Dirt

Since 2004, however, the freeride scene has changed pretty dramatically. The fixation on monster drops has shifted in favour of flow, technical lines, and style, but there’s a little part in every gravity rider that just loves to see a Bender-esque cliff drop. We can’t wait to see what happens when the old-school hucking and the new-school flavour come together in Utah this October.

Both of the builds are centered around the new 8″ travel frame, which Trek has applied their latest trickery to. The key feature is that the Session 88 gets treated to the ABP (Active Braking Pivot), which has already been seen on Trek’s Remedy. The ABP is a pivot which is concentric to the rear axle, which helps to uncouple braking forces from the suspension. The technology has been proven to be effective at increasing rear-end traction under braking on the Remedy, and the benefits should be even more noticeable on the longer travel Session 88.

The Session 88 is also using Trek’s Full Floater technique of mounting the shock to an extension of the chainstay instead of to the main frame. This, combined with a custom valved Fox DHX shock, are said to contribute to improved small-bump sensitivity.

Up front, the Session 88 is jumping on the tapered head tube bandwagon, with an oversized 1.5″ bottom diameter steer tube slimming down to a conventional 1 1/8″ up top. This setup is supposed to give all the stiffness of a 1.5″ headtube, while trimming some weight and leaving you free to choose from a broader selection of stems.

Spec levels are top-notch on both the FR and DH versions. Price levels haven’t been officially announced, but expect a retail price of around six grand.

Check out the post at NSMB for plenty of live shots of the Session 88.

Brakes

First, and most noticeably, the new Saint brakes mark Shimano’s return to a four piston caliper, which haven’t been seen since the dearly missed original XT disc brakes. Bucking the trend of one-piece calipers, the new Saint caliper is a two-piece unit held together by four torx bolts, and Shimano claims that this results in a caliper which is 9% stiffer than a one-piece unit. The pistons contained in those chunky new calipers are of two different sizes, which should provide better modulation of all that power.

The levers are brought up to speed with Servo Wave action, which is already seen on a handful of other Shimano levers. Coupled with the new calipers, the brakes are said to offer 50% more stopping power than the units they replace. We never found the outgoing Saints to be lacking in power, but one-finger braking should now be easier than ever.

Cranks

The new Saint cranks follow the trend of half-legible enormous white letters started by the Truvativ Noir, and have shed 90 grams over the outgoing Saint cranks. The steel pedal insert remains on the new cranks, and Shimano has managed to narrow the q-factor slightly. Lest you think that these lighter, narrower cranks are noodles under your tree-trunk legs, Shimano says that the new Saint crankset is 200% stiffer than the already stiff XT cranks. The new Saint cranks are to be offered in single or double ring options.

Derailleurs

Following the lead of the XT and SLX derailleurs, the new Saint cog-swapper will be of the Shadow variety, meaning that it stays tucked safely away from rocks and roots. Gone is the annoying direct axle mount of the previous derailleur, replaced by a conventional mount on the dropouts. A skid plate is integrated into the lower part of the derailleur’s cage, which should help prevent trailside debris from getting tangled up in the unit. Shimano claims that a very impressive 100 grams have been saved compared to the previous Saint rear derailleur.

Up front, there is a new Saint front derailleur. The all-new unit is for dual rings only, and matches up with the 22-36 dual ring crankset option. The Saint front derailleur is nice and compact, which should give some extra mud clearance on some frames.

Shifters

The 2009 Saint shifters are all about giving you options. The 2-Way Release mechanism let you operate the release lever by pushing or pulling, and a new mounting bracket allows the shifters to be mounted on either side of the brake levers.

Hubs

The new Saint hubs are where the most weight has been saved, and each hub weighs a stellar 100 grams less than the models they are replacing. Combined, this results in a weight savings of close to half of a pound in the wheels, which is a great improvement in the most weight sensitive part of the bike. The freehub bearings are now placed further apart for more stiffness, and in typical Shimano fashion, the hubs are built around fully serviceable cup and cone bearings. Perhaps the best improvement is that the centre lock rotor mount has been scaled down to the same size as the rest of Shimano’s hubs, meaning that you can now use any centre lock rotor.

Overall, it looks like Shimano hasn’t held any punches in redesigning the Saint line. The lighter weight should increase the group’s appeal to all-mountain riders and gravity racers, and the loss of proprietary ‘features’ such as direct-mount rear derailleurs and oddball centre lock rotor sizing mean that Saint gear will play nice with the rest of your non-Shimano parts.