Shimano's new 2x11 XTR FD-M9020-H Front Derailleur headlines with the all new side swing design. Side swing produces very light shifting by increasing shifting power by 50% compared to the current XTR standard. It also features an updated derailleur path, pulling from the front instead of the top or bottom. This moves it out and forward to complement the chain's direction during a shift, relieving wear on parts and making for a faster, more efficient leap up to the big ring.
The side swing's peculiar mechanism obviously necessitated a change to the cable routing, which now sees the cable hop straight across to the derailleur from the down tube. This eliminates extra length and unnecessary bends at the bottom bracket or seat juncture, and combines with the derailleur's side pull action for a 15% increase in shifting efficiency.
The side swing design also nets a total of 15mm of additional clearance, so it accommodates larger wheels, longer travel, and shorter chainstays. There are also multiple mounting options, so if your needs change you just need a new mounting interface piece, not a new derailleur. Please note that this particular model, the M9020-H, comes with high clamp mounting hardware.
