Closer Look: 2012 Shimano XT
XT is getting the trickle-down touches that its big brother, XTR, got last year.
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Shimano is in the middle of running cycling-editor types through a media camp on the company’s XT group. The only negative is that the camp, held at Northstar-at-Tahoe outside Truckee, California, can’t hit the upper reaches of the resort’s bike park because there’s still too much snow.
But don’t feel sorry for the crew; plenty of riding was had on Shimano’s standby XT group, whidh now comes in 2×10 and two pedal options.
The new group also gets reworked brakes with polished, reservoir-free master cylinders, tool-free lever-position adjustment and free-stroke adjustment, flow-through calipers, hinged lever clamps and the same Ice Tech heat-removing features to the caliper and rotor that XTR got this year.
XT now comes with either a double or triple crank, but there is only one set of shifters. The same left shifter works for either a double or a triple and can be adjusted by turning a plastic switch on the left shifter from 3 to 2.
There’s a lot more to check out on the 2012 XT, so stay tuned on our long-term review. Meanwhile, check out the gallery.