Shimano Saint
Shimano recently announcement that it would be relaunching Saint, its gravity gruppo. Since then, downhill riders have been clamouring to get a look at what the industry leader has cooked up. We’ve managed to find a set in the wild, so here are some exclusive photos of the new line and specs to whet your gear-hungry whistle.
New Saint Hollowtech II cranks are meant to be stronger and lighter than Shimano's previous offerings. The single-only setup is available in three chainring options (34T/36T/38T) and in two crank sets: FC-M820 (68/73mm BB) and FC-M825 (83mm BB) that both offer Pressfit BB compatibility. A steel pedal insert adds durability at the pedal interface. Note: MTB Press fit BB: SM-BB71-41A (50mm chainline; 89.5x41 BB shell), DH Press fit BB: SM-BB71-41C (58mm chainline; 104.5x41 BB shell).
With the success of the DX flat pedal Shimano had a good base to build off for the Saint platform. They made it wider and lower profile than the DX, and pins that are much easier to replace because they screw in/out from the bottom.
Slightly longer levers and textured paddles enhance the details of Shimano’s previous offerings without a full redesign. According to Shimano, "A new, longer 30mm banjo fitting extending from the calliper further reduces heat at a critical location where oil transitions from hose to calliper."
Finned brake pads, self insulating ceramic pistons and three layer rotor construction make for better heat dissipation and more power.
New chain control and silencing technologies in the new RD-M820 are a game changer for gravity riding. In addition to the proven Shadow Plus RD design, a Saint specific, high durometer urethane bump stopper (between the RD and the dropout) was added to reduce impact noise. Now 10-speed, the new RD-M820 features a durable super wide link that serves as the backbone of the DH parallelogram. Ready for track and trail, the mode converter easily adapts between two settings for MTB cassette gear ratios (11-32, 11-34, 11-36) and road (11-23, 11-25, 11-28).