25 years of XTR infographic

[adamcoop280]

Hi all,

For the last few months I've been slowly putting together an infographic to show the history of XTR - gladly it's almost ready to go!
Before I unleash it to the general public though I thought I'd post a draft here.

I've used mombat.org, discussions here and my own recollection as the main sources, though I've also had "unofficial" input from the local branch of "that company responsible for XTR". Obviously global announcements vary from regional availability, so there is some vagueness around the launch dates - and in a few cases major updates were announced well in advance of an actual completed product.

If you have any comments/suggestions/proof that I'm just plain wrong please comment below (and please be kind - I'm doing this for the love of it!)

Oh, if you're interested I have t-shirts available featuring some of the artwork - those that know regan_ev might have seen them before!


(Note that you can view a larger version at http://davysprocket.com.au/XTR-Infographic-draft.png

 

[Thias]

I always thought 1992 was the first year of the XTR M900. 1991 seems too early. 91 is thumb shifters XT2

The 1991 catalogue, no sign of XTR: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/7 ... o+1991.pdf
The 1992 catalogue, XTR first appearance: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/7 ... o+1991.pdf

May well be, they showed off some XTR prototypes in 1991.

You forgot to compare the milage you can get out of the components.
M900 5000km with one chain and casette: Modern crap: 1000km. That's 500% loss!

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

Nice...

Your rear mech pic appears backwards?

 

[adamcoop280]

Nice...

Your rear mech pic appears backwards?

Yep... that was the year they introduced Rapid Rise - the crazy backwards shifting

 

[adamcoop280]

I always thought 1992 was the first year of the XTR M900. 1991 seems too early. 91 is thumb shifters XT2

The 1991 catalogue, no sign of XTR: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/7 ... o+1991.pdf
The 1992 catalogue, XTR first appearance: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/7 ... o+1991.pdf

May well be, they showed off some XTR prototypes in 1991.

You forgot to compare the milage you can get out of the components.
M900 5000km with one chain and casette: Modern crap: 1000km. That's 500% loss!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was announced / shown off / appearing on pro's bikes unhidden in October '91 for a 92 model year release - so it appears in the 92 Shimano catalog.

 

[adamcoop280]

I always thought 1992 was the first year of the XTR M900. 1991 seems too early. 91 is thumb shifters XT2

The 1991 catalogue, no sign of XTR: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/7 ... o+1991.pdf
The 1992 catalogue, XTR first appearance: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/7 ... o+1991.pdf

May well be, they showed off some XTR prototypes in 1991.

You forgot to compare the milage you can get out of the components.
M900 5000km with one chain and casette: Modern crap: 1000km. That's 500% loss!

As for the mileage, I just bought two NOS IG90 chains for my almost finished LTS-1; I remember those chains wearing pretty quickly so figured I needed a replacement handy!

 

[Thias]

Nice...

Your rear mech pic appears backwards?

Yep... that was the year they introduced Rapid Rise - the crazy backwards shifting

Is this a joke? (Sorry, I'm German )

Those rapid rize were still mounted on the right side of the frame. Your pic is mirrored. (Just in case it wasn't a joke, that is)

About the chains: The (back in the day) "new" 8 speed chains were said to be wearing faster than the 7 speed XT. Those were good for 7000 km and more. Compared to the 5k of the xtr it was a loss. But compared to those modern, paper thin xx speed chains 5000km is a lot. How many spare chains do you have buy for your modern "rig"?
If you were to cross the alps, you will need to take a spare chain for the trip back home :roll:

I tried using 10speed on my daily commute. With the 7speed setup I had 1 cassette and 2 chains in 3 years. With the 10speed setup after 3 Months the chain was toast. And the new chain slipped on the (3 months) old casstte. :facepalm:
Now I am back to M900... :mrgreen:

(Sorry - Now back to topic... )

 

[adamcoop280]

Nice...

Your rear mech pic appears backwards?

Yep... that was the year they introduced Rapid Rise - the crazy backwards shifting

Is this a joke? (Sorry, I'm German )

Those rapid rize were still mounted on the right side of the frame. Your pic is mirrored. (Just in case it wasn't a joke, that is)

About the chains: The (back in the day) "new" 8 speed chains were said to be wearing faster than the 7 speed XT. Those were good for 7000 km and more. Compared to the 5k of the xtr it was a loss. But compared to those modern, paper thin xx speed chains 5000km is a lot. How many spare chains do you have buy for your modern "rig"?
If you were to cross the alps, you will need to take a spare chain for the trip back home :roll:

I tried using 10speed on my daily commute. With the 7speed setup I had 1 cassette and 2 chains in 3 years. With the 10speed setup after 3 Months the chain was toast. And the new chain slipped on the (3 months) old casstte. :facepalm:
Now I am back to M900... :mrgreen:

(Sorry - Now back to topic... )

Heehee, definitely a joke (it's a little hard to say "this derailleur worked in the opposite direction to what you're used to" in a single little image )

I got about 1500km out of my XX1 chain on my main race bike... it was a long, muddy winter here this year though.

 

[Thias]

Sorry, but I really don't understand what you're trying to say... Your pic is a mirrored, standard, non rapid rise derailleur.

Difference see here, note the cable roller on the rapid rise version:
http://www.retro-mtb.de/retro-fahrradte ... o-xtr-m951

 

[FluffyChicken]

I always thought 1992 was the first year of the XTR M900. 1991 seems too early. 91 is thumb shifters XT2

The 1991 catalogue, no sign of XTR: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/7 ... o+1991.pdf
The 1992 catalogue, XTR first appearance: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/7 ... o+1991.pdf

May well be, they showed off some XTR prototypes in 1991.

You forgot to compare the milage you can get out of the components.
M900 5000km with one chain and casette: Modern crap: 1000km. That's 500% loss!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was announced / shown off / appearing on pro's bikes unhidden in October '91 for a 92 model year release - so it appears in the 92 Shimano catalog.

The infographic shows release to market, which as with all these things, is pretty much the same as a Education year. It's not showing a model year. Which is good since that's a big confusion with Mombat, since he used released or mentioned to the market and not model years.