With so many fresh drops from Shimano in the past few months, it’s easy to look past their range of wheelsets on offer. We have a set of XTR 9220 carbon wheels on test – Shimano’s dedicated trail and enduro wheels, and the only XTR hoops that the brand is bringing into Australia.
All About Shimano’s XTR M9220 Wheelset
- Model: Shimano XTR M9220
- Use Case: Trail / Enduro / XC Racing
- Wheel Size: 29” front and rear
- Rim Construction: Hookless carbon, asymmetrical profile
- Internal Rim Width: 30mm
- Actual Weight Tested: 1806g
- Tubeless Ready: Yes
- RRP: $3,162 AUD
Shimano XTR M9220 First Ride Feel and Build Quality
As we wrote about in our first look article here, the release of Shimano’s new wheelsets mark the brand’s first wheelset with hubs that veer away from cup and cone bearings instead using sealed cartridge bearings – many may argue that Shimano are very late to the party here. The hub bearings in the new M9210 hubs are also covered with hub seals that are optimised to reduce rolling resistance while also reducing water ingress, leading to a more robust wheelset over time and across conditions.
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In terms of hubs, a super quick 3.5º engagement angle means these wheels are super quick to respond to any rider input, and also feature a delightful mild buzz when freewheeling on the trail.
The rim itself is a little enigmatic – the more you look, the more you see. The rim construction is asymmetrical and the wide, flat rim with a 38mm external and 30mm internal width.
A standard 28-hole layup carbon rim with stainless steel spokes completes the build, while they are of course Microspline only, meaning you’ll need Centrelock rotors to get spinning on these, and they’re standard boost 110x15mm front/148x112mm rear setup.
The wide, low profile carbon rims feature a 4mm hookless bead which Shimano claims is designed to reduce instances of pinch flats and unwanted burps.
A set of the new XTR M9220 wheels weighs in at 1806g (actual). This isn’t crazy heavy, but it’s far from light, toeing the line between being weight conscious and robust – what you expect from a high-end wheelset that’s designed to take a beating.
Shimano also released the M9200 cross country wheelset with the M9220 release, weighing in at a claimed 1157g, but these won’t be landing on Australian shores at this point – sad for the lycra lovers and hill seekers amongst us.
In terms of setting the M9220 wheelset tubeless, it was a super simple process. They seated seamlessly with the Pirelli Scorpion tyres just with a track pump – no compressor or CO2 canisters required. Easy peasy. We are rolling on these without inserts to begin with, with a pressure of 20psi front and 22psi rear.
Shimano XTR M9220 On The Trail
Using the XTR M9220 wheelset on my trail hardtail build, and it wasn’t long before I realised that this was a clever decision. Coming from primarily riding dual suspension bikes from 120–160mm, it was apparent just how much rim-dinging was being muted by very forgiving rear suspension set ups.
Despite the relative heft of the trail wheelset, they never felt particularly sluggish on trail – likely aided by a reasonably quick rolling lightweight trail tyre. If you’re pairing these up with a heavier casing enduro or downhill tyre, it’s likely this will all add up to slightly slower acceleration off the line – something that Shimano has minitaged by their super quick engagement hubs. The hubs do buzz a little, but they’re far from obnoxious.
Heading down some pretty chunky trails and some jump lines, they have felt super stiff throughout the testing period and after a few cased jumps, they remain as true as they were straight out of the box.
Our Take on Shimano’s New XTR Wheelset
Overall, I have been mightily impressed with the new XTR M9200 wheelset, and excited to see Shimano covering some ground on the wheel front. I would have no qualms about putting these on an enduro bike – they have been pelted with some savage mistreatment so far and haven’t skipped a beat.
They are covered with Shimano’s standard warranty, but don’t feature a crash replacement option – something to be considered with a wheelset of this price. Furthermore, with the mass influx of mullet or mixed-wheel all mountain bikes, we were surprised to see these wheels offered only in 29” configurations – perhaps they will drop a 27.5” wheel offering in time.
Overall, I absolutely couldn’t find fault with the XTR M9220 wheelset, they have offered a great deal of joy and coped splendidly with those unplanned instances of rider error – what more could you ask for?
