Shimano XTR M9200 Di2 Wireless

It's been seven years since Shimano last rolled out a generation of XTR. These long intervals are not uncommon, although before 2018, prior versions of XTR were released in 2014 and 2010. So, yes, seven years is a long time, even by Shimano's standards. And while each iteration signifies large changes in function, technology, and aesthetics, there is usually a situational sameness that characterizes most XTR launches.

Usually, Shimano is playing catch up, or at least that's how it seems to the market by the time each generation sees the light. Their R&D processes are famously long but also famously exhaustive. A brand in this business simpy could not afford to take so long to iterate if the final product wasn't so consistently excellent, and that is another thing - maybe the most important thing - Shimano is known for. You may spend many long evenings sitting on the porch, sipping lemonade and wondering when the Pony Express will arrive with your long-expected package, but once a dust cloud appears on the horizon, you know the contents of tat package will be worth the wait.

And so it is with the latest top of the line drivetrain from Osaka: Shimano XTR M9200 Di2 Wireless.

A whole lot of lemonade has been sipped, and Shimano is, yet again, playing catch-up here. Even by their standards, they've arrived at the bottom of a very long, steep hill. Despite bringing the first electronic drivetrain to market way back in 2014 (two short months after introducing the cabled version of XTR M9000), SRAM stole a march on them with AXS Eagle in 2019, and again with T-Type in 2023. And though it is easy enough to argue that most mountain bikers don't need and may not want wireless shifting, the reality is that at the pointy, expensive end of the market, wireless is what you'll find; SRAM is ubiquitous and Shimano's cable-driven XTR drivetrains have become restricted to special edition bikes, as SRAM has gobbled up market share. Since XTR was last introduced in 2018, market forces in the industry may be a more interesting study than technological advancement on the drivetrain side, and I write that with full understanding of the significance of SRAM's neat little trick with the UDH rollout. Consider all that has happened since 2018:

• Shimano releases XTR M9100, a cabled group, cementing the fact that their wireless market entry is probably at least a few years away.
• In 2019, SRAM's AXS is introduced, putting the industry and market on notice that the world of robots and batteries is upon us.
• E-bikes start gathering steam and, let's face it, by now in 2025 their momentum is so great that they now lead the conversation when it comes to innovation in mountain biking.
• The pandemic.
• The bike boom.
• The supply chain strangulation and subsequent great inventory shortage.
• The inevitable recovery from the supply chain woes, and resultant inventory glut and market shakeup (inflation, strain on retailers and brands, bankruptcies).
• The dawn of a global tariff war and another market shakeup.

That last one, by the way, is such a major factor that I can only imagine how much sleep the global pricing folks at Shimano have lost over the last few months.

This rollout is massive in both symbolic and real terms for Shimano. They need to regain OE market share, recapture the imagination and fervor of the market, and - most importantly for riders and consumers - present a viable competitive threat to SRAM. The folks in Chicago haven't exactly been sitting on their hands, but there's no question that added competitiveness will benefit all riders in the long run.

I realize that's a long preamble but the stakes are high and this is not just about wireless shifting, batteries and technical details. Assuming I've set the table sufficiently, let's tuck in.

Shimano XTR M9200 Di2 - the big picture

Let's cover a few of the significant points before diving into invidual components.

Bye bye cables

As of today, XTR is wireless only and if you want to run a cable-actuated Shimano derailleur, you can still use existing options from XT on down. Based on the recent trend of many high-end frames coming without a provision for internally-routed shifter housing, and the competition's decision to offer wireless only at the top end, this shouldn't be a big surprise.

Durability was a Big Priority

The 'R' in XTR still stands for 'race' and Shimano's development process was heavily influenced by Yeti and Santa Cruz's race teams. North American MTB product manager Nick Burdick followed Yeti's e-enduro WC team for a full year as part of the development process for this group. If the significance of that doesn't hit home, it's worth repeating that in 2025, your high end drivetrain has to meet the needs of regular mountain bikes as well as e-bikes, and the latter are extremely hard on drivetrains, especially in a racing environment where the leg muscles are huge and the shifting demands can be violent.

