Speaker: In 1995, Shimano made the choice
to only introduce componentry at the top-end
level and then it would filter down.
Last year, we saw XT take on the 12-speed
form previously laid out by the top-end XTR
transmission.
We also saw the budget-conscious SLX take
it on, which was so good, but I questioned
why you would need it anymore, but now there's
an even cheaper one.
I know totally, you didn't see this one coming.
This is Shimano Deore M6000 100 in 12-speed.
Now, just before I go on about the 12-speed
set up here in front of me, you might be interested
in the fact that you can also get a 10 and
11-speed option.
There's also a double available.
Now, the 10, 11 options aren't quite as good
as the Deore because they lack some of that
newer technology that came down from the XTR
level, but nonetheless, it means you can go
10, 11, or 12-speed and, of course, with the
10 and 11, you've also got the option of a
double or a single, so that's a huge array
of components in the Deore line.
Now, Shimano actually sent me a bike with
the Deore group set on to make this video,
but it wasn't quite doing it for me.
I wanted to show you everything close up.
Look at it, look at the details on this stuff.
When did budget ever look this good?
Let's take a closer look, shall we?
[music]
Speaker: Okay, so let's look at the cranks
first.
As you see, they look really nice budget these
days doesn't mean cheap, two different times,
completely, and this shows that, completely.
They got a lovely black finish to them.
They got slightly grayed out merge areas with
some laser etching on here with the Deore
branding.
They look really nice.
Now, they don't share the same Hollowtech
construction as the more expensive options
in the range, but they're not that much heavier.
It took about 150 grams heavier for a set
with the equivalent chainring over a set of
XT.
That's pretty amazing.
Now, there are only available in 170 and 175,
but that will suit most riders out there,
and they only have to chainring options, a
30 or a 32.
The good news, though, is all of the 12-speed
system is completely interchangeable.
This chainring design fits the same exact
way as you see on SLX, same as XT, and the
same as XTR, so you can share the chainring
sizes across the board there.
They just offer two to get going with at this
level, and to be fair, the 30 and 32 are going
to suit most riders in the Deore level really
well.
Like I said, there's two options in length,
the one 170 and 175, but there's also three
Q factors available.
There's 172, 178, and 181.
The 181 is the huge super boost, so it's really
called super-boost at this level.
As well, the rest of the 12-speed range, it
shares the same chainring profile design as
well as the Dynamic Chain Engagement system.
Essentially, they've got really long profile
teeth.
You get a narrow one, and you get a wide one.
In conjunction with the Dynamic Chain Engagement
Plus chain, you get essentially a perfect
fit.
The whole point is it reduces friction, it
reduces noise, it increases retention, and
it reduces wear.
What is not to like about that?
[music]
Speaker: Next up comes the cassette.
Actually, this is my favorite part of the
12-speed system by Shimano.
From the ground up, it's exactly the same
layout as you see on the XTR all the way down
to this Deore level.
It installs onto the bike using the Micro
Spline system, which is a slightly different
take on the regular spline system.
Micro Spline is slightly smaller in diameter
and slightly shorter as well to compensate
for this little 10-tooth sprocket.
It's a 10-51 spread on here.
The connection to the actual Micro Spline
is much, much better.
Especially for the 12-speed interface, it
puts a lot more torque through that body.
It's specifically designed from the ground
up, and I love the fact that Shimano hasn't
skimmed it.
You've got this on all four levels.
From Deore all the way up to XTR, there is
no difference in the way it fits.
The cassette itself is a little bit heavier,
as you might expect, because of the fact it's
made from steel.
The good side of that is it means it's cheap
and is very durable.
That is exactly what you want to be hearing.
The XTR 1 has three alloy cogs at the top,
it has a load of tire ones in the middle to
keep the weight down, and has some steel ones
at the low end there.
XT has two alloy cogs at the top and the rest
is steel.
SLX has a single alloy cog, whereas this is
complete steel.
The ratio is exactly the same, though.
