But, what happens after a year of average use? Not competition nor "going for newspaper on Sunday morning" use. Just average and sometimes harder than racing: no mechanics taking care of it everyday, no free new spare parts.

We have made that test, and here is the result:

As I said above, when new, this product works as close to perfection as today’s technology allows. Shifts are great as the chain goes from one sprocket to another almost impeceptiblely and shifters’ action is amazingly plush (Shimano is working in an even smoother model).

Brakes are also very good, the hubs and the bottom bracket roll very light after a short period of use.  Because of the seals and the characteristics of the grease, sealed hubs and bottom brackets need to be broken in.  This is typical for most adjustable open type bearings.

There is little if any functional differenence between XTR and Deore XT when new, apart from a louder click in the shifters and more powerful braking action for XTR. Most differences come frame weight and finish.

The first day you use this componentry, everything is perfect. You may prefer disc brakes, grip shifters or the  fast down shift function of a DiRT type rear derailleur, but you can’t say there is something that doesn’t makes its function at highest level.

A year After
It has been 365 days of mud (it is very difficult to ride where I live in  and not to find mud), soft rides, hard rides and even harder rides.  Although I have often treated it hard at time, I have kept the system maintained. Every component started each ride perfectly adjusted , clean and lubricated, nevertheless after that it was used as hard as it was needed. I mean I have never thought "I’d better not shift here, I could break the chain", or  "if I try to pass over that stones, one could  hit the derailleur". That is the way I use to treat my own bikes: The best care at home, but no quarter out on the trails or roads. This doesn’t mean we have tried to consciously break something. We just used as we would do with our own bikes, because it was my own bike that was the base for the XTR we tested.

We have not used the XTR headset nor the seat post. It was impossible to mount a threaded headset on my bike, KHS FXT, and there was not a seat post avalaible of the size we needed. Anyway both components are the less interesting of XTR, and they are even old fashoned nowadays.

A year is time enough to have conclusions, not only about durability or reliability, but about the things you really like and that ones you would change too.

Let’s see it part by part:

Shifters
In my opinion, this is the most important part of a groupo. Some think it is the rear derailleur that is the main piece. At least, both componets work closely together and they form a team. We have tested the integrated brake lever and shifter option (STM952) and, I must confess, I really like them.

It can seem impossible, but I had never had before a Shimano shifter on any bike of my own. The last shifters I had were SunTour Ergotec (ET) with a SunTour XCPro MD rear derailleur, and I consider them the most ergonomic shifter ever. After three years of use I just found one fault: Both buttons, the up and the downshift were a part of the same piece, so if you push one of them, both moved together.

The first surprising thing when changing to XTR was its smothness. We could say XC Pro is for Schwarzeneeger riders where it took a little strength to displace the upshift levers.  XTR’s easy action could be easily used by a child.

The clutching system (the thing that makes 'click') is also smooth and quite silent (it was silent too in ET). The stroke needed to make a shift is short, much more than in previous Shimano shifters, but not as much as in ET, due to the long levers. The upshift buttons are made of anodized aluminum alloy, and are very large and well shaped, so they are very easy and comfortable to use.

Downshift levers are made of plastic, and their operation is very similar to any other Rapid Fire shifter, maybe a little lighter and less noisy. I don’t like their shape. Fingers can easily slip from them. Although this is not a great problem because just a little pressure is enough to make a shift. I like to ride with each finger placed on its lever all the time to allow for quick shifts when needed. This is much more difficult with Rapid Fire than my old ET.

I use to pull the brakes with my ring fingers while having my index one on the downshift lever, so I can shift from the big chainring to  medium while braking hard before a curve. This way I will be in the right gear and can quickly regain speed. This action was also done much easier with ET.

We have also tested the Rapidfire Remote Shifter (SL-SS95) for a while, although not the whole year because I don’t use bar ends. What it does is just to pull a cable that pulls the levers on the main shifter, but it lacks of any shifting mechanism inside of itself. It works correctly, and perhaps it is useful in XC races. I think both cables are too long, but it is not possible to cut them as they have head on both extremes. Shimano has to insure that they fit any bike. It feels a little blurry, because it is the cable that transmits the click to your finger. If it had appeared 7 years ago, I would have bought it, but now I do not use flat handlebars.

The brake levers are very good too, I like their length, not too big. Lever ratio modulation is avalaible, so they can fit every V-Brake and like every rider. They have no play, but they work smoothly. I hate brake levers with play. Shift and brake levers can sometimes break in a crash, but usually they will last a long time.

So, after a year the XTR Rapid Fire set works almost as well as the first day. The only remarkable thing is that although the shifters are nicely sealed, they lose lubrication when water that enters them. They still work precisely, but the upshift click turns a little bit louder. Nothing important, but if you are as maniac as I am, just open them, place a litlle of lithium-less soft grease after drying and cleaning the system and close them taking care of placing correcctly the seals. If you like wrenching on your bike, you will enjoy this. One advice, use high quality tools, it all will be easier.