Ergonomics

Good ergonomics have never not mattered, and since shift speed and accuracy are requirements of a race-oriented drivetrain, you're throwing gains out the window if you don't nail this part. The new shifter may be overlooked compared to the rear derailleur, but it shouldn't be, because it's a thing of functional beauty. Shimano were careful to point out how much emphasis they put on this vital component, and the only Japanese employee in attendance at the media camp was Kintaro Kosaka, who managed the shifter project. We'll get to the brake levers later, because they got the treatment, too.

Predictable Braking

The better the brakes, the faster you can go. Of course Shimano are well aware of the wandering bite point. And of course they have worked on it.

Choices

This isn't a new priority for Shimano, so it shouldn't be a surprise that they addressed the needs of different racers (and riders) with some choices that were also made with intergroup compatibility in mind.

Right, that's the big picture, let's see some details.

Shimano RD-M9250 Wireless Rear Derailleur (M9260 Rear Derailleur for E-MTB)

The heart of the system. The subject of the oldest product manager trick in the book - the up-spec'd rear D. And maybe the biggest reason it took until 2025 for us to get a look at M9200, as Shimano had to wrestle with patents and design priorities in order to stuff a battery into the new rear derailleur on their own terms. There are mid and long cage versions for regular bikes, and e-bike specific versions that can be wired to the main bike battery (M926011L and M926012 for Linkglide and Hyperglide+, respectively). Here are things they all have in common:

Derailleur hangers live to fight another day. Shimano decided to allow the derailleur to continue being the strongest part in the system, and let the hanger break first in the event of huge impacts. This decision was apparently made after the announcement of UDH but before UDH derailleurs came to light. Specific mention was made that they factored in impacts from the front that could force the derailleur to rotate forward as well as the kind of impacts a derailleur can suffer from, say, an enduro racer's 'huck and pray' into a rock garden that can imapct a derailleur from below, forcing a backwards rotation. In either case, a hanger will break first with the hope of saving the derailleur. This doesn't mean they didn't address strength and durability of the derailleur itself, as we'll see below.

Shadow ES tech is Shimano's first line of defence against rock strikes, by adopting a 'you can't hit it if you can't see it' philosophy. The new derailleur was designed in part from the perspective of a rock looking back at the unit. A low-profile wedge design has rounded edges and a shape that helps the derailleur avoid or mitigate rock strikes. Should an impact occur, there is an Automatic Impact Recovery function built in, which allows the derailleur to absorb the impact and automatically reset and get back to work. A skid plate protects the chain stabilizer up front, and because that stabilizer consists of two springs rather than a clutch, it already has a lower profile.

The derailleur itself is a chunky unit, and that's not just because it houses the battery. It is robust and has a burly linkage. Pulleys are solid to repel debris, and the cage entirely protects the lower pulley. The battery is housed and sealed inside the derailleur and held in place by a latched door on the bottom that wedges the battery in place once it's slid shut. Battery contacts face down for an added measure of prevention against water.

That's a lot about durability, but what about performance? First, Shimano eliminated the clutch and substituted a dual spring design that creates more chain tension (72% more than M9100, according to Shimano). The goal is better chain wrap and retention, but it also eliminates the erosion of clutch performance over time. The springs won't wear out like the clutch did, so your derailleur will perform like new for longer. And, since the dual springs take up less room than a clutch, it reduced the size of the forward-facing knuckle and allowed that skid plate to be added. That tighter chain wrap also enables e-bikers to use Auto Shift with 12-speed HG+ cassettes, where formerly it was only available with the more durable but far heavier 11-speed Linkglide cassette.

Circling back to one of the main XTR design themes - choice - Shimano is continuing to offer multiple cassette configurations: both a 10-51T and a 9-45T option, with corresponding long and mid-length derailleur cage options. That 9-45T cassette combines with the mid-length cage to bring several benefits: a 23mm shorter cage swing (and more ground clearance), a savings of 70 grams, and 8mm further clearance at the chainring assuming you step down one ring size (ie. from 32 to 30T). Shimano will offer XTR chainrings down to 28 teeth for frames that will work with them. They also examined chain wrap and performance for the 9-tooth cog and said they didn't note any performance issues (the new derailleur's increased chain wrap and tension are likely helpful). Of course, the 10-51T cassette offers a 510% range to the 9-45T's 500% - a small trade-off but one that some riders will find important.

