For 2011, Shimano introduced two distinct groups within its high-performance mountain bike component line, the XTR Race and XTR Trail groups. The 2011 line features the first-ever 10-speed XTR group. The Race group, which I used, offers slightly lighter weight all around, faster wheels, and the 2×10 gearing. (The Trail group has more durable, slightly heavier, wheels with wider rims and 3×10 gearing to tackle steeper inclines.)
Diving in to some of the parts, Shimano touts major improvements in the new system’s brakes, which have multi-compound rotors (aluminum rotor sandwiched by stainless steel outer plates). Braking power and the longevity of the system is increased significantly, Shimano says. The XTR chain is even special, as it is “the industry’s first-ever mountain bike specific 10-speed chain,” and it is a directional chain, meaning that it is asymmetrical with the right side optimized for front shifting and the left side of the chain made for improved rear shifting.
As noted, we went with a 2×10 “Race” setup for gearing — two chainrings up front and 10 speeds on the rear cassette. This gear range banks on speed more than hill-climbing ability, and for the Patagonia race it was the perfect pair.
Our race started in a national park in Chile. Most of the biking this year in the race was on gravel roads and two-track trails — not technically demanding, but physically fast and therefore exhaustingly hard. In total, teams pedaled about 200 miles in the event, wearing backpacks and hauling gear the whole time.
At the starting line I clipped in and gripped the Shimano carbon bars. My bike was likely the shiniest in the line. At the “GO!” we cranked off on a descent, crossed a wooden bridge and a river, and then shifted to climb into the mountains beyond.
The bike rode fast and smooth. Shifting was seamless as we tackled big climbs and even bigger winds, the infamous gales of the “roaring 40s” latitudes that blow in from the Patagonian sky. (We had to hunker in a ditch at one point as a storm jetted through and rocks and debris bulleted off a gravel road!) Later, leading a pace line with my team, in the front of the whole race field, the bike inspired confidence even as my legs screamed.
Four hours after the start, my team emerged in first place at the end of the mountain-biking stage. We’d smoked the section, breaking off the pack and finishing 5 minutes ahead of the nearest team. My legs were jelly. But the bike had done its thing. In Patagonia, where “fast and light” takes precedent over anything else — price tags included! — the Giant/Shimano uber-bike had not let me down.
—Stephen Regenold is founder and editor of www.gearjunkie.com.
