It’s simply called FC-MT900, so you’ll hear us refer to it as “The Black Crank”. The crank and chain ring will come in a stealth black color and subtle Shimano branding. It uses our tried and true hollow forged crank arms but it will use the direct mount chain ring that goes with the new group. As a remedy, we’ve added a new crank to the line-up that falls in-between the performance and quality of the previous generation XTR and the new M9100 XTR group. It’s a good design, but mastering the mass production of it has proven difficult so we need more time to work on it. The production process for the crank still needs refinement. Of course, it’s up to every rider to decide for themselves what chain and crank they use, and we aren’t trying to get in the way of someone choosing another product that they like better, but at the same time, we don’t want to force people into that situation because we don’t have a crank to sell them. If they switch to a different chain, the Hyperglide+ shifting goes away and at that point it really just isn’t an XTR group anymore. On others, it might vibrate while pedaling or wear out extremely quickly. The new XTR chain might not fit on some chain rings at all. As expected though, we’ve heard that the riders who have bought those components have struggled to find an acceptable crank solution. Other distributors and sales offices around the globe manage their own distribution, which may be why you’ve been able to find some parts through the European retailers you mentioned. That chain plate also plays a key role in the smooth Hyperglide+ shifting across the cassette even under extreme load while accelerating. Specifically, the inner plates on the chain being extended out beyond the roller are responsible for the improved driving efficiency and chain retention of the crank. Since several of the performance gains with the new XTR group were achieved through a system engineering approach, it’s not so easy to sub in another crank. In our market, we’ve chosen to hold off on shipping XTR components because the crank set hasn’t been available. North American customers can expect to find new XTR complete groups at retailers around the first of March.
When will XTR actually be available? Have the parts that consumers are buying in Europe been officially released, or are those grey market / early sample items? Nick Murdick, Shimano's MTB product manager, provided more details about the current state of the new XTR. The M9100 cranks are also being revised, with the slightly heavier FC-MT900 direct mount crank being released in the meantime. That's because there have been some relatively significant changes to the lineup, including the cancellation of the Scylence hub (for now), and the 11-speed cassette option. You may have even seen a few "reviews" pop up here and there, but the parts in those reviews aren't the same as what's going to be available to the end consumer – in fact, they may never hit the market at all.
Yes, some of the components are available from European distributors, but as far as purchasing all of the parts needed for a drivetrain, including cranks and hubs, well, that's not going to be possible until March. Even though Shimano announced the details of their new XTR gruppo eight months ago, it still hasn't officially hit the market.