New XTR - built on a budget!?

ashleymp777

Looking at the new 2011 XTR components compared to the previous version it seems as though Shimano have machined the parts far less in a bid to keep production costs down, but still maintain a retail price. I was looking at the front mech in particular which has little or no machining compared to the previous model which had that attractive 'X' on it.

Is it just me, am I going mad? Or is that companies are doing nowadays?

Northwind

Totally functional machining (or casting, or forging, or welding) tends to look a bit less pretty than ornamental stuff, I'd sooner have the former. Machining in ornamentation usually means either adding material so you've got something to work with, or taking away less than you could.