The afternoon before I flew the new 12 speed XTR groupset arrived and I had 12 hours to build two wheels, complete the bike build, get it bagged and head to the Yukon.
Thankfully I had some help on offer, I dropped my wheels off with my trusted builder Andy from Stirling Bike Doctor. It was then up to me to assemble everything else, I started with the brakes, bolting them on, trimming the hoses, a quick bleed and step 1 was done. I put everything else roughly on the bike and was pleased with how the build was coming along. Wheels collected, I fitted the new 10 - 51t cassette, slipped on the rotors and popped them on the bike. It was all looking incredible and a somewhat seemingless build. Straight out the box the shifting actuation and precision was unmatchable, easy to set up and with a few cable adjustments the gears were dialled. What struck me the most about the groupset was the freehub, completely silent and smooth rolling. Everything now assembled, it was time to get it into the bike bag…