Always one to adapt their top-level tech into the more affordable groupsets that sell to a vast swat of the market and end up spec’d as OEM on tons of entry to mid level bikes, Shimano has just announced a new round of updates to their budget friendly off-road groupsets. From Deore down to Altus, these workingman’s groups all get a bit of reshaping and updating to more closely mimic the look and performance of the top level XT & XTR groups. But while the new groups get minor makeovers and the new X-thousand series designations, they stick with their current 10 & 9 speed variations and really only take on a few subtle changes. Out of the bunch the new Deore M6000 does add Boost spacing, and the familiar non-standard 4-bolt chainrings, plus a new 11-42 10 speed cassette that will likely see a lot of use shoehorned into other older groupsets. Check out all that is new after the jump…
Deore M6000
Deore is Shimano’s budget group that ends up on everything from entry-level mountain bikes to commuters to touring & trekking bikes. Sticking with 10 speed spacing, it misses out on the compatibility with the higher end groups that it had for many years, but does get more range with new crankset & cassette offerings.
Its crank will now come in the unequally spaced 4-bolt in either double (38/28T, 36/26T, 34/24T) or triple (40/30/22T) configurations. The doubles also offer a version with Boost spacing moving the spider 3mm outboard to match up with wider rear ends. To complement the new cranks, Deore gets a new 11-42 10-speed cassette to go with the more typical 11-36/34/32 offerings. While previous derailleur versions were limited to a max 36T cog, we’d venture to guess that this new (and affordable) CS-HG500 11-42 cassette will see a lot of riders with existing 10 speed groups maxing out their b-tension screws to see if they can squeeze it into their current 10 speed drivetrains.