The brake levers work also perfect, and still they don’t have any play after a year, although they already know what stones are. They are plush, powerful and nicely ergonomic, but (those hateful comparisons again) I prefer the wide and flat surface of Ergotecs and the extra room they provide for the index finger. I suppose I am a romantic.

Rear Derailleur
This is the best seller component of XTR. As you may know, there are four versions avalaible: Long cage (RD M952 SGS), medium cage (RD M952 GS) and Rapid Rise medium (RD M953 GS) and long (RD M952 SGS). We used the 952 GS version, although we have tested the others for a short time. The function of the  long cage units is very similar to the others, but it allows mounting a 34 tooth rear cog (or a smaller chainring, although it is not avalaible in Shimano catalogue). Their cage length causes the body of the derailleur to be more strressed.

Rapid Rise is a strange invention (although they are not the first inverse rear derailleurs, even for Shimano), and I don’t find them having any advantage. I know some people that have used them for a long while, and say they are as reliable as the conventional versions are. I must confess when I first heard about them I thought they could not bear a really muddy ride without getting locked in the smallest cog, but it seems this happens only in conditions where the conventional ones do not work neither. Anyway, I still prefer to get locked in larger cogs.

All them share the following features:

• 11 teeth pulleys. Less turning speed than 9 teeth ones, less wear.
• Special pulley teeth design that allows alternative contact between them and chain plates, which results in silent function.
• Fluorine coated links for the parallelogram, wich allows a long lasting smooth function.
• Hollow mounting bolt. Much lighter.

And all this in such a little package. It is clear they have thought a lot to design it, But how does it work?

Weight and asthetics apart, the first day there are no noticeable differences with other Shimano Mega 9 rear derailleurs. After some rides, I noticed a certain tendency to loose its adjustment. I was not used to this with my old SunTour set and Campy road 9S systems, even 10 s ones required less. Anyway it is nothing important, just a turn of the adjustment barrel and all it set again.

When the going gets tough and mud appears, troubles are harder. Sometimes it seems that the chain doesn’t want to engage any cog, specially the smallest ones. It is not that the shifter is in a given position and the chain in another one (under or overshift), but it jumps from one sprocket to another.

I have tested the alignement of the rear drop a thousand times with a Campagnolo tool, although a trained mechanic sees this misalignment just having a look at the derailleur and the cassette. Now, I can insure my rear drop is the most perfect in the world, and the problem still appears.

As you may know it happens with any Shimano Mega 9 system, and maybe it is due to that slim chain, cogs and gear spacers. It was not so noticeable with the 8 speed version of XTR.

I would like to clear up that this is not something that can ruin a ride, maybe neither a race, and it only happens when conditions are hard; but  I must say that I’ve experienced also a Sram-Sachs Quarz 9s set in extremely muddy rides, and even when this set was far from being brand new it worked better: The chain engages each cog correctly, almost furiously when downshifting.

I installed a Gore Tex cable system (if you have some extra bucks, just buy one!) and  it improved noticiablely the response in such conditions, although the rear mechanism still sometimes fails when shifting to  the two smallest cogs. But, if there is not too much mud, there is no MtB shifting system as plush as this one. It is really pleasing to use it with its crisp, smooth, and silent shifts. If you are very concerned in obtaining this kind of function and don’t have muddy rides often, then it will suit you well.

After a year of use there has been some wear. The most noticeable symptom is some play at the parallelogram four pivots. This is common in all Shimano RD’s, but it don’t take away too much precision. This did not happened with Suntour XC-Pro, XC-Comp, Sachs, nor with a 11 years old Campy I use in an ancient BH bike I have. This problem is nothing compared to the ones some Sram derailleurs had in the past, but a component that tries to be the best avalaible in the world should aim to reach perfection, and not only work.

Apart from the differential plate action, it is remarkable that the cage’s plates are made of nickel plated aluminum, and the links from the clamp to the body are also made of aluminum, but anodized in this case. There is also an 'E' version that has no frame clamp, but a carbon plate that joins the derailleur to the bottom bracket shell, and it is very useful for some strange rear suspension frames that otherwise would not have where to mount the derailleur. Its weight is 127 g for the 31.8mm clamp version and is a good mark.

There is a curious thing about derailleurs. The first company that created a RD with the helicoidal return spring working under a extension stroke was Shimano in 1994. Later, Sram and Sachs began to use this design and Sachs designed them for their DiRT front derailleurs with the spring working the same way. The DiRT FD’s are the same that now are sold under the Sram brand.

The thing is that Shimano still uses torsion stroke springs for their FD’s, when they were the first ones to use the other type. Theory says that the spring works under extension or the compression stroke and it keeps the required force excerpted almost constant at any part of its stroke.