Rear derailleurs have always been expensive to replace, but that's obviously become a bigger issue with the advent of electronics. I asked Shimano about replacement parts for the new rear derailleur, and here is their answer:

For all current offerings, exploded views and many other tech resources are available publicly to anyone on si.shimano.com.
As you can see, the pulley cage pieces are available separately or as a complete kit with replacement pulleys. This is also valuable since it’s possible to convert a derailleur from long cage to short cage and vice versa. Simply swap the cage and have a dealer plug into the derailleur for reprogramming. Other replaceable items include the B-axle assembly (bracket axle, where the derailleur attaches to the hanger), P-axle assembly (Pulley cage axle), and the plate bumpers. These resin bumpers are sacrificial pieces that dissipate impacts and save the aluminum parallelogram linkages. The battery door functions as this bumper on the wireless versions.
Speaking of sacrificial pieces, the derailleur hanger is also replaceable. Adding more re-buildability would add cost and weight and we’re confident that our strategy of side-stepping rocks and roots with our wedge-shape design, using bumpers to dissipate impacts, and relying on the hanger as an engineered failure point will mean that riders don’t need to rebuild their parallelogram assembly.

Here's a recap of M9200 Rear Derailleur models (full weights and specs of the entire group are at the bottome of the article):

RD-M9250 – Wireless Rear Derailleur

- Long Cage RD-M9250 SGS for use with 10-51T Cassette
- Mid Cage RD-M9250 GS for use with 9-45T Cassette

RD-M9260 – Rear Derailleur for E-MTB

- Wired rear derailleur for E-MTB (constant power supply from e-bike battery)
- AUTO SHIFT & FREE SHIFT technology
- Long Cage SGS only (therefore 10-51T only)
- 12-Speed RD-M926012 for HYPERGLIDE+
- 11-Speed RD-M926011L for LINKGLIDE

Shimano SW-M9250IR – Di2 Shifter Switch

If the derailleur is the heart, the new Di2 Shifter Switch is the brains of this outfit. Initially, Shimano worked on various button designs and configurations. Because cables don't have to be pulled, electronic actuation leaves more flexibility in design. In practice, however, Shimano's testers (the infamous Skunks) were reporting issues with accidental shifts. Different designs were refined and tried, but at best they could only achieve a 50% satisfaction rate across the test team with any one design. Instead of reinventing the, uh, shifter, they returned to the outgoing design - a cable shifter - as a basis. However, critically, they didn't want to lose the benefits of electric: buttons and off-axis shifting, so they worked on building in a ton of adjustability. The result is a shifter switch that is a bit reminiscent of an M9100 series unit in its basic form, however each button has 15 degrees of X- and Y-axis adjustability in both directions.

There is a third button housed on the front face of the shifter, easily reached in motion, if not quite as easily as the two actuators. This is primarily an on-the-fly one-handed trim adjuster (simply hold for five seconds to enter trim mode, then use the two actuators as if they were a barrel adjuster) but it can also be programmed to control Free Shift or Auto Shift mode if you're running a Shimano-equipped e-bike, or it will work with many third party devices. I was able to program it to work with a Garmin Solar 840 computer: a single button press moves the display screen right, two presses goes left, and three presses is a shortcut to the map screen. Nifty.

The new shifter switch is a very refined unit, and the paddle adjustability has allowed me to put them in incredibly intuitive places with very comfortable, quick access. Best in class by miles. There are, of course, multiple shift modes, and you can use Shimano's E-Tube app to choose from holding down to enable multiple shifts (from two to unlimited), locked-out single shifts, or a new favourite of mine, a click-through double shift whereby you push on the button and bottom it out for two very well-defined clicks that lead to two very quickly executed shifts.

A final mode choice is between regular and e-bike shift modes, also selectable in the E-Tube app. I found this interesting, because whereas SRAM's T-Type was designed to work for regular and e-bikes in a single configuration - with shift speed suffering vs Eagle AXS as a result - Shimano created a workaround. But I was curious to know how regular and e-bike shift modes differed, so I put the question to Nick Burdick. Here's what he said:

The only difference is when shifting inward for the three largest cogs, otherwise shifting is completely unchanged in e-bike mode. In those three largest cogs, the derailleur uses multiple movements to make a single shift in order to ease the load on the cogs. You can use your app to go back and forth and see the difference for yourself once you know what to look for. When you get to those three largest gears, you’ll hear the derailleur move in two distinct steps as it does half of the shift, then finishes it. If you do a double shift, it will do 1.5 shifts in one motion and then finish with the last half shift after a small delay. Shifting outward towards smaller cogs does not require any of those small delays.

