The all-new Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 might be delivering a little too late for the pros to race it at Tour Down Under, but we found a set of production mechanical parts to throw on the scale while at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships. The cranks shown have 172.5mm arms and a 52/36 chainring setup to come in at 629g. Roll on down for the rest of the group…
Mechanical shifter levers come in at 370g for the pair.
Rim brakes were 160g and 161g.
Front derailleur was 70g and rear was 159g.
The 11-30 cassette, which is the largest they offer, weighed in at 213g with a plastic cylinder holding it together (which was intentionally made non-removable without damaging it), so subtract maybe 10g at most. The threaded bottom bracket came in at 64g.
Follow these links for the full tech story from our launch coverage for the group, plus pricing, close up looks at the power meter crankset and new wheels. Stay tuned for our first ride impressions of the new Di2 version with rim and disc brakes, plus the power meter later this month!
Thanks for this!
any comparisons to 9000?
weights for R9000 group are here: http://bikerumor.com/2012/12/13/unboxed-weighed-photod-2013-shimano-dura-ace-9000-11-speed-group/
So it is not any lighter than 9000. Interesting.
It’s not ligther than R9000, sadly it is exremely ugly and the sample I was testing at Eurobike had the least responsive front derailleur I have ridden in the last 10 years… I amso glad I switched to SRAM Red…
Agreed! Shimano has been circling the drain for the past several years. It’s only a matter of time before they go down. Too much separation between Shimano Japan and Shimano USA, alienating IBDs by not confronting online sales being less than dealers cost, more warranty issues out of the box than other brands, performance of nearly all components have degraded as well.
Long live the king, the king is dead.
Shimano is circling the drain??
Hilarious.
I literally laughed out loud when I saw that, too. “Shimano is circling the drain” is one of the most out-of-touch things I’ve ever read on here.
Shimano products will still be on 90% of bikes sold after the IBD network is destroyed and the LBS is dead.
Shimano has PLENTY of internal problems. Clearly you are not aware them. Your ignorance is hilarious.
The “oracle”(?), the only thing ignorant is you saying Shimano is “circling the drain”. Oh tell me wise one, what does “circling the drain” mean to you? Instead of just spouting BS, tell me how “circling the drain” will manifest itself? To me, “circling the drain” implies it will be gone in a matter of time. Are you saying Shimano will be gone in any time soon? If not, what else, will it lose market share to SRAM? By how much, and by when? Otherwise, please specify what you are talking about, otherwise you just sound…well, stupid. Sorry.
The problems you mention are real. But so are SRAM’s problems- multiple years of problems with Elixir brakes without a recall, and recall of flagship hydraulic disc brakes for road bikes.
Have had Sram and Shimano parts fail. Every company has issues but saying Shimano is circling the drain just tells me your out of touch from reality.
yeah whatever! watch them all copy the 9100, love neo
“performance of nearly all components have degraded as well”
I’ll have to disagree with your statement. I don’t know what Shimano groupset your bike runs, but have you ridden 105 5700 back to back with Tiagra 4700?
The only thing common between these two gruppos is that they’re 10-speed. Otherwise Tiagra 4700 is better than 5700 in almost every way.
An XT 11s 1x groupset can be had online for $450. Shimano has never been more popular with my customer base.
You can buy it for what it took me 200 hours of online training to be offered from the factory.
I’m always baffled at pedal prices from Shimano. At one point, I was getting pedals at nearly 50% USA MSRP from UK sites. Exchange rates were a wonderful thing.
Agree it’s lost a lot in aesthetics from 9000. I actually liked the half black/silver crankset, the all-black look is only nice on those blacked out bikes.
As far as the FD, that could have been a setup problem, not a derailleur problem. It’s totally changed, but have heard nothing but glowing reviews of the ingenious new design.
“sadly it is extremely ugly”
I don’t agree wholly with that statement (ugh that rr der) although your opinion seems to be the majority. The quality of that finish still seems really high to me, and I really like “smoky/platinum nickel” finish.
“least responsive front derailleur I have ridden in the last 10 years”
I haven’t really found that to be true myself, the new quasi-compact (52-36) did see a degrade in performance, but less than I would expect from such a range. The high leverage cable pivot has certainly changed the way it feels at the lever.