It's only available in the 10-51, unlike some
of the other ones high up in the range which
are available in a 10-45, but that is particularly
to go with the double.
This is all about 1x12 at the Deore range.
As far as weight goes, you're talking about
360 grams for the Shimano XTR, which is super
high-end.
This one is just under 600 grams, and this
only makes it about 60 or 70 grams heavier
than the SLX.
Yes, okay, it's heavier but not by much.
The durability you get from this is amazing.
More importantly, it has the same exact shifting
system.
This uses Hyperglide+.
Shimano developed Hyperglide in the '90s,
and the whole point of Hyperglide was to really
accentuate the shifting up the block.
If you look at the profiles on the teeth of
the sprockets here, you can see they've got
these little ramps.
The ramp is designed to literally pull the
chain up.
It basically means as you're shifting up the
block into a lower gear, you can basically
still do under-load, it will still go up.
Bearing in mind that you're doing this with
your chain under tension basically, the whole
time, when you're shifting back down again
or shifting into a smaller sprocket size or
a higher gear, your derailleur is not under
tension in the same way, you're releasing
tension.
The downshift has never been quite as good
as the upshift, but this is where Hyperglide+
comes in because it's actually got the same
ramps in a different direction, designed to
pull the chain back down the sprockets again.
Now, that is incredible.
It shifts exactly the same up or down, under
load or not, amazing shifting quality, the
same as you'd expect on SLX, XT, and XTR,
and you're now getting this at the Deore level.
That is bonkers.
Next up is the chain, which complements that
12-speed cassette perfectly.
Now, this is very similar to the slightly
more expensive and slightly lighter options
you see further up in a range.
It's directional, so that's really important
to note.
It shares the same quickly design, which makes
installation absolute cinch.
Also, that's a really good spare for you to
carry out in the trails.
The most important thing about this dedicated
12-speed chain for Deore is the fact it's
got a Dynamic Chain Engagement system.
These inner plates, you can see here, if you
look close up, they protrude quite a lot more
than the outer plates.
They've also got a slightly chamfered edges
on the inside.
The whole point of this is the fit, bearing
in mind you've got a male and female link,
and that fit, again, is opposing sprockets
and chainring teeth.
The whole point of this is you get the best
fit possible because the fact is if there's
movement around there, the chain can come
off and it also creates friction.
Friction also equates noise, you don't want
any of that stuff going on.
With this Dynamic Chain Engagement Plus system
you see on Shimano's 12-speed, you get less
noise, you get less friction, the chain lasts
longer, and it's less likely to come off.
There's literally nothing to not like about
it, as simple as that.
Okay, now it's time to talk about the rear
derailleur, and actually, I'm so stoked on
this.
This is a really, really cool part of the
Deore transmission.
Now, in the past, you could say that the cheaper
end of transmissions, the derailleur itself
was one of the hindrances there.
A lot of people didn't mind if you had a cheaper
chaining cassette because it's a consumable
part that you wear out.
The derailleur, though, is fundamental to
the quality of your shifting, and many budget
derailleurs in the past were a little bit
flexible, so you wouldn't get accurate shifting.
They were easily damaged although cheap to
replace at the same time, a double-edged sword
there, and they never looked as good, but
look at this thing.
That looks every bit as good as the SLX, every
bit as good as the XT.
I think that is a really, really good-looking
rear derailleur but also is really functional
as well because it shares all of the main
features that you need from the other more
expensive derailleurs.
It also is rock solid.
Many budget derailleurs have a really cheap
cage on them, they can be a bit bandy.
This is every bit as solid as the XT, this
is bonkers for the money.
On the inside here you've got a gloss part
of the lower jockey cage or pulley cage.
On the outside, you've got a matte finish,
you've got the bigger 13-tooth pulley wheels
on there to handle the 12-speed system.
You've got the same parallelogram action that
you see on all rear derailleurs of Shimano,
and you got the same three points of adjustment
there.
You've got the B-screw and you've got your
limits in and out.
Also, you have the clutch.