I have not yet had the opportunity to run the new XTR Di2 with an e-bike, but it won't be long before that happens. In the meantime, I thought that was a pretty interesting little tidbit.

SW-M9250IR – Di2 Shifter Switch

- I-SPEC EV and clamp band options

CS-M9200-12 Cassette and CN-M9100 Chain

I've put these two together for an important reason, which sharp eyes already noted based on the chain's product number: the new XTR chain is the same as the old XTR chain, and the new cassette has small changes, but the new and old are cross-compatible (with one small caveat). So, if you're sitting on a few spare chains or a cassette, you can use them with M9200 XTR.

As far as the cassette goes, it is, as mentioned, available in a 10-51T and a new compact 9-45T option (replacing the outgoing 10-45T). It is silver in appearance with no more black for the largest three cogs. Also remaining are the three aluminum, five titanium, four steel cog configuration, 12-speed Hyperglide+, and MicroSpline free hub.

What has changed is that the new cassette is rated for Free and Auto Shift when used with an e-bike. I covered e-bike shift mode above, but that didn't explain what changed with the cassette in order to enable Hyperglide+ to work with AUTO SHIFT.

Here again, I'll let Nick Burdick do the talking:

Hyperglide+ was already a great e-bike group with fast shifting that works incredibly well under high loads while still keeping the weight to a minimum. The room for improvement we found coming off the M9100/M8100 generations was that we could break teeth off the aluminum cogs when shifting under really high e-bike loads and that we could skip forward a tooth during a shift between the smallest cogs, rounding off the tops of the teeth. Those were the reasons we didn’t offer automatic shifting for our Hyperglide+ group with XT RD-M8150. The challenge in the larger cogs was solved with the smart electronic shift profile in e-bike mode along with some refinements to the cassette. The challenge in the smaller cogs was solved with the new derailleur design that keeps the chain consistently wrapped around more of the cog. Now we’re confident enough to enable auto shift on e-bikes with Hyperglide+ drivetrains. Linkglide options remain, of course, with new XTR iterations as well. Linkglide shifts a little smoother and a little slower, but the point of Linkglide is drivetrain durability, not e-bike compatibility. Anyone should be confident that their e-bike that comes with Hyperglide+ is up to the task.

CS-M9200-12 Cassette

- Cassette Options: 9-45T and 10-51T

FC-M9220 Trail/Enduro Crank and FC-M9200 XC Crank

Metal cranks are a famous Shimano line in the sand, and nothing has changed there. There are two crank versions for the M9200 series - XC and Trail/Enduro - and both are constructed from hollow-forged aluminum from a single ingot, though the enduro crank is more robust. For the XC version this adds 10 grams but is said to be way stronger than the forged and bonded construction of the M9100 version. The Trail/Enduro version has a stronger BB spindle and a 176mm Q-factor - 8mm wider than the 168mm XC crankset Q. They employ the same direct mount ring system as M9100 and a 55mm chainline.

Older rings are technically compatible but will change the chainline since they had a -3mm offset and the new ones have a 0 offset. Put another way, an old ring installed on a new crank will give a 52mm chain line. Similarly, new rings installed on old cranks will move the chain line out by 3mm. From Shimano:

...FC-M9100 and FC-M9120 had 52mm chain line so it would move it to 55mm.  However, FC-M9125 has a 55mm chain line and the new ring would move it out to 58mm, FC-M9130 has a 56.5 chain line and the new ring would move it to 59.5.  Those combinations should be avoided.

FC-M9220 – Trail/Enduro Crank

- Standard 176mm Q-Factor
- Crank Arm Length: 160, 165, 170, 175mm
- Chainline: 55mm

FC-M9200 – XC Crank

- XC-friendly 168mm Q-Factor
- Crank Arm Length: 165, 170, 175mm
- Chainline: 55mm

M9200 Brakes

You don't have to look too closely to see that Shimano made some changes to their famed line of brakes, although there's more old than new. Like the new shifter switch, the brakes received a lot of ergonomic attention, however in the case of the brakes, it's fair to say you're all more interested in what's going on with that bite point, so let's start there.

