Shimano XTR RD-M9000 Rear Derailleur

Shimano XTR RD-M9000 Rear Derailleur Info

Shimano's Shadow rear derailleur design has withstood the test of time, and there's no doubt that the low-profile shaping is a boon for riders on tight, technical trails. The Shimano XTR M9000 Rear Derailleur is the latest version, and it has a few new features to make it better than ever.

First, please note that this is a Shadow Plus derailleur. In our opinion, the addition of the roller clutch to the Shadow derailleur was the best thing to hit MTB in quite some time. New for this year is an external adjustment for the clutch. So not only do you get a near-silent drivetrain (without the raucous chain slap of standard derailleurs) and added benefit of better chain retention on rough trails, but you'll be able to adjust the tension to your exact preferences. Ride on mostly smooth trails - dial back the tension to ease shifting effort and quicken downshifts. Prefer to ride in the gnarly everyday - dial up the tension to ensure maximum chain security.

The geometry of the M9000 11-speed derailleur is new as well. It was re-designed to better function with the wider ration XTR M9000 11-40t cassette. The angle of the parallelogram has been shifted, and the upper pulley wheel is farther forward. Aside from improved shifting performance, you'll get greater wrap around the cassette as well. The benefit is greater chain security and less cog wear since the chain contacts more teeth as you put pressure to the pedals. This is especially important on the smaller cogs.

There are two cage length options - GS (mid) and SGS (long). The mid cage GS derailleur is suited to most double and single ring applications. It should be noted, however, that the total chain wrap capacity is 37 teeth. The total chain wrap difference for an XTR double crank and 11-40t cassette is 39 teeth. This means that great care should be taken to cut your chain for double ring builds and that you'll need to decide if you prefer to access the big/big gear combo or keep the chain well tensioned in the small/small combo. If in doubt or if you have a full-suspension bike frame that exhibits lots of chain stay growth over the travel range, then it would be very wise to run the long cage SGS model. It has a total chain wrap capacity of 45 teeth. It's the one you'd definitely want for triple chain ring applications. The weight difference between SGS and GS derailleurs is a negligible seven grams.

The Shimano XTR M9000 Rear Derailleur is worthy as their top-of-the-line unit. It's as smartly engineered as it is sexy, and the anodized aluminum mechanism, carbon fiber cage plates, and sealed pulley bearings will keep it shifting smoothly for miles to come. It's designed for use with XTR M9000 11-speed shift system.