Saint Reborn - Part II
Ride Impressions from Whistler
Words by Cam McRae. Photos by Sterling Lorence.
Date: 2008-06-25
For the first Saint media camp in 2003 Shimano brought bikes from Norco, Rocky Mountain and Balfa (RIP) for us to ride. This year they decided to do things a little differently. Journalists were asked to bring a personal bike that could be built up with the new Saint components – including some top secret Saint wheelsets which were actually just Saint hubs built up with Saint-logoed DT rims.
I arrived in Whistler around 1:00 pm Saturday and figured I didn’t need all afternoon to build the bike, so I stashed my frame at the Westin and then went for a ride on the west side of the valley with Todd Hellinga and Colin Miller. We climbed for about 40 minutes and then came down Cheap Thrills, Danimal and Upper and Lower Beaver Creek and it was fantastic. There is epic riding outside the park and I rarely get to experience it. Todd is the Pres. of Worca and he gave us a great tour, pointing out where paid builders have made some impressive trail upgrades. The municipality of Whistler gives WORCA $25,000 every year to pay builders - and the city employs their own crews on top of that. Are you listening North and West Vancouver? Of course the park is off the charts but the variety and quality of trails in the valley are worth a look, on a smaller bike if you have access to one.
No lift access. Todd Hellinga is the president of WORCA and about the best tour guide you could have in Whistler. Here he is on Cheap Thrills - outrside the park and a mandatory climb. Photo ~ Cam McRae
When I got back from my ride Joë and Ben from Shimano had much of my bike, a Specialized Demo 7, built. Stoked! Thanks lads! I helped them finish up while Ben bled the brakes for me. After that it was out for dinner and a deep sleep with dreams of Karate Monkey dancing in my head.
What is better than a fresh build with a brand new component group? Photo ~ Cam McRae
My first day of the year at Whistler is always a little nerve wracking. I am the world’s worst jumper so I know I’m going to need some warming up before I take on A-Line. Unless Garbanzo is open I generally start with trails like Schleyer, Karate Monkey and Joyride. Crank it up, now that it’s finished and extended well down the mountain, changes all that. The trannies are all easy to hit so it’s a fantastic way to get your wings – and even superstars seem to enjoy the flow of the trail. I spent much of my first afternoon Cranking it – sometimes even Up. I did more than enough riding over the course of two days to get cozy with 2009 Saint.
Shifting.
No big surprises here; the Saint changer works extremely well. Words like crisp, smooth and precise are certainly appropriate and, when everything settled in, chain moved flawlessly over cogs. Being able to re-position the shifter to suit your brake lever preference is a huge bonus and I am going to run my shifter between brake and grip. I did find the lever pressure required to make an upshift higher than I’d like. When you need to shift fast or grab a couple of gears, lighter action makes all the difference. I’d also like to see the two gear option for upshifts. Using XTR you can hit the upshift softly for one gear and a little harder for two – and this would be welcome for dh riding as well.
A closer look at the Saint Shadow long cage rear derailleur. Photo ~ Cam McRae
The catch? Shadow was supposed to solve the cage against chainstay clatter that has plagued Shimano derailleurs for as long as I can remember. The Shadow models cannot make contact with your stay because they have a hard stop well below that mark. After having used the XTR model I can attest to its silky silent operation. As I got up to speed in the park I began to hear a disconcerting clatter. At first I thought something was loose or even broken – it was that loud and annoying. Further inspection revealed that the Saint rear mech was actually banging loudly against its own stopper. And I mean loudly. At times it sounded like someone was building a house back there. I was running a relatively close ratio cluster with the Mode Converter removed. In New Hampshire I didn’t hear this noise and some riders in Whistler found it nice and quiet as well – while others had a similar experience to mine. To be fair you had to get up to a good clip and be faced with significant bumps in rapid succession to reproduce this noice. At low speeds or in smoother sections the operation is silent and smooth.
Saint components work particularly well in the air. Wade Simmons seeing if everything works tilted flat. Photo ~ Sterling Lorence
One evening after dinner, Hideki Ikemoto, the Saint product manager, got on the line with a derailleur engineer in Japan to talk about this issue. It wasn’t long before Hideki passed the phone to Andrew Shandro so he could explain the sound while walking through Whistler Village. It’s pretty clear that Shimano was listening to our issues about the derailleur clatter and that they plan to get it sorted out.