According to Shimano, there's a direct relationship between brake power and bite point consistency and sharpness. Their well-known sharp bite point feel accentuates any inconsistency. A strong brake with a sharp bite point will have any inconsistency exposed much more easily than a brake with a relatively weaker and/or softer bite point. They made gains with the 2-piston brake but we all know it was still an issue with the 4-piston stoppers. They pointed out two other potential causes of BP inconsistency: 1) an inner sheath hose rupture, and 2) fluid/seal incompatibility. So, here's what's changed and why they think they've licked the issue:

• M9200 series brakes use a new, lower viscosity mineral brake fluid that is more consistent across a range of temperatures.
• This new mineral oil was specially matched with new caliper seals, specially designed to produce a consistent rebound speed.

Couple of things to be aware of here. First, it's probably not emphasized enough across all brake brands that seals and brake fluid are designed to work together, and using a non-recommended fluid can cause problems. Shimano was careful to note that they only recommend using the new mineral oil with the new brakes; don't use the old oil, and don't use a 3rd party mineral oil. They cautioned that the seals could disintegrate and the brakes could fail. It is OK to use the same bleed kit across different generations of Shimano brakes, even if the other mineral oil has been in there - that's not considered to be a big contamination risk.

Other changes to M9200 brakes:

• Caliper tooling is the same, however XC pistons are now resin instead of ceramic (more durable, slightly less consistent).
• New brake lever geometry: pivot point moved 5mm closer to the bar so the stroke doesn't move the arc in and away from your hand as it progresses (this was a Nate Riddle proposal).
• New levers also have a 15º upsweep that is designed to meet your finger at a more natural angle, which Bryn Atkinson demonstrated should encourage a more aggressive riding position. This sounds crazily subtle but I can tell you that Bryn isn't messing around with his ergonomics and you can't dispute his bona fides.
• The BL-M9220 lever has a redesigned Servo Wave track which is said to smooth out the onset of power (also mitigating that strong bite point feeling).
• The master cylinder is now a pull design rather than push, which was done to improve cable routing. The new look is clean.
• Enduro master cylinder is larger.
• Enduro lever reach adjust is now a dial that no longer protrudes and is better integrated into the lever.
• New brake pads have a wider back plate and ovalized pin hole to reduce rattling. Radiator fins are re-designed. These new pads are backwards compatible.

As in the past, Shimano offers a 2-piston XC caliper and a 4-piston Trail/Enduro caliper. New for this year is that you can run the new Servo-Wave levers with the 2-piston caliper for the strongest, lightest possible combination (this is lighter than going up a rotor size or running more powerful calipers).

A few final notes: The new aftermarket brake kits (4-piston only) will come with both pad compounds and 100ml of the new mineral oil. The resin pads have a softer bite point, which Shimano recommended riders try if they want to tune brake feel somewhat. Rotors are unchanged; Shimano's rotor release schedule is not tied to product line launches and the current XTR rotors were released with the latest Dura-Ace generation - which means 203mm is still the largest rotor Shimano offers (and no thick 'uns yet). In case you missed it, the newest rotors have a spider that was redesigned to reduce deformation under high heat, and do away with that 'zing, zing' that comes on under heavy use and fades over time when you let off the binders. Finally, despite the new piston material on the XC brakes, you still can't replace a piston. It's cheaper to replace the caliper if a piston breaks, however the new resin pistons should be much more durable.

Some key M9200 Brake and Brake Lever spec points:

BL-M9220 – Enduro / Trail Brake Lever

- New reach adjust dial on lever body
- I-SPEC EV compatible
- Durable alloy lever blade

BR-M9220 – Enduro / Trail Brake Caliper

- Dual diameter 4-piston design
- Anti-rattle finned pad design
- One-piece caliper design for optimized rigidity and weight

BL-M9200 – XC Brake Lever

- Lightweight construction with carbon lever blade
- Magnesium master cylinder
- I-SPEC EV compatible

BR-M9200 – XC Brake Caliper

- Lightweight 2-piston design
- Heat-resistant resin piston
- Post mount

Shimano WH-M9220 Enduro/Trail and WH-M9200 XC Wheels

Shimano has rolled out two new wheel sets as well. As with metal cranks, Shimano has always used cup and cone bearings for their wheels. Unlike with metal cranks, that has changed (!) and Shimano has finally made the switch to cartridge bearings for their latest hubs. They have finally got their labyrinth seals to a place they're happy with, so they made it official. Their star ratchet design hubs have an improved 3.5º engagement angle (down from 6.7º) and the hub weights of 121 and 231 grams (front and rear) have helped get their 24-hole XC wheelset down to 1,157 grams with straight pull titanium spokes, whereas the 28-hole j-spoked Enduro wheelset comes in at 1,791 grams (29" front and back only). Wheels are done and available now (ie. no delays like last gen's Sylence hub issues).