If you have ever tried, for example, a Shimano Deore DX RD, it needs more force to shift to the largest cog than to shift from the smallest to the second one. This effect is almost unnoticeable with modern RD’s. With Campagnolo derailleurs they use torsion springs, but they are conic springs that allow a constant pressure through all their stroke.

After all this technical stuff, lets say that the differencial placed action allows the inner side of the cage to move independent from the external side, which makes really difficult for the chain to rub the cage and at the same time allows a perfect shift. It is noticeable that the spring gets a bit harder when shifting to the largest chainring, but this causes no problems on the shift. Anyway, this FD works always very plush. So is it the best FD in the world? Well, Sram’s are built using a different concept. It all depends on the taste of each person.

About the FD M953, if you have ever tried an old Shimano Deore DX front derailleur, this the same, but indexed and it is much more plush. The cage is made of steel and, of course it lacks of differential plate action. It also weighs a bit more: 131 g in 28.6 mm version.

Brakes
This is component that has been not modified since 1996, and maybe it is because by that time they seemed years ahead from their competitors. The only thing that has been improved during all this years is the linkage of the parallelogram, as I will explain. I suppose most devotees know their main characteristics, but let me refresh your mind: They feature a  heavy duty strainable parallelogram (called Parallel Push) which allows a perpendicular stroke of the pad to the side of the rim. These pads are mounted on aluminum cartridges. Pivots are sealed and self-lubricating.The weight of a complete set (front and rear ) is 394 g.

All this makes them work very well. They show a plush feel that makes really comfortable to use them. They are also very powerful, but this does not result in a violent response. These brakes are progressive and easy to measure out.

It is very easy to adjust them. The Parallel Push system not only ads power and allows the pad to wear the same through all its surface, but helps when trying to find the right position for the cartridge.

This Power Push mechanism is the main difference between XTR brakes and the most of the rest. There  are few models I know that feature a similar system: Avid Arch models, some Dia-Compe and, of course Deore XT.

The only problem we have found is that this mechanism tends to get some play after a while, and although this never gets to be such an issue as with the first XTR series or the former Deore XT. A component that tries to be the best one is supposed to last a long time. Granted that we have used these brakes on a bike that has 4" of front and rear travel, my weight is 70 kg (154 lbs), and I don’t like to go slow.

Another thing to mention are their pads. They are made of a matter that is different from what is traditionally used for brake pads. This is so they can be as slim as they are and not to wear the first day you face a muddy ride. They are better as a heat conductive, so they  transmit  temperature to the rest of the bike. This way they are able to avoid fading, that is the loss of braking power due to heat. This effect is common in organic based compounds, but the one used in XTR pads is very similar to the used for disc brake pads.

The only problem with this is that some alloy rims may cause the pads to get metallic matter embedded in the pads. This has also happened with Dura Ace and Ultegra pads, and Shimano has varied some characteristics of the compound to avoid it. I don’t know if the brakes we had were before this improvement, but this effect appeared in our pads.

It only happens on long and very fast downhills where the brakes are pushed hard for a long time and heat appears. This is why this is more noticeable in road bikes. When this occurs you can hear how it seems that something is scratching the rim.

Anyway, I think Shimano has taken the right direction with these new compounds. If bicycles are so high tech nowadays, pads should be too, and "rubber" is not the best thing available today.

The machine used for stamping has the energy needed to strain or cut the matter and some molds that shock against  the piece and create the different shapes. These molds are really expensive and more if they have to work titanium. The tolerances allowed to manufacture these molds are of hundredths of a millimeter, and after some time working they need to be prepared to keep their shape.

I wanted to explain this because, sometimes we can not see the benefits by just looking at them. So, once seen the price is fair, Let’s see its characteristics: The four largest cogs are made of titanium (you can see the Hyperglide shaping is a little blurrier than in steel ones due to titanium hardness) and the six largest are mounted on Spider Arms, that are aluminum carriers that support them in order to reduce weight and improve stiffness.

The combination available is 12-14-16-18-20-23-26-30-34 and its weight is 262 g. XTR drive train has been never available in compact version, Shimano argues that most of the pros dislike this type of transmissions because they cause increased chain suck and other similar troubles, especially in muddy conditions.

The compact system brings a lot of advantages, and, in my opinion, chain sucks never happen if the chainring teeth have the right shape, the chain is good and well lubed, and the chain line is correct. But that is only my opinion.

Focusing again on the component itself, let’s say that these cogs fulfill the function as well as any other Hyperglide cassette: smooth chain transitions and silent work, so their only advantage is weight.

