Quantcast

XTR-M70 shifter?

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
Crushed my shifter with my leg a while ago, getting bored of not having any gears - what (shimano, not ****ing sram) shifter do you recommend?

All the shifters I've had before have basically been the same - the new XTR (i mean M970, can't edit the title or I'd change it) looks fairly different.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=15184

Anyone here tried one yet? Suitable for DH? I'll be using it with a dura-ace rear mech. The lack of gear display doesnt bother me at all, never used them, always whip them off anyway.

- seb
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
I think the one your looking at is the new shadow shifter, if it is then youll have to use a shadow derailer with it, DA wont work with the Shadow shifters. The new shadow stuff does work really good though, shifts like a Sram!!!.
 

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
Hmm, can someone confirm or deny this? I am guilty of asking the question after having ordered the part, so if that's the case I'll have to phone up and cancel it, haha :)

edit: cheers mike :-)
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
Yeah I had to verify it myself after I said it, Its just the levers are like sram now, in teh way that you dont have to move your finger off the brake lever to shift, its all thumb control!!! I do like that part.
 

-dustin

boring
Jun 10, 2002
7,155
1
austin
i like the design of the new XTR (and now XT) shifters, however, the action feels a little soft...almost like the internals are plastic. remember how X5 felt compared to X9? like hitting a ball with a foam bat versus hitting a ball with an aluminum bat. that foam bat feel is kind of like what the new shifters feel like to me.

the instantaneous shifting is nice. it doesn't sound like it'd be that big of a difference, but it actually is. it's kind of nice.

2-way release of cable is cool. nothing really special for me.
 

klunky

Turbo Monkey
Oct 17, 2003
1,078
6
Scotland
I use it on my XC bike and Im going to order it for my DH.
Its great and does everything you want a shifter to do.
 

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
I don't own a pair, but the newer XTR and XT shifters I've used are quite good. Maybe, as dustin said, it's not as positive and mechanical feeling as upper level SRAM, but they feel more positive to me than older Shimano shifters. I liked them a lot and wouldn't hesitate to get them for DH.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
I reckon they're sweet.

"Not as positive" translates to lighter lever action (ie. less finger effort) because the shimano ratio and paddle length give you more leverage. Having tried the X0 and M970 back to back I thought the shimano was adequately crisp while requiring less effort to move the levers than the X0.

Definitely set the shifter up to be dual thumb shifted. The ability to shift up two gears is pretty cool too, in DH where you need a big change in gears quickly (especially with close ratio road cassettes which usually don't give a significant enough ratio change over 1 gear change).

Combined with a new dura-ace mech you've got a super light and snappy shifting setup, I'm just about to throw a rollamajig on mine to get rid of the loop. Should still be lighter than the X0 setup, or match it (lighter in stock guise, and the dura-ace cage is shorter too :)).
 

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
The ability to shift up two gears is pretty cool too, in DH where you need a big change in gears quickly (especially with close ratio road cassettes which usually don't give a significant enough ratio change over 1 gear change).
Pretty retarded to use a close-ratio cassette if that's exactly what you don't want to begin with IMO. I think it's one of the dumber trends in DH, who cares if it shifts slightly more smoothly if you have to do it 2 or 3 times to get the right gear? I'd happily take a 5 speed cassette for DH really, cadence just doesn't matter that much on a dh bike.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
It's not the smoothness, it's the weight.

A dura-ace 12-27 offers a significant weight saving over even the lightest 11-32 mtb cassette. Running stupidly heavy road cassettes like many do is pointless IMO (anything lower than ultegra, or those stupid sram ones with all individual steel gears and no spider/carrier) but otherwise, yeah it's well worth it.
 

SpasticJack

Monkey
Feb 25, 2002
344
0
I have the M970 shifter on my XC bike and it is the first time I've considered giving up the 8spd M950 pods on my DH bike. The adjustment range on the mount and the forward release on the trigger are the greatest for a thumb only, no-brainer shifting setup.

As an alternate, the stubby Saint shifter can be run outboard of brake levers on most setups.
 

muddy beast

Turbo Monkey
Nov 26, 2005
1,815
0
I tried the new XTR shadow shifter/rear derailleur on my buddies Santa cruz, and I didnt like it. I like the option of using sram style shifting (with your thumb) or the traditional shimmano style shift (index and thumb). But the click feel is just to quick and short to me. It also seems like it would break quickly.

I have no beaf with it though, I just wouldnt go out of my way to buy it...if it happens to come on a future bike though, then it may convert me back over from sram.
 

Rip

Mr. Excitement
Feb 3, 2002
7,327
1
Over there somewhere.
Been runng the new xt shifter for a couple of months now and have found that they are durable. I also liked the fact that the shift indicator can be removed.
 
Sep 20, 2007
443
0
Champaign, IL
I run the new XTR on my XC bike so that is what I am basing this off of. I love it. I have been a Sram guy of late but this really changed my mind. It has a great feel and is the ONLY Shimano shifter I would run. Light, durable, and extremely quick shifts. I still love X.0 but the new XTR is right there with it.
 

bushrider

Monkey
Jul 4, 2006
146
0
NYC
Been running the the new XTR on several my gemini DH and enduro SX and SRAM XO on my demo 9.

I prefer the SRAM shifter over the new XTR by a very small margin for DH (for XC its a tie).
The shifts are more defined on the XO, its easier to adjust due to the 1:1 cable pull ratio. The XTR has the advantage of the double down shifting which is particularly useful if your running a close ratio cassette.

I believe the XTR is lighter both the XTR Shadow Derailer vs the SRAM XO and the shifters.
The XTR will also work with the Saint derailer.

If my DH bike were saint derailer compatible I would definitely take XTR shifter/Saint RD over XO/XO.