Now, the clutch is a little bit different
to the ones you see on the more expensive
derailleurs.
There is no external adjustment for how hard
you want the clutches, it's just a lever to
turn it on and off, which to be fair, that
is all you need.
You can still adjust the clutch by removing
the housing on the outside here.
To be honest, you will never need to do that,
is also using a much lighter action grid on
the inside.
It's a better-performing clutch as well, great
action.
The only thing that it is lacking, compared
to the more expensive ones, is a little rubber
bumper just down here.
To be fair, that's not even really essential
on probably 90% of bike designs these days.
My money would be on one of those because
let's face it, if you smash out on a rock,
you're not going to cry about it.
It looks great as well, awesome bit of work.
[music]
Speaker: On to the shifter itself.
Obviously, it's 12-speed.
It's got the barrel adjuster there.
You've got a two-way release, so you can shift
down with your finger and your thumb depending
on your preference or what you're actually
doing when you're riding.
Obviously, you've got the upshift shifter
here, nice and positive.
It's got a really good action.
It feels really quite stiff as well, something
that not all budget shifters have.
You can sometimes get a bit of a mushy feel
with them, not this though, it feels really
positive, really good.
The cream on the cake though, I guess, really
is the fact it's got the I-SPEC EV mounts
on there.
That mount, you can basically change the pitch
on there or roll it forwards and backwards
as much as you want.
10 degrees, that's quite a large amount when
you actually try and do that.
You got 14 millimeters of lateral movement
there, so you can really fine-tune the position
on the bars.
That definitely doesn't feel like a budget
shifter, that just feels like a really good
shifter to use, brilliant.
[music]
Speaker: Now, on to the brakes.
There's two options here.
You have the same levers, and there's two
options in calipers.
Now, I've got the four-piston caliper option
here.
They're a bit more heavier duty, maybe more
trail or enduro focus, or if you're just a
heavier duty rider.
There's also the lighter 2-piston option available.
Again, if you're a lighter rider, or if you
want to save some weight, or perhaps your
focus is more cross-country orientated, they're
going to be great for you.
Lever wise, they're the same levers.
They look nearly identical to some of the
other ones.
They're the exact same form.
They've got all the same main features on.
They're just missing a few of the bells and
whistles, as you might expect but certainly
not when it comes to the finish on them.
That finish is really, really quite classy.
They look great.
You've got your master cylinder bolt there.
You've got the Servo Wave lever action on
them, which is absolutely key to Shimano brakes.
That increases the power, basically, the deeper
you get, when you're pulling the brakes.
When you really need to slow down, it helps
you, it assists you in giving you more power
later on, a really good feature.
As with the SLX, the XT, and the XTR, you've
got a slightly different clamp design from
previous years, and it's got the support there
to really make sure the lever doesn't flex
on the bars.
It also gives you a bit more scope for where
you're positioning your lever without interfering
with other controls or dropper post remotes
and things like that.
It's a really, really tidy-looking set of
levers.
The calipers, wow, I can't believe.
I keep saying this, I can't believe it's a
budget system.
It looks brilliant.
It really does.
There you go.
You could probably tell I'm beyond impressed
with this.
If you'd put XT or XTR or down in front of
me, I would have expected it, I'd have been
trying to find holes with it.
Genuinely, this is the underdog transmission.
What Shimano has done with Deore, I think
it's brilliant.
They've not diluted the 12-speed range, at
all.
You've got all the full features that you
need.
You've got the proper cassette, you've got
the Micro Spline, you've got the Hyperglide+,
you've got all of that great stuff that you
get on the high-end stuff.
Price point, brilliant work, Shimano.
Now if you want to see a bit more about how
Shimano gears work, in particular, the Hyperglide+
that I was telling you about and the Dynamic
Chain Engagement Plus system, there's going
to be a video hovering over there.
Check it out, it's really quite cool.
It might tell you a few things about shifting.
As always, thanks for hanging around guys.
Don't forget hit us up on Instagram and say
hi.
See you later.
[00:12:46] [END OF AUDIO]