I have a set of the M9220 Enduro wheels and they've been great so far, but we're going to do a tear down of these wheels and I'll provide a more detailed review at that time.

WH-M9220 – Enduro / Trail Wheels

- 29-inch carbon tubeless rim, hookless with 30mm internal width
- 28 Stainless-steel spokes
- 3.5-degree engagement angle
- MICRO SPLINE freehub body, CENTERLOCK disc brake mount

WH-M9200 – Lightweight XC Wheels

- Lightweight 29-inch carbon tubeless rim, hooked design with 29.6mm internal width
- 24 Lightweight titanium spokes
- 3.5-degree engagement angle
- MICRO SPLINE freehub body, CENTERLOCK disc brake mount

Riding Impressions of XTR M9200

Shimano hosted a media camp for North American hacks in Tucson, AZ in early February, where we were treated to some high desert country jank, as the trails there are as ledgy and chunky as they are scenic. Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner could have been waiting around any corner and I would not have been surprised. We spent a few days chasing each other around, and I had the pleasure of being reminded of the difference between mid-season fitness and no fitness at all. Nagging shoulder injury aside, it was great to feel the sun and spend a few days getting acquainted with the latest XTR.

Shifting

Since M9100 already shifted incredibly well, I had little doubt the wireless XTR Di2 version would be the same. After all, Shimano has been making electronic (wired) MTB drivetrains for 11 years, so, although I wouldn't want to downplay the challenges of bringing a wireless drivetrain to market, I didn't think Shimano would struggle to achieve it, once they deemed it ready.

Fast and reliable, even under load, dumping gears on the run up to a steep climb, for example, is incredibly quick and seamless. Arizona was chosen partly for its consistent weather during a tricky time of year, but those rough, herky-jerky trails are also a great test of a drivetrain, since you often find yourself forcing a shift at awkward times, under load. There are a lot of unexpected, punchy climbs, so I did a lot of panic shifting. I also spent some time shifting like a total goon and, yep, my attempts at clubbing the shifter at inopportune times were no match for M9200. It shifts, up or down, whenever you ask it to, quickly, and without complaint. Every time. I am a bit sad that these modern drivetrains no longer 'reward' good shifting technique, but it's way too late to write that elegy now.

Since then, I have had plenty more time to ride on XTR, and not once has a shift been missed. The shifter switch has quickly become my favourite shifter (wireless or not), especially since I had time to play around with the paddle position and orientation. The adjustments let you loosen it, use your thumb to zero in on your ideal position - very quickly - and then tighten it. Now, as soon as I pull my thumb off the bar, bam, the shift paddles are right there and I can make a shift or two - or hold on it for 3-4 very rapid shifts - and my thumb is back on the bar in no time. When I need more than one shift, though, my go-to is the click-through double shift, which is a foolproof way to get two shifts, every time. Is the speed drastically different than SRAM AXS? Well, it's certainly faster than T-Type, and it's a dead heat vs. the original AXS, I think.

Further to the improved speed, accuracy, reliability, and ergonomics, I think Shimano fans will generally like the aesthetics of the new group. The derailleur is a bit more rounded and organic than T-Type, although I think SRAM's group looks more futuristic, and that extends to the new Code and Maven brakes.

Brakes

And speaking of brakes, I think that's an area of not quite finished business of Shimano. The new XTR 4-pots are good, and I think I believe Shimano's Nick Murdick when he says they're 'just a little less than a rotor size up' in terms of a power increase over the incumbent. The problem is that the incumbent was considered a good Trail/Enduro brake back in 2018, but we've moved on quite a bit since then. The goal posts have moved.

Without the release of SRAM's Maven over a year ago, these new XTRs would have been a good step up, if not spectacular. However, Maven was introduced, and everyone I've spoken with that has used them feels the same way I do: once you get used to the power, you never want to go back to less - at least for, say, the capabilities of a bike with 150mm or more of rear wheel travel.

