Weight: 421g / Threaded 10mm axle / Low normal (rapid rise) version available / SGS or GS / Contact: www.ultimatepursuits.co.uk

This is a ‘top normal’ or none rapid rise version of Shimano’s Hone rear derailleur. In every other respect it’s identical to the original; the same bolt on design with 10mm axle and 6mm Allen head ‘bracket lock-nut.’ The cable anchor nut is on the inside out of harm’s way and the derailleur comes with a durable powder coat finish. The ‘wide-link’ parallelogram makes for crispers shifts and is also stronger. Two length cages are available – called GS (medium) and SGS (long) – the latter has a capacity of 44 teeth, which means it’ll work with a conventional 44, 32, 22 chainset and 11-34 cassette. However, we can’t see the point of the long cage because we’ve tried the medium GS cage mechanism with the same ring/cassette combo and it’s worked fine. In fact we’d rather see a short cage (SS) derailleur like Saint. And while we’re at it we’d like to see a Saint compatible Hone derailleur, maybe with a spacer system, matching STI trigger shifters and stand alone brake levers. On paper the Hone mech is good but Shimano seems to be confused about who is going to buy it and what sort of riding they’re doing, which is probably why we never see it fitted to bikes.

MBR rating: 8/10