August 22/09 16:05 pm - Shimano Saint - Long Term Test

Posted by Editoress on 08/22/09
 

In June of 2008 I was privileged to attend the media launch of the new Shimano Saint group at the mountain bike park at Whistler. The new Saint is a substantial redesign of the original which was released in late 2003. The changes are large enough to really constitute a complete restart for the group.

As I reported back last June (see Canadian Cyclist Archives), I used the Saint on an all-mountain full suspension frame (GT I-Drive 5) with 140mm of rear travel. I commented on how Whistler was offering more trails suitable for the medium travel style of bike such as this. On a bike like mine the ideal set up would be a Saint double crank with chainguard, however, at the time of the test none were available. The set up for Whistler was a 170mm single (36T ring) with chainguard and a fine e13 chainguide. It proved to be a good choice for the gravity assisted world of Whistler and I had a great time. The Saint components functioned very well.

Returning home to the flat lands of Southern Ontario, the first order of business was the replacement of the stubby stem with something a touch longer. Besides the stem, and some different tires, the bike remained as is until late fall 2008 when Shimano kindly provided a 175mm double and a SLX low mount front derailleur  (Note: there is a group-specific Saint front derailleur, the FD-M815. I haven't tried it yet)

If I can say that one part of the new Saint is superlative, it is the hydraulic disc brakes. Massive, massive stopping power without the nasty grabbing that some other brakes have. I was using 203mm rotors front and rear. I've used another brand of 203's on one of my own bikes and they are clearly inferior to the 4-piston Saint design. Only the worst of Ontario's mud, thanks to the record rainfall summer of 2009, got them to squeal. Overall, I'm very pleased.

The rest of the components have functioned very well. Shifting is good. Personally I like a bit more solid action, but they worked fine. The crank did creak with the single ring setup and the e13. With the double installed the creaking has disappeared. I suspect that the necessity of mounting the crank outboard to the right to accommodate the chainguide was the source.

The only real problem I had was with one of the non-Saint Shimano components. In this case it was the CN-HG93 chain. In my experience I rarely break chains, but I had multiple breaks with this one. They weren't breaks during shifting. They were always under hard pedalling conditions like climbing, and powering through rock gardens. This aspect has improved with the double crank and a replacement chain, but I have managed to break the new one once. I'm really at a loss to explain this. I've unfortunately had to give up on the Shimano chain. I've suffered no breaks with the non-Shimano substitute.

I'm sure that the majority of people who purchase Saint will go with a setup for downhill, thus a single ring crank. I think that's too bad, because it greatly limits what the Saint is capable of in the realm of the do-anything all mountain bike. Although the original set up on my bike was great for Whistler, I have to conclude that this bike really came alive with the double. Simply, you could do more with the bike. Climbing a fire road wasn't an issue now. Technical trails with ups and downs were equally well handled with the extra gears, thanks to the small chainring. Everything in the drive train is functioning well, with minimal maintenance. The controls fall perfectly to my riding style. The shifters themselves are very ergonomic. I moved them a bit inboard away from the grips. I have big hands so there wasn't an issue in reaching the paddles. It's just really nice to be able to fine-tune the shifter position thanks to the design of the clamp, which allows you to position it independent of the actual shifter.

I've really enjoyed the new Saint. It performs well. I haven't adjusted the brakes or gears since they were installed at Whistler a year ago because it hasn't been necessary. The hubs have been absolutely trouble free despite lots of exposure to wet and mud. The rear derailleur is still safely tucked under the rear stay. The crank is great too. Looks damn good also. I'm a sucker for the gold bling accents. About the only thing I'll keep an eye on is that chain, and I'll keep an extra chain pin in the tool kit.

Check out all the fine Shimano kit at www.bike.shimano.com.  There is a specific Saint page

Review by Technical Editor Mike Badyk