general cycling discussion

So some recent leaks have developed regarding the upcoming Dura Ace 9000 group, slated for release later this year.  As we know already, Shimano is following Campagnolo down the 11 speed road, but other than that, details have been surprisingly hard to come by.  Right now, this is what seems to be out there, along with my thoughts on each point.

First off, here's the simple “Ok, that's nice” kind of stuff:

– There will be electronic (Di2) and mechanical versions.

– The hoods on the mechanical STI levers are smaller, with a more ergonomic fit and feel.

– The brakes are all new. There are two mounting options: standard center bolt and two-bolt aero/TT style.

– Shimano did not add any more carbon: Like DA7900, only the brake-lever blades and rear-derailleur pulley cage are carbon.

Now for the meat of what Shimano is doing:

– DA9000 Di2 gets shift levers, “similar” to Ultegra Di2, as well as the narrow-diameter Di2 wiring harness unveiled on the new Ultegra Di2.

This is a good thing.  As it stands, Di2 7900 has a specific wiring harness that's incompatible with Ultegra.  By standardizing the wiring harness some compatibility is restored to the two lines.

– The cranks use a four-arm spider (like Shimano mountain cranks; current road cranks use a five-arm spider) and a new, lighter, bottom-bracket system. Shimano is sticking with their 24mm axle standard; there is no BB30 or BB386EVO option.

Christ almighty, here we go again.  Another chainring standard to try and force more chainring sales.  Now we're going to 4 arm cranks along with a new BB system?  Another BB standard?  I see this as a pretty bad move, Shimano.

– The mechanical version will use a proprietary shift cable.

Oh brother.  So we can't spend $4 on a standard shifter cable, but we'll have to buy (probably horribly marked up) Shimano cables now?  Yet again, bad move Shimano.

– Front-derailleur shifting effort is reduced by 38% (claimed).

Reduced front shifting effort is nice, but how light does it need to be?  Most people aren't needing to go to the gym in order to shift to their big chainring.

– The mechanical group’s weight is claimed at 1,908 grams, a 67-gram reduction from Dura-Ace 7900.

That's not much of a weight decrease.  Seems like Campy and SRAM are ahead in this category.

– The cassette and freehub body are wider: 10-speed cassettes will work on 11-speed wheels (with a spacer), but not vice versa. Rear hub spacing remains 130mm.

Get ready to buy new wheels everyone.  According to this, there will be different length freehubs from 10 and 11 speed, which we can assume may require different hub flange spacing.  However at this time, this is somewhat muddy and I'll need more information on compatibility to make further comment.

Overall, it sounds like Shimano is simply trying to introduce yet another standard, requiring people to buy yet more parts.  No just buying shifters, cassette and chain in this case…you'll be springing for a rear wheel as well and proprietary cables (which you'd better have a few of them in your toolbox in case you need one on a Sunday afternoon.)  Honestly, I'm more exited by the new SRAM Red release, and it will be interesting to see what Campy does with this.