“It’s only a matter of time before they go down”
Peeps been saying that for 30 years :} Too much cash on hand for that to be an issue, but I’m no oracle.
“alienating IBDs by not confronting online sales being less than dealers cost”
Could not agree more with that statement. Their response seems to be “make IBD’s access to product so obtuse IBD’s forget their pedals even exist.
“more warranty issues out of the box than other brands”
I haven’t found that to be the case where I work, but I have noticed a really strong positive improvement from Sram, so the gap is closing for sure.
“performance of nearly all components have degraded as well”
Again I haven’t really found that to be the case. The switch to aero shift housing nearly caused me to swear off/at Shimano, but I’ve noticed substantial improvement to the quality of the routing out of the lever body, at the expense of that nasty wart coming off the side of the lever body.
I just got a group in my hands. It is tactilely very impressive.
Visually I think it is like a concept car. You might love it or hate it, but regardless of opinion or knowledge you can tell it’s really expensive and cutting edge. I sort of like that.
My group is going on a steel road bike with 32c tires and dynamo lighting, for 200 mile mountain rides, and commuting. 🙂
Circling the drain? I’d disagree but know that the industry is a fickle one.
It wasn’t too long ago that SRAM wasn’t worth much on road to mtn. Their semi invention of the 1x pretty much put them back on the map.
It’s been good to see SRAM’s road groups start to carry some momentum.
Not sure they’ll ever have the enormous development capabilities as Shimano but heck, that could be one of their strengths.
Who knows what is on it’s way to either help or hinder any of the players.
I certainly wouldn’t count Shimano out. Not yet.
Spend enough time in one or three areas and you can say stuff like “Everyone uses that tire/brake/group etc”.
But it’s still a pretty localized perspective. As somebody said above- there are a zillion bikes out there w/ Shimano. And it’s not like the uber high end stuff carries either brand.
Why hasn’t Shimano made a carbon crank yet?
They did. It was stupid expensive and very limited. They only made it in a 172.5 size as well. Look them up on ebay or google.
Is there an underlying assumption in the question, like a carbon crank would somehow be superior?
When it’s well done it is. Check Look ZED crank. Almost half the weight of a DA crank, super stiff and you get ajdjustable crank length too.
Oh i forgot, you can put compact and standard chainring on it too.
and of course universally fits all BBs?
24mm is insanely too narrow for a properly engineered crank. Was meant for steel axles. Create huge stress concentration too for no purpose. Legacy stuff.
Shimano’s aluminum cranks is within 20g of SRAM Red. Why bother with carbon when you’re the best aluminum forger in the world?
Shimano’s history and pride comes from their steel work, forging, andalloying abilities. Shimano was one of the first JP companies to research successful cold forging technologies after WWII.
While CNCing and Carbon Fiber have taken way, Shimano’s engineering department could slaughter many others. It is also interesting the certification processes that JP shimano products go through
About the VIA mark
As confirmation of compliance under Paragraph (1) above with technical standards, this is voluntary accreditation, and safety of quality is relevant to human life so the Japan Light Alloy Automotive Wheel Testing Council (the “Council”) has set up a registration system for light-alloy disc wheels for domestic market sales (for the after-market) from the third party standpoint (the “VIA registration”).
For registration, verification test is conducted based on technical standards provided by MLIT, and judgment and assessment in accordance with the Japan Light Alloy Automotive Wheel Testing Council Regulations (the “Council Regulations”) are performed, and products that comply with the Council Regulations are registered.
Only products that undergo VIA registration may be marked with the VIA Mark.
The Council consists of three organizations, that is, “Japan Aluminum Association (JAA)”, an organization relevant to manufacturing of light-alloy disc wheels, “Nippon Auto Parts Aftermarket Committee (NAPAC) JAWA Division,” an organization relevant to sales thereof, and “Japan Vehicle Inspection Association” (“Vehicle Inspection”) , a third party testing institution, and testing and registration operations are carried out by Vehicle Inspection.
The VIA mark is a registered trademark of Vehicle Inspection, and it is possible to affix it only to products registered with the Council. In addition, the JWL, JWL-T Mark and VIA Mark are applicable in Japan.
