Two weeks ago, Shimano finally joined the electronic wireless world with their new XTR Di2 groupset. And now, as expected but probably a little sooner than anticipated, they’ve extended wireless Di2 to XT and Deore. This is great news, because a lot of people, myself included, aren’t looking to dish out $2,000 for a new drivetrain, and we didn’t have to wait long for Shimano to offer something for us middle-class mountain bikers.
Below is an overview of how each Di2 tier compares. For more information on the development and technical features of Di2 and how it performs, check out our XTR Di2 Six-Month Review.
Wireless Di2 Overview
There are three tiers of wireless Di2: XTR M9200, XT M8200, and Deore M6200. All are 12-speed, electronic drivetrains that use Hyperglide+ shifting technology. That means you can mix and match components between groupsets.
Shimano will continue to produce XT M8100, Deore M6100, and CUES as their mechanical drivetrain groupsets. XTR mechanical M9100 will continue to be available as long as replacement parts are needed in the market.
XTR and XT Di2 include a derailleur, shifter switch, cranks, chainring, and brakes. They’re paired with existing chains and slightly revamped cassettes for improved durability. Deore Di2 includes just a new wireless derailleur and shifter switch that are intended to pair with existing Deore components.
Below is a comparison of each Di2 tier by component. At the end of this article is a table with all prices and weights.
Derailleur Highlights
All derailleurs share the same low-profile wedge design and clutchless dual-spring mechanism to manage chain tension. Additional features include solid pulley wheels, a removable on-board battery, and an automatic impact recovery function.
There are also wired e-bike Di2 derailleurs for each groupset. Wired means the derailleur is connected and powered by the e-bike battery. These derailleurs are available for 11-speed Linkglide or 12-speed Hyperglide+ and enable Shimano’s Free Shift and Auto Shift features.
The main difference between each tier of derailleur is the cage material and cage length options:
- XTR RD-M9250 uses a carbon cage and is available in mid (GS) or long (SGS) length to pair with a 9-45T or 10-51T cassette
- XT RD-M8250 uses an alloy cage and is available in mid or long length to pair with a 9-45T or 10-51T cassette
- Deore RD-M6250 uses a steel cage and is only available in long (SGS) length to pair with a 10-51T cassette
All derailleurs are sold without a battery or charger, which has to be purchased separately. The exception is when you buyan upgrade kit, a battery and charger are included. The battery retails for $55, and the charger for $45.
Shifter Switch Highlights
All tiers of wireless shifter switches share the same ergonomic lever blades that closely mimic the positioning of shifter paddles on a mechanical shifter. A third button acts as an electronic barrel adjuster to fine-tune shifting. Riders can also program that button to cycle through pages on a cycling computer or control Free Shift and Auto Shift e-bike features. There are two versions of each shifter switch per groupset, one with a clamp band, and another with an I-SPEC EV mount. Two CR1632 batteries power the unit.
All shifter switches enable hold-down multi-shifting—holding a shifter paddle will cause numerous gear changes. In Shimano’s E-TUBE app, you can limit how many gears the system changes at a time when multi-shifting. You can also adjust between five shifting speeds to change how quickly or slowly gear changes occur.
XTR and XT shifter switches include a click-through double-shift feature, which allows you to shift two gears at once. With XTR, you can lock the double-shift feature if you want to only make one gear shift at a time. XT does not allow for double-shift to be turned off. Deore is the opposite to XT, and only includes single-shifting or can be held down to enable multi-shifting.
XTR and XT shifter switches also include 4-way adjustable shifter paddles, while Deore’s are fixed.
- Deore SW-M6250 - $140
- XT SW-M8250 - $190 / 97g (I-SPEC EV), 104g (Clamp Band)
- XTR SW-M9250 - $220 / 97g (I-SPEC EV), 104g (Clamp Band)
Crankset Highlights
The new XT and XTR cranks share many design similarities, including Shimano’s HollowTech II construction that balances stiffness and durability with weight. There are two XTR models—trail/enduro (M9220) and XC (M9200). The main difference is that the trail/enduro cranks have a thicker spindle, which adds about 20g compared to the XC cranks. There is only one XT model (M8200) to satisfy trail/enduro/XC riders.
The XTR trail/enduro and XT cranks have a 176mm Q-Factor and are available in 160, 165, 170, and 175mm lengths. The XTR XC cranks have a 168mm Q-Factor and are available in 165, 170, and 175mm lengths. All cranks use Shimano’s existing direct-mount chainring interface but are now designed around a 55mm chain line.
