Shimano’s 12-speed Deore group gets Shadow RD+ rear derailleur clutch mechanism, matched with the ultrasmooth Hyperglide+ shifting seen on the XTR and XT groups. RELATED: Could the new Shimano XT be better than XTR? Now that there’s a more wallet-friendly option, expect to see much more Shimano spec on 2021 bikes when they start rolling out this fall. Without a 12-speed option to compete with GX and NX Eagle, though, Shimano was at a disadvantage, especially in the OE spec wars. Over the years, Deore has earned a reputation for bringing much of the performance of Shimano’s top tier groupsets in an affordable and reliable package.
#10 vs 11 speed cassette upgrade
This does mean, though, that riders will have to upgrade to the Microspline freehub design. Hyperglide+ shifting and I-Spec EV trickle down to Deore as well. Like XTR before it, M6100 Deore will get the full 10-51 tooth range cassette. This means Shimano finally has a groupset to compete with SRAM’s GX and NX Eagle groupsets. The big headline, of course, is that Deore is gaining 12-speeds. Photo: Sterling Lorence Deore M6100 12-speed Shimano Deore 12-speed on Vancouver’s North Shore. Finally, the M4100 Deore group adds updates and upgrade options for 10-speed 1x and 2x drivetrains. New Deore M5100 11-speed cassettes now get the same gigantic 51-tooth cog as its 12-speed brethren, but using the older HG freehub body design, making it an attractive upgrade option for those that don’t want to upgrade to microspline.
But that’s not the only news out of Japan. With M6100, Shimano’s Deore group goes to 12-speed, joining the latest XTR, XT and LX groups. While XTR may be Shimano’s shiny flagship – the leading edge showing off the Japanese component makers engineering achievements – it is the workhorse Shimano Deore group that the vast majority of riders actually experience on their bike.