The Shimano Deore group has always been kind of a shire horse of the component world – not all that pretty, not all that light, but cheap to run and gets on with the job without complaint. Not that we’ve got any idea if shire horses are cheap to run, but we digress. The new 2006 Deore incarnation, due out in September, looks set to maintain the tradition of economically-priced performance while adding a dash of tech from the posher groups. Deore’s been completely redesigned, bringing some of the funky stuff from XTR and XT to a more accessible price point.

The most obviously new things are the Deore Dual Control levers. The design is nigh-on identical to the LX and XT versions, but there’s a bit more plastic in the Deore units. As with the rest of the components, the levers are available in black or silver versions for maximum colour coordination. Two versions are available to work with cable or hydraulic brakes.

The levers drive a new Low-Normal rear derailleur. We fully expect this announcement to trigger a whole new DC/Low-Normal debate, but allow us to head it off at the pass by mentioning that there’ll still be Deore High-Normal mechs and RapidFire+ shifters, as well as separate brake levers in cable and hydraulic flavours. Both front and rear derailleurs use the “wide link” design seen on other Shimano groups, using broader link plates and widely-spaced pivots to increase the stiffness of the mechanism. Fronts will be available in top or down swing versions.

One thing that hasn’t trickled down to Deore level is Hollowtech II. The crankset sticks with the Octalink splined system, but you still get lightweight Hollowtech crank arms and funky hollow crank bolts. Choose from black or silver, 22/32/44 or 26/36/48 and 170 or 175mm lengths.

The new hydraulic disc brakes closely resemble the current LX/XT/Saint units, but subtly restyled to fit in with the rest of the Deore kit. The shim-free mounting is the same, the two-pot system is the same, you get the same choice of resin or sintered pads but – and we can hear the cheering from here – there’s a new 180mm rotor size option. This is splendid news – plenty of people find the standard-issue Shimano 160mm not quite up to the job but the 203mm can be overkill. Finally the popular 180 front/160 rear setup is available without recourse to third-party rotors and extra brackets.

If you’re still after V-brakes, the new Deore units have slightly longer brake arms. Apparently that’s for “more mud guard clearance” which gives you an idea of where Shimano expects to shift most of its V-brake production at this level.

Finally there are all-new hubs, using Centerlock rotor mounts to save weight (versions without disc mounts will be available). You won’t be surprised to learn that the hubs use cup-and-cone bearings. We’ve always found the Deore rear hub to be the weakest link in the group thanks to a not-terribly-durable freehub mechanism and sealing that can be challenged by UK riding conditions. The new hubs have an internal grease sleeve system that we hope may help them to last a bit longer.

It all looks pretty good, and a couple of laps of a car park tells us that the shifting is smooth and the brakes feel pretty good. It obviously doesn’t tell us anything beyond that, though – we’ll have to wait until September to get the new Deore kit into the dirt where it belongs. On the face of it, though, it looks like a winner – you get most of the bells and whistles from the higher groups combined with the solidity and cheapness that we’ve come to expect from Deore.