Why didn’t you remove the plastic cylinder from the cassette to give us actual weight? Your going to ride this groupo anyway right?
No, this was Shimano’s property on display, not a test group. We didn’t want to destroy their set up just to weigh the parts.
My 11-30 DA cassette is around 207g
laughing at these comments. sram fans predictably glad they are on sram and not shimano and vice versa.
Except Shimano guys aren’t stupid enough to say “SRAM is going down” or are circling the drain. One of the most ignorant comments on BR in a while, and that’s saying something.
I didn’t mean to imply I don’t like Dura-Ace. The new group will be very nice. It just seems like we have hit the point of diminishing returns where you can’t really make a mechanical group better than what already exists.
Shimano is not doing itself any favors. They have lost HUGE spec in trail bike market, the biggest sellers. They are also perpetually behind with trends because of the typical Japanese hierarchical management style. They are also having more and more brick and mortars stop carrying their stuff altogether.
Trail bike market is not the biggest sellers. The big sellers in the bike world are poorly put together bikes you see in the walmarts, canadian tires, costcos etc. I bet you 99% of those bike are Shimano equipped. The high performance market that WE all live in is peanuts to Shimano. There big money comes from cheap bikes with cheap parts that have a short life expectancy. Its not pretty but its true.
+10 on this comment. Anybody who thinks BR viewers are a good representation of the industry are mistaken. Anybody who thinks BR commenters are a good representation of the bike industry are straight up delusional.
It’s true, shimano makes the best hydraulic brakes, best shifting, best cassetes, best overall real smoothness. Best price. But let’s be honest, it’s too much, old japanese kind of company.
– NO carbon, carbon is risk, no good for big comapny, aluminium better for that.
– No BB30, no matter waht, no aluminium spindle for cranksets.
– No decent 1x competitor to sram.
– No 1x for road or gravel.
– Aesthetics are always too much CASIO, not even sony.
– This group is heavier than previous one, and always much heavier than campy or sram.
– No wireless.
– MTB di2 is a joke with so many cables and that useless display, over engineered di2 shifters.
Still, cheaper than campy or sram, and works better in every single aspect.
I’ll take an aluminum DA 9000 crank over any other crank on the market without hesitation. The obsession with a particular material is beyond out of hand.
Bonded alloy cranks: what a crock. I’m sticking with my 7900s, thanks.
Everything you listed is so of “meh” for me, with the obvious glaring exception of a total lack of “gravel” and 1x stuff, including inexplicably refusing to make a clutch-type road derailleur.
Campagnolo cranksets also make use of 24 mm steel spindles. They just work. 24 mm spindles also leave enough room for quality ball bearings in bottom bracket shells, especially the press-fit variety.
The BBinfinite guys have an excellent article as to why 30 mm aluminum spindles aren’t necessarily better.
http://www.bbinfinite.com/blogs/news/116078787-30mm-madness
Shimano’s Aluminum cranks are very well-engineered and perform better than any carbon cranks I’ve ridden.
I’m using SRAM stuff because i love 1X but just look at a new user confronted to road brifters : shimano ergonomics and feel are simply superior. Shimano Road will stay the leader for a long time.
105 no more no less, shifts like butter
If you don’t mind staying 10-speed, Tiagra 4700 is pretty much as smooth as any 11-speed Shimano gruppo too. Coming from 105 5700, I was amazed, especially with the front shifts.
I’m guessing The Oracle’s name is intentionally ironic?
I remember reading all of these comments about the 9000 crank a few years back…
While I’d like to think that Shimano’s success lives and dies with my super trendy and electronic aero road bike, I suspect their sales in inexpensive commuter bike components around the globe and their fishing reels, will keep them safe. They can always fall back on the reality, that the own 50% of the bike component markets, despite competition from Campy, SRAM, Suntour, Simpson and all other combined…
Shimano 5800 groupset is incredible. 99% as good as my 9000 and 9070 groupsets.
I keep a plastic cassette cylinder around just for this purpose. It weighs exactly 6.7g with the black cross slider that keeps the cassette on it.
ehm,
i meant to reply to lop’s status that says
“Shimano’s aluminum cranks is within 20g of SRAM Red. Why bother with carbon when you’re the best aluminum forger in the world?”
not sure why this comment appear here.