MAY 26, 2004 -- OSAKA, Japan (BRAIN)--Shimano yesterday officially unveiled its new Deore LX components, highlighting the group"s new look and the features it shares with its higher-end component cousins.
At least as important as the group"s aesthetics and functionality to suppliers and retailers is the advertised availability date of September--in time for the fall trade shows and production of next season"s bikes.
"New Deore LX is featuring the proven, innovative technology introduced in the XTR and Deore XT component groups in the last two years. Furthermore, the developers paid extra attention to the design of this groupset. New LX has a sharp-edged, powerful look in a subtle silver and black color combination," said Harald Troost, press officer for Shimano Europe.
The new LX uses Hollowtech II technology, which incorporates the crankset and bottom bracket into a single component to reduce weight but increase power transfer, according to Shimano.
Deore LX also incorporates Dual Control levers for hydraulic disc brakes and V-brakes, and uses the Low-Normal rear derailleur to ease shifting. Its bracket-mounted hydraulic disc brakes feature two opposed pistons for control and efficiency, and use Shimano"s Center Lock system for quick and lightweight set up, Troost said.
"The LX Center Lock hubs can be combined with XTR and Deore XT disc brakes," he added.
On the more technical front the big news is that "flippy shifting" has filtered down to the LX level. Well, we say "big news" but you all saw it coming, right? There is one fundamental difference in their operation though. Instead of independent thumb and brake/shift levers, the thumb paddle and the brake lever are all one piece. Pushing the thumb lever pushes the brake lever upwards and vice-versa. How this will affect braking while shifting is something we look forward to finding out.
