MTB_plus_2
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Review<br />
Yeah! Achievement unlocked. And having<br />
a bigger front ring allows me to commute<br />
slightly faster to the trailhead too, instead<br />
of spinning on a 30t.<br />
I think I’ll stick to double rings for now<br />
and you’ll be glad to know that the FC-<br />
M9020-2 2X Trail Crankset is totally<br />
compatible for a single ring setup, should<br />
the fitness allows for it in the future. So<br />
that’s good news for ultra fit riders who<br />
only needs one ring to rule them all.<br />
Except for Sauron, the dude doesn’t even<br />
ride a bike.<br />
As for the rest of the groupset, I’ve never<br />
been needed to make any adjustments<br />
on the wheels or cranks, and the XTR<br />
brakes are rock stars in their own right.<br />
Modulation was good, biting power<br />
was immense, and there hasn’t been<br />
any need for a bleed since day 1. The<br />
Ice-Tech finned brake pads and Freeza<br />
rotors worked perfectly in all the riding<br />
conditions that we’ve managed to try, and<br />
our only gripe is that the Freeza rotors were<br />
only available in centre-lock, which is a<br />
bummer since we can’t use it on our 6-bolt<br />
wheels. However, we don’t think you can<br />
feel any difference in braking power even<br />
though you’re using the Shimano RT86 or<br />
20<br />
RT76 rotors or any other good rotors from<br />
3rd party brands. The only difference is<br />
the fast cooling action from the fins on the<br />
Freeza rotors.<br />
The extra aluminum area on the Freeza<br />
was designed for cooling down the rotors<br />
during hard braking or long descends. We<br />
didn’t manage to see if this truly worked<br />
but after barbecuing a couple of rotors<br />
on our overseas trips, we’re quite sure<br />
that Shimano’s claim of 50° C reduction<br />
in heat gives a for greater durability and<br />
longer pad life will help riders in those<br />
long brake dragging situations.<br />
Durability<br />
Battery Life<br />
The fully-sealed, 7.4-volt lithium-ion<br />
rechargeable battery unit is the same<br />
battery that’s used for both road and<br />
mountain Di2 systems. I’ve read very<br />
good reports about battery life on road<br />
bike applications prior to my test ride<br />
and it’s been reported that the battery<br />
can last for up to 2000km on one charge.<br />
However, mountain biking requires alot<br />
more shifting than road riding so there’s<br />
definitely a trade-off. So how has it been?<br />
The battery life is awesome. Throughout<br />
the 3 months, I’ve only needed to charge<br />
the system ONCE. And that wasn’t even<br />
needed cos I still had one bar left. Being<br />
the typical OCD that i am, I decided to<br />
charge it when I saw that it had one bar<br />
left, which I regretted because I had<br />
planned to use all of it’s juice up, and see<br />
if I can make it home by charging through<br />
a USB powerbank. In theory, I should be<br />
able to do that and I definitely will try.<br />
So what’s the verdict? In the beginning,<br />
I was abit worried about having to charge<br />
the damn bike before every ride, but I’ve<br />
realised I was just an idiot.<br />
While the battery does not have an IP<br />
rating, it has managed to stay alive<br />
despite riding it through some heavy<br />
thunderstorms. We didn’t manage to take<br />
it out for a swim though, and we don’t<br />
recommend that you do either. However,<br />
alot of pro riders have put these systems<br />
through the worst of conditions so I’m<br />
confident they’ve designed it for the<br />
worst scenarios in mind.<br />
Overall durability<br />
As for the rest of the components, overall<br />
durability has been excellent. I’ve had<br />
some minor crashes a couple of times, and<br />
all of the parts are still in one piece. So far,<br />
nothing has came loose on it’s own and<br />
all of the moving parts are still working<br />
like they’re supposed to. Mud, sand and<br />
trail debris haven’t been much of an<br />
issue at all. The whole build seems really<br />
robust and we’re confident that all the<br />
electronics will last for a really long time.<br />
Cosmetic damage was to be expected and<br />
a few scuffs here and there are just your<br />
typical battle scars. The chain and carbon/<br />
ti cassette are still working like new and<br />
there wasn’t any need for any major<br />
maintenance work other than the usual<br />
clean up and chain lube. And oh yeah, the<br />
XTR chainrings are strong. Like really<br />
strong. I’ve accidentally bashed them into<br />
rocks, roots and they remain undamaged<br />
to this day. There are some minor visible<br />
wear on the teeth but that’s only expected<br />
with metal grinding on metal.<br />
Be careful with the display unit’s screen
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