For the Yeti SB140 I'm riding, these XTR brakes are terrific. So far, no wandering bite point and the power and consistency are excellent. I find them to be precise. I think the ergonomic tweaks were successful, the closer to the bar cable routing is an improvement, and I always got along well with Shimano's on/off lever feel. So, yes, I think these are great brakes.

But.

I wouldn't buy them in the aftermarket. If they came on a trail bike, I'd be more than happy with them, but I'd want more for an e-bike or, as I said, any bike with 150 mm+ of travel. I'll reserve final judgment until/if Shimano rolls out a 220mm rotor, and of course, now that the snow is melting up high, it'll be easier to test them in harder conditions on some much longer downhills over here on the SSC. I did spend a morning on them in the Coast Gravity Park, but I struggled with bike setup in there (hot tip: a 140mm trail bike is not the thing for a bike park) and didn't really give the brakes a good go (runs are short at CGP, anyway).

Maybe a new Saint brake is imminent, but Shimano is going to have to do something to stay relevant for bigger bikes. These XTR brakes are good, but not quite up to the new standard for sustained steeps or really scary lines where you want that 'stand on it' confidence that, frankly, you can get from Mavens (and a few other aftermarket choices from Hayes and TRP, among others).

Parting Thoughts

When we arrived in Arizona in February, we knew why we were there. We expected the new XTR to look good, be well thought out, and work well. There weren't many big surprises. In a way, it was anti-climactic, but I mean that as a big compliment to Shimano. They are confident in their ability to roll out a dynamite top-of-the-line groupset, and that's what they've done. But that confidence meant they knew they didn't have to resort to neon lights and gimmicks. Do the research, follow the process, stick to the design brief, iterate, test, seek perfection, and repeat until the lemonade is gone and it's time to send the ponies over the horizon.

We were told that about 100 engineers were involved in the development of XTR M9200, and that shows in a very polished effort that feels like a worthy competitor to SRAM's massive wireless head start.

We shouldn't have expected anything less.

Shimano XTR M9200 Di2 Wireless.

Shimano XTR M9200 Di2 Wireless Prices and Weights

Shimano RD-M9200 Rear derailleurs: 899 CAD / 665 USD | 389/391g (mid/long cage)

Shimano RD-M9260 Rear derailleur (e-bike, no battery): 899 CAD / 665 USD | 372g

Shimano W-M9250 Shifter Switch: 298 CAD / 220 USD | 97/104g (I-spec EV / separate mount)

Shimano CS-M9200 Cassette: 675 CAD / 500 USD | 327 / 369g (10-51T / 9-45T)

Shimano CN-M9100 Chain: 101 CAD / 85 USD | 242g

Shimano FC-M9200 Crank: 406 CAD / 310 USD | xxx / xxxg (XC / Trail/Enduro)

Shimano M9200 Brakes (2-piston XC): 377 CAD / 295 USD (per brake) | 192/212g

Shimano M9200 Brakes (2-piston w/Servo-Wave levers): 389 CAD / 305 USD (per brake) | 239/259g (front/back )

Shimano M9220 4-Piston Enduro Brakes: 428 CAD / 335 USD (per brake) | 307 / 327g (front/back)

Shimano GP-M9250 Drivetrain Upgrade Kit (rear derailleur, shifter switch, Quick link, battery, charger): 1334 CAD / 985 USD

Shimano BR-M9220 Brake Upgrade Kit (front and rear brake calipers and levers, metal and resin pads, hoses and 100ml mineral oil): 856 CAD / 670 USD

Shimano EC-DN100 Battery Charger (incl cable): 64 CAD / 45 USD

Shimano BT-DN320 Battery: 76 CAD / 55 USD

Shimano WH-M9200 XC Front Wheel: 1500 CAD / 1145 USD | 517g

Shimano WH-M9200 XC Rear Wheel: 1650 CAD / 1250 USD | 640g

Shimano WH-M9200 XC Wheelset: 3100 CAD / 2400 USD | 1157g

Shimano WH-M9220 Enduro Front Wheel: 1050 CAD / 800 USD | 840g

Shimano WH-M9220 Enduro Rear Wheel: 1200 CAD / 915 USD | 951g

Shimano WH-M9220 Enduro Wheelset: 2200 CAD / 1715 USD | 1791g