Looking like a far more expensive high end group, the new Deore carries many of the features from its bigger brothers but at a fraction of the price.  We clapped eyes on the new groupset at the Shimano press camp last Friday and we reckon it does live up to the hype.

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First up the overall look of the group has been worked on  and now has a shiny black and silver appearance.  We particularly like the brake levers which are great.  Speaking as someone who has small hands the lever fit is perfect with plenty of adjustment, using the same reach adjust system as SLX and XT.  The angle of the blade is a little less severe than XT.

(Click on the image to enlarge)

The lever is described as a one to two finger lever but in our case fits two fingers comfortably and is easy to operate with one.  The main difference between XT and this is an independent pad adjustment screw on the XTs and of course weight.  Power is increased by 5% over the previous model.  The clamp is hinged allowing for it to be removed from the bars without removing grips.  At this price level we wonder if this is required but certainly the high end groups could do with it.  Another feature of the brake is a shift in the cable angle to match the cables emerging from the shifter providing a neater cockpit.

The caliper has been refined to with a new bleed circuit.  Previous versions have had problems (and not just at this price point) with the bleed circuit as bubbles could be trapped in a crucial section of the brake.  The new circuit goes right around the caliper and should remove all the air from the circuit more efficiently than before.  Its a two piston caliper.

(Click on the image to enlarge)

(Click on the image to enlarge)