{"id":742458,"date":"2026-06-17T09:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/742458\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T09:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:29:11","slug":"shimano-brings-linkglide-shadow-es-and-high-torque-emtb-option-to-mechanical-xt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/742458\/","title":{"rendered":"Shimano brings Linkglide, Shadow ES and “High-torque eMTB” option to mechanical XT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following hot on the heels of Monday\u2019s Deore mechanical groupset update<\/a>, Shimano is revamping its Deore XT mechanical groupset. This is more than just an update, though. There are now three derailleurs in the XT-M8200 line. To go with that trio, roughly, there are now three Deore XT mechanical shifters, too. And all the wireless Di2 range.<\/p>\n

There are also two new pedals. An XT-level trail pedal mirroring the \u00a0XTR pedals<\/a> introduced last summer. And a bolstered 520-series all-rounder clipless pedal for XC, gravel and commuting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Three Deore XT mechanical derailleurs?<\/p>\n

Shimano is bringing many of the features from Di2<\/a> to the new M-8200 mechanical group, plus a few other cable-specific changes. The big change for the rear derailleur is the move from a Shadow+ clutch to the new Shadow ES, dual-spring stabilizer. That\u2019s the same as what was introduced with Di2, but now its available for mechanical shifting too. To keep shift speeds feeling as crisp as its wireless counterparts, Shimano shortens the lever stroke for the mechanical Deore XT group. Or groups.<\/p>\n

A trio of derailleur options<\/p>\n

There\u2019s now a trio of Deore XT M-8200 mechanical derailleurs. As with the existing group, there are two 12-speed HG+ cassettes. The wide range (10-51t) cassette and matching M-8200 SGS long cage derailleur is, by far, the most common. The new 9-45 cassette<\/a> that made its debut with XTR Di2 now officially works with the new M-8200 GS mid-cage rear derailleur. That\u2019s two.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Not an eMTB. But you could still use it with Linkglide
\nDeore XT Linkglide brings multi-shift to eMTB<\/p>\n

The third? An 11-speed Linkglide version. This derailleur (M-8230) provides an updated mechanical alternative to the XT Linkglide wired-in electronic group<\/a> that was introduced a few years ago. Linkglide is intended to be a more durable alternative to HG+, with a special emphasis on smooth shifting under load that makes it well suited to eMTB use. So it is interesting that the new 11-speed Linkglide shifter includes multi-shift (up to two shifts per lever push), making it one of the few eMTB-friendly groups with any kind of multi-shift function.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Deore XT shifter options for Hyperglide+<\/p>\n

The Linkglide shifter isn\u2019t the only option developed with eMTB in mind, though. There are two more updated shifters. One with multi-shift (up to three shifts per lever push), is very similar to the existing option, and is backwards compatible with 12-speed HG+ mechanical drivetrains, but with the move to a shorter lever throw.<\/p>\n

The other shifter (SL-M8210), is designed \u201cfor high-torque e-MTB\u201d use. It is limited to a single shift only. It is also backward compatible with previous 12-speed HG+ drivetrains. So if you want to run your current mechanical shifting on your new Avinox-equipped eMTB, you can use this shifter in place of an older shifter with multi-shift, I guess.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Two new, very different pedals<\/p>\n

Keeping with the theme of trickling down features from last year\u2019s releases, Shimano is bringing the XTR M9220 trail pedal design to an XT-level pedal. Like the XTR version, this new 8220 pedal uses a much wider pedal body than previous Shimano XT Trail pedals. This helps it sit somewhere between a trail pedal and Shimano\u2019s Saint downhill race offering.<\/p>\n

Like XTR, the Deore XT M8220 pedals also include the option to run adjustable height pins and are optimized for the new CL-M001 cleat with multi-directional entry. They will still work with any other SPD cleat, though. These new pedals come with a claimed weight of 472g (pair) and run for USD 160.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A step away from high-end towards more general use is the new MT520 pedal. This is aimed at anything from casual riding to XC, cyclocross, gravel, whatever you want to clip in for. At USD 55 for a pair, it\u2019s a much more approachable entry point to the world of clipless riding. This replaces the existing M520, with an updated pedal body. But this pedal is optimized for SM-SH51 cleats (though it will also work with the CL-M001 cleat).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all! Wait, no. There\u2019s also new disc brake rotors and standards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following hot on the heels of Monday\u2019s Deore mechanical groupset update, Shimano is revamping its Deore XT mechanical…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":742459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,266309,1700,35620,18208,266310,155517,61,266311],"class_list":["post-742458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mechanical-shifting","tag-mtb-features","tag-mtb-gear","tag-shimano","tag-shimano-deore-xt","tag-shimano-xt-di2-m8200","tag-technology","tag-xt-m8200"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}