The point of this makeshift Urban loft wasn’t to show you how to display a bike. Instead, it was