
derailleur cables never need charged, work, and really only require a quarter turn of a barrel adjuster every ~hundred hours, which is best and easily done while riding. di2i sounds like a complicated solution for a problem that doesnt exist.
tisk tisk to you pinkbike for encouraging silly consumer glutony, and directing fools to expensive unnecessary stuff.
Btw, where are the in depth review of procore and di2 for mtb?
WOW I must think that riding will be dead, unless you put solar panels on my top tube.
Funny enough, being 2016 that they went through the effort of making an e-front mech.
Let me know when these finicky gadgets run off nuclear power, or better yet, self-winding watch mechs.
I'm going to ride tomorrow on hydraulic brakes and auto-pilot-less vision while I can...
Keep dreaming, Shimano.
lol at 3,500$ some Shimano made in China, make sure you go out when solar flares are at minimum.
People are upvoting this shit. f*ck. Guys. Stop trying to hate it, go give it a try, and see just how bloody awesome it really is.
We sell Di2 level bikes for around 2-3k in ultegra spec, 5-6 in Dura Ace. XTR will be similar pricing. Past that, nobody pays retail. You're a chump if you expect to.
And that still doesn't explain the $2800 rock hangup. Admit it; you're shitposting.
P.S. Many things depends on how these products will be presented to the newbies by the market consultant. If now when 27.5 appeared they will tell everyone to buy only them then soon only one standard left.