Some people have asked me during this year if  XTR cassette is more durable due to  titanium cogs. Maybe you know that there are people that have complaints about the easy wearing of Shimano’s mega 9 sprockets. I must say XTR is not the solution: The first cogs to wear are the smallest ones, and in XTR these ones are made of steel. But there is a tip that I am doing now. When the XTR wears I buy a 105 cassette. Then I just swap the cogs that slip (usually the smallest three), and  I keep the ones on the Spider Arm. This way the smallest cogs do not look as nice as the other, but I save a bunch of $$$.

The only thing I have not liked about this cassette is that I would prefer to have a 13 T cog between the 12 and the 14, and not to have a  34T sprocket. I prefer less difference between sprockets, especially when talking about a racing groupo.

So, if you are very concerned about weight and your economy is healthy, this really fits you. If not, a Deore XT or a Sram 9.0 will work perfectly.

• Hollowtech crank arms: Lighter and stiffer.
• IG compatible chainrings made of 7075 aluminum (46-34-24T)
• Octalink crank arm mount (but only compatible with the XTR bottom bracket and not with other Octalink  ones due to the different measure of the splines)
• Chainring bolts made of 7075 aluminum
• One key release: no need of a special tool to release the cranks.

Weight is very good: only 685 g, although they are supposed to be very stiff due to the hollow arms and the Octalink interface with the bottom bracket, but I did not noticed differences with my old SunTour XC Pro MD at this point. Maybe I am not strong enough.

These chainrings make shifting be really smooth, as the chain come and goes from one ring to another almost imperceptibly, but just as it does with Deore XT or LX systems.

About chainsucks, maybe I am not the best one to notice  an improvement because I have never suffered too much because of this. Theory says that Compact systems should have more suck problems, but smaller chainrigs allow also more clearance between them and stays, so if the chain enters this zone it is more difficult that it gets locked.

So I had no problems with XTR chainrings, so if you are looking for a solution to avoid chainsucks, maybe they can be useful to you. I really like XTR cranks, but after testing them, I went back to my Hope Ti BB and XC-Pro combo, as I prefer Micro Drive system and I also save a few grams. Just a matter of taste.

• 22 mm pipe billet spindle
• Octalink splined interface with crank arms (only compatible with XTR cranks)
• A needle and a ball bearing on each side of the axle, allowing a wider base.
• Aluminum threaded adapters with chain line stabilizer, the way you just have to worry about tuning the bearings, because the chain line will be anyway the right one.

Well, as the scratched leg guys predicted, it does not work. Perhaps it sounds a bit radical, but the fact is that the first day I used it, as I was back home and it sounded as if the Rage Against the Machine guys were inside my bicycle. It was a really muddy and wet ride, but this is not an excuse for such an expensive component.

Maybe it can fit you if you never ride in muddy conditions and  you are really careful with maintenance.After this, we tried the cartridge version (BB M952). It is not amazingly light (215g), but it works. It avoids the problem we had with the other one, and after a year it turns smoothly and have no play.

So, if you want to have a XTR crankset I would suggest you to buy this version instead of the M950. There are lighter brackets available, bout this is not heavy at all and it is neither expensive.

The characteristics featured by the front one (HB M950) are:

• Alloy 7075 carcass
• Aluminum made 11mm axle
• Borozon treated races
• Double contact sealing
• Stainless steel bearing balls
• 190 g

And the rear hub (FH M950) features these:

• Alloy 7075 carcass
• Titanium axle
• Borozon treated races
• Double contact sealing
• Stainless steel bearing balls
• 371 g

The first thing that results strange is that Shimano still relies on cone type bearings, while almost the rest of the high end hubs use sealed bearings. The bearing world is vast and complex. There are few applications where open bearings (cone type ones) still are used, because sealed ones need no maintenance, and if they break, you just swap them with a new one and all works perfect again.

The result is that these hubs need some more maintenance than a pair of Hügi, Mavic, or White Brothers hubs. If you are a tinker his extra maintenance may not be an inconvenience for you.

Throughout this year they have been reliable. They are reasonably light and look very nice. I think a pair of hubs should be tested longer than a year to really know how reliable they are.

To test their endurance we have completely disassembled them, and we have found that races, balls and cones showed no wearing. The grease had not lost too much of its viscosity.

The freewheel body had some play, what is nothing new in Shimano freewheels, but the mechanism was not worn at all. We all know Shimano freewheels doesn’t last forever.

In sum, a good pair of hubs although a bit old fashioned if compared with other high end hubs.

Maybe it is possible to create an "alternative groupo" by buying parts from different manufacturers: SRAM shifters and derailleurs, Mavic wheels, Race Face cranks, Grimeca or Avid brakes and so on, but Shimano offers a set of pieces that have a characteristic that is very difficult to achieve: Sinergy.

Some piece of XTR are not the best available, but them all together worth more than the sum of each different parts. This, in sum with the light action that has made famous the Shimano brand, is what has made of XTR a standard.