Andrew Shandro evaluating 2009 Saint components at speed. Photo ~ Sterling Lorence
Cranks and BB.
I was pleased to see the plastic dust cap banished from Saint cranks. The cap is used to apply pressure to the crank so you can then tighten the pinch bolts to hold the non-drive side arm in place. A problem sometimes arose with first gen. Saint cranks – over time some riders found they’d come loose and you’d drop an arm on the trail. While it’s easy enough to replace the arm – even on the trail – once this problem began it seemed to continue happening. A solution was to replace the plastic cap with the aluminum version used on Durace cranks. The cap isn’t designed to hold the arm in place – that’s the job of the pinch bolts – but for some reason this solves the problem. Now that the cap is longer and made of aluminum this issue should be a thing of the past. What to say otherwise? The cranks are very stiff and a little on the portly side but they should be able to take anything you’ve got – even the dreaded drop to flat. Ankle clearance is good and I like the logo treatment as well.
Installed on my personal bike Photo ~ Cam McRae
Brakes
At Whistler these brakes were ideal. Powerful enough to stop a speeding locomotive? Not quite but they are certainly at the very top of all brakes I have tried in that category. Because of the ample stopping force they generate I was able to run the levers very close to the bar and still have more than enough stop juice. On Angry Pirate I was doing my best to tail JF from Crux Magazine (a Quebec publication) when he got tangled up. I was right on his wheel and I was sure I was going to run over him but instead the Saint brakes reined it in without sweating a drop of mineral oil. Still, it was dry and because Garbanzo was open most of the trails we rode were very fast. Speed provides its own modulation and you only really learn what the term means when you are creeping down a shiny green plank that deposits you into a slimy rock chute here on the Shore. 
Thomas Vandherham - modulation testing in the bike park. Photo ~ Sterling Lorence
I just returned from a ride down one of the more challenging old school trails here in North Van and the brakes performed very well. The conditions were very good but it was a little wet in places. When the rotors got damp they began to howl – and a few times when everything seemed dry as well. In Whistler I had no howling issues but in New Hampshire – riding the Saint-equipped Session 88 – howling was also an issue. The modulation wasn’t bad but when things were loose I wasn’t able to feather my rear wheel so it wouldn’t slide. Based on my experience thus far I would call the modulation good but not great. Overall these are excellent brakes.
Vandherham scrubbing on Crank It Up. Photo ~ Sterling Lorence
My two days at Whistler reminded me why riding the Whistler Bike Park is so amazing. The opportunity to put in all that vertical accelerates the learning curve like nothing else. My favourite run combinations were Schleyer to Karate Monkey (so fun!) to finish off with either A Line or World Cup Singletrack, Crack Addict and Heart of Darkness. After tailing some very fast riders – Shandro and Vanderham as well as Scott Hart from Decline and J.F. from Quebec – I found a new gear. I couldn’t keep contact with these guys for long but watching riders of that calibre for even a couple of turns brings your riding to the next level and by the end of Monday I was riding faster than ever before. Stoked! I even started to feel the love on A Line!
What else?
The Demo I built up with ‘Saint wheels’ weighs just over 40lbs with dual ply tires. That means the Saint parts have gone on a bit of a diet but they are still a little portly in my book. At the same time if you are looking for components you can pass on to your children in your last will and testament after performing admirably for years, this may be the group for you. I haven’t received any pricing information yet but I'll be sure to update you with that info as well as weights when I get it - and I'll also report anything more I learn about he durability and performance of the parts.
| Saint 09 |
Weight in grams
|
CDN Price
|
US Price
|
| Cranks and BB |
810 single no bash/ 1105 double w/bash
|
$345 - $515
|
$300 - $450
|
| Brakes Levers |
266/pair
|
$288 / pair
|
$250/ pair
|
| Calipers |
324/pair
|
$310 an end w/lever
|
$275 an end w/lever
|
| Shifter |
Left 116 Right 121
|
$229/pr $115 RH only
|
$200/pr
|
| Rear Derailleur |
Short 240 Long 250
|
$199
|
$185
|
| Front Hub |
225
|
$125
|
$110
|
| Rear Hub |
355 - 367 w/o axle
|
$229/135mm $239/150mm | $229/135mm$239/150mm |
Thanks to everyone from Shimano Canada, USA and Japan for the over-the-top hospitality!
Sold on 2009 Saint? Waiting to hear the price? What's your take?
Did you miss part I of this article? Click here.
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