Saw someone else posted about this, but I found some clearer pictures. New 12-speed Deore and XT rear derailleurs on the Orbea Oiz M20 and M30. I wonder what Shimano can possibly improve from M6100 and M8100—same cassettes, chains, etc, so the only material difference is likely the spring instead of clutch.
by wicabeezo
5 Comments
Probably the short cage and 9-45 cassette compatibility, which is a pretty nice thing for the type of rider who might break a derailleur cage on a rock.
It’s a good idea to have the same cassette ranges for all levels, chain height has a big effect on kinematics like anti-squat and I’m sure manufacturers prefer to spec lines of bikes with groupsets that allow the frame itself to perform about the same across levels.
Why go back to spring from clutch?
The initial reviews of XT Di2 are that it is excellent except for terrible chain slap / missing clutch. I’ve never even seen it in person, just parroting what I’ve read. I guess we can assume that the new Deore and XT will have the same issue, which seems very disappointing.
Might be time to squirrel away an extra 8100 derailleur or two…
Hopefully they have the 9-45 mid-cage option for these…
The lack of a clutch makes the long cage versions of the new Di2 super noisy in the rough.
Will any of these have the same ratios to pair up with a set of brifters?