The New Shimano XTR M985 disc brake

These new 394g per end XC stoppers are 55g lighter than the previous XTR and are everything we’d hoped they would be.

Firstly, do they stop the bike faster than the old ones? Emphatically yes. Once fully bedded in, which is a quick and easy task, the bite from a grab of the lever is hard and decisive and excess speed can be hacked to zero with ease. As the old Pirelli tyre ad slogan went, ‘Power is nothing without control’ and Shimano understand that.

You can control the level of braking from the merest tickling off of a few mph to some massive eye-popping deceleration into a downhill switchback – even with small 160mm rotors. The one-?nger levers allow you to achieve either effect with ease. Yes, one ?nger – the abbreviated brake lever’s a visual sign from Shimano of just how powerful the XTR brake is. We never felt like we needed more ?ngers to do the job.

There are several new details that we like; one is the split clamp, which is ideal for bar changes. It’s also about time that Shimano caught up on this now old trend. Another Shimano catch-up is a new ability to integrate the brake and shifter mounts (as on SRAM’s XX), using a hook and grub screw combo. The look is clean and we’ve no complaints with the adjustable ergonomics.

New rotors (sold separately along with adaptors) are still a two-piece and centrelock design (spline ?t only) and come in 140mm (rear only), 160mm (tested) and 180mm options. The brake body is polished alloy and the levers are black anodised. Performance on the trail, as we've already hinted, is luxuriously smooth, with next to no lever friction.

The action is so light that they’re almost too easy to grab, but this makes them perfect for long rides, especially ones involving multi-minute downhill braking sessions. If that’s your bag, however, you might prefer the XTR Trail with vented callipers. Unlike the Trail model, there's no bite point adjustment on the XC version, though they both have a lever reach adjustment.

Bleeding is still simple, although the Shimano instructions don’t make it appear so. Since ?tting these brakes we have been riding faster than normal just to experience the joy of slowing down and stopping with them. If you have got some money for non-budget brakes this year, we suggest you seriously consider Shimano’s new stoppers.

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