Let’s face it, we mountain bikers love new gear. We’re always tinkering with our bikes, tuning them, improving them or…well, fixing them. Our riding improves, we get stronger, better, ride more and farther. Mountain biking is a passion, fueled by that improvement of fitness, skills, and abilities. Shimano’s XTR history goes way back and reflects that passion. It was, is and always will be developed by riders, for riders. Before a product finds its way to your bike, we’ve already tested beyond its limits. On all sorts of terrain, by all sorts of riders. A glimpse into the development of our newest XTR…
Development of new products is a long process, going through many stages. It all starts with what our riders and partners want. Their input is used throughout the development cycle, both in drafting the product’s demand as well as putting it to the test as soon as the first prototype is ready to be mounted. Especially for mountain bike products, there is no substitute for real world testing. Call it a zero tolerance procedure; we put our prototypes through hell on the trails.
Our test riders are avid mountain bikers, spread across the globe, active in a multitude of disciplines. Our XTR group is our top of the line product developed with racing in mind. It has to be put through its paces to make sure it can take the beating we mountain bikers will put it through.
In this development cycle, we get the engineers and test riders together on multiple occasions. This way riders can communicate their findings to the engineers straight away. Alterations can be made on the spot and the riders go out to test the modifications. Sometimes this leads to surprising finds; both for riders and engineers. In the past, super-smooth shifters were given to our riders, who quickly came back and asked if it was possible to have the shifter give an audible in the field testing offers the opportunity to provide immediate feedback to the developing engineering team. Quick alterations can be made and put to the test. Besides riding our riders spend a lot of time providing feedback to the engineering team.
For us mountain bikers, our brakes are cherished. They provide control and stopping power. The lever feel is ever so important; it needs to be firm and precise. Huge improvements were made throughout the brake, but one of the more subtle changes is found in the lever; the dual contact points enhance rigidity resulting in a firm feel of the brake. Although our lab equipment can measure almost anything, the real-life feel of that lever for a rider can not be emulated. Development starts in the lab, but is finalized on the trails.
Years later, we have our new XTR groupset ready. We’ve spent countless hours in designing and engineering, testing it on the trails, going back to the drawing board, churning out new prototypes in our CNC machines and getting back on it on the trails. What you see now is the accumulation of four years of work, combined with Shimano’s heritage in mountain biking, resulting in the ultimate mountain bike groupset. And while you’re reading this, we’ve already started working on the next generation. TIme to hit the trails.
