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Shimano Expands 11 Speed, Tubeless Road Wheel Line, Polishes Dynamo & IG Hubs

Written by Zach Overholt
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WH-RS81-C35-TL-R_STD_01 shimano 105

The time is upon us when Shimano divulges all the new gear they have been working on for the next product year, in 2015. Ok, when we say all, we really mean some. There will be some bigger product announcements coming later in the year. Consider this the intro level debut for road and commuter. While we tend to geek out more about the high end stuff, today’s announcements show just how far technology has trickled down.

If there was any doubt to Shimano’s belief in road tubeless, all you have to do is check these wheel introductions. Out of four different 11 speed compatible wheels, only one is not tubeless – and that is the impressively affordable $229.99 WH-RS010. They’ve also revised their dynamo and internal gear hubs.

See what’s new after the jump!

WH-RS81-C24-TL-R_STD_01 shimano 2015

The new WH-RS81-C35-TL (top of post), WH-RS81-C24-TL (above, and below right) and WH-RS610-TL (below, left) all offer road tubeless technology as well as Shimano’s digital hub adjustment, wide flanges, and cup and cone bearings. The WH-RS610-TL and WH-RS81-C24-TL use aluminum rims and will retail for $499.99 and $899.99 respectively, while the WH-RS81-C35-TL gets the carbon laminate treatment for $1,299.99.

WH-RS610-TL-R_STD_01 shimano 2015 WH-RS81-C24-TL-R_STD_01 shimano 2015

Availability is expected for the WH-RS81-C24-TL in May, the RS010 wheels are expected in the warehouse in June, followed by the RS81-C35-TL in July, and the WH-RS610-TL in October.

DH-T4000-1N_L_01 DH-C6000-1N_S_01

SG-C3000-7C_S_01SG-S7000-8_L_01

For the commuter segment, Shimano has updated both their dynamo hubs and Alfine and Nexus internal gear hubs. Powering the front of commuter, touring, and lifestyle bikes, the new 1.5w EU compliant dynamo hubs have slimmed down losing up to 22% of their weight, and also see a 50% decrease in drag. Lighter and easier to spin? Sounds good. Retail for the Alfine 8 hub is set at $249.99 for the hub, $39.99 for the shifter, $19.99 for small parts, and $99.99 for the front Dynamo hub. If IG hubs are your thing, there is a new Alfine 8 speed mechanical IG hub with a flat bar Rapidfire top-normal shifter. The Nexus Inter-7 hubs see improvements as well for improved shifting. All hubs will be offered in black or silver, and are expected around September for availability.
Zach Overholt
5,725 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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Brent
Brent
10 years ago

Too bad those 1.5w dynamos are completely worthless as there aren’t any lights that put out meaningful light at that power. Hopefully they didn’t discontinue the old 3w models.

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wako29
wako29
10 years ago

curious…how does the Alfine 8sp differ from the Alfine 8sp IG?

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Jason
Jason
10 years ago

The $900 WH-RS81-C24-TL — are carbon laminate as well, I believe.

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greasemonkey
greasemonkey
10 years ago

@Brent – I have to imagine that 1.5W is intended for LED lights, no?

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Ck
Ck
10 years ago

I want weight figures for those wheels

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Matthew
Matthew
10 years ago

@greasemonkey: Unfortunately, all of the high end dynamo powered lights are still regulated for 2.4W or 3.0W output, even though they’re LED lights. Maybe Shimano has an in-house offering for a light that they haven’t yet announced?

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James
James
10 years ago

Will they release the rim width information? Only the c24 is listed on their 9000 series on their official web site and it says 20.8. The rumor was they will be 23mm wide. I have only had positive experiences with their durability and ride quality – the wide rim is all they need.

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David
David
10 years ago

Road.cc says:
Shimano are introducing a new high-end disc brake-compatible road bike wheel in the shape of the new WH-RX830. It comes with a 30mm-deep section rim, an aluminium structure, that on its own wouldn’t be strong enough, with carbon laminate laid over the top.
The rim is 17mm wide internally, the extra width being designed to create a greater than normal contact patch with the ground in order to improve braking performance. It’s 11-speed compatible and it’s designed for use with Shimano’s 140mm centre lock disc rotors.
The RX830 is built to Shimano’s existing OptBal (it’s short for ‘optimal balance and rigidity’) 2:1 spoke system, meaning that 14 of the spokes in the rear wheel go to the driveside, seven to the non-driveside. The idea is to balance the spoke tension leading to improved wheel rigidity and durability. As usual with Shimano, the hubs feature cup and cone bearings.
Dynamos———————————————————————————
Shimano are introducing new 1.5W hub dynamos. The main reason for these new 1.5W models is a law change in Germany that allows LEDs to be powered by dynamos. That means it’s likely that more manufacturers will be producing 1.5W compatible dynamo lights in the future, although Shimano don’t intend to produce any themselves.
Reference: http://road.cc/content/news/112258-shimano-launch-new-road-tubeless-and-disc-wheels-roadtrekking-components

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Stephen
Stephen
10 years ago

I’d also like to know what’s new with the new Alfine 8.

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Tylsteve
Tylsteve
10 years ago

The new Alfine 8 is a top normal construction, which needs a new top normal shifter. This means that the shifting methods is same as Alfine 11 and all MTB shifters. The main lever will activate a lower gear, releasing the cable will activate a higher gear.

Previously, the shifting of Alfine 8 and Nexus shifters was low normal, where the main lever will activate a higher gear.

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Rob Thomson
Rob Thomson
10 years ago

Also interested what is ‘new’ about the new Alfine 8 speed hub…I’ve got the present version and am loving it (after 3 years of daily use).

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tylsteve
tylsteve
10 years ago

The new Alfine 8 internal hub is based on a top normal construction, which needs the new Alfine 8 shifter to work with it. This means that the gear shifting is opposite from previous Alfine / Nexus shifters.

Now, the main lever will shift to a lower gear, and releasing cable will activate the higher gear. This makes it the same as the Alfine 11 shifter and all MTB shifters.

Previously, the main lever will actually activate a higher gear instead.

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Noam
Noam
10 years ago

I run the 1.5W Alfine dynamo with B+M Lumotec Cyo and it works excellent.
3 Watts are needed for much stronger LEDs such as Supernova Triple or Exposure Revo (or for old incadescents…)

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