The chainrings themselves have been redesigned with extra bracing where the ring is most likely to contact the ground. XT and XTR chainrings are available in 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, and 38T. The XTR chainring retails for $150, while the XT retails for $73.
Cassette Highlights
Both XT and XTR cassettes remain quite similar to before, with the most significant change being the addition of thicker teeth to improve durability. XTR has also received a new extra-durable surface treatment to further minimize wear.
Like the outgoing XTR cassette, the two largest cogs are alloy, the next five are titanium, and the rest are steel. The XT cassette uses alloy for the two largest cogs, and the smallest ten cogs are forged from steel. The cassettes still ride on a MicroSpline freehub body, with the largest seven gears connected as one unit, while the remaining five cogs slide on individually.
The other most notable update is the addition of a 9-tooth cog on the 9-45T cassette. This was made possible by combining the smallest sprocket and the cassette lockring into a single part.
Brake Highlights
Shimano has given XT and XTR brakes a significant makeover to go with their Di2 drivetrains. However, the focus was put more on improving consistency and lever feel while maintaining power. New low-viscosity mineral oil and updated seals help maintain bite and modulation over a wider temperature range. This does mean the new brakes are not backward compatible with previous mineral oil brakes from Shimano. However, they can still be bled with Shimano’s existing bleed kit—just make sure you clean your bleeding cup and syringes if you are bleeding Shimano brakes with the old red mineral oil.
The levers use a redesigned Servo Wave link to create a power curve that ramps faster without diminishing modulation. Of course, the master cylinder sits more parallel to the handlebar to facilitate hose routing on headset-routed frames. Lever shape and position have also changed. Shimano’s new Ergo Flow lever design positions the lever pivot point closer to the handlebar so that it follows the natural path of your finger as you apply power.
A welcomed change is a revised pad design with an oval hole to keep the pad from rattling against the retention pin. Other updates include a new reach adjust dial with more clicks than the previous design and a tooled bleeding port at the caliper. The levers continue to use Shimano’s I-SPEC EV mounting interface.
The main difference between XT and XTR is that XT uses a 2-piece caliper, while XTR’s caliper is one piece. The XTR lever blade also has a 5-degree upsweep to better match the angle of your hand and finger when braking.
There are three XTR models and three XT models.
XT pairs the same BL-M8220 brake lever with all three caliper options: 4-piston BR-M8220, 2-piston BR-M8200 post mount, and 2-piston BR-MT805 flat mount.
XTR pairs its BL-M8220 brake lever with its 4-piston BR-M9220 caliper and 2-piston BR-M9200 caliper. There is also a lightweight XC lever (BL-M9200) featuring a magnesium master cylinder and a carbon lever blade. It’s intended to pair with the 2-piston BR-M9200 caliper.
Upgrade Kits
Because the Di2 drivetrains are backward compatible with any 12-speed, Hyperglide+ drivetrain, Shimano is offering Di2 Upgrade Kits for Deore, XT, and XTR. These include a derailleur, shifter switch, battery, charger, and quick link. The bare essentials needed to convert your mechanical drivetrain to electronic. There is also a Brake Upgrade Kit for XT and XTR that includes a front and rear 4-piston brake, two sets of metal pads, two sets of resin pads, two connector inserts, and 100ml of LV oil.
Pricing & Weight
I’ll let everyone go wild in the comments below debating the price of each Di2 component. But there are two things that are worth pointing out: 1. You can mix components from each groupset to achieve a curated drivetrain to meet your needs. 2. The Deore groupset and all three upgrade kits offer the cheapest route to ride a wireless, electronic drivetrain compared to other electronic systems in the market.
Shimano has yet to release the weights of the Deore derailleur or shifter switch, so only XT and XTR are included at this time.
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Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. |
Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. $860.00
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Free U.S. shipping on everything.
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. |
Free U.S. shipping on everything.
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. $860.00
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Free shipping on orders over $69 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. |
Free shipping on orders over $69 (continental U.S. only).
International shipping available. Some exclusions apply. $860.00
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View key specs, compare parts, and review Shimano in the Vital MTB Product section.
6/18/2025 9:00am
View replies to: Wireless Shifting For The Masses - Shimano Introduces Deore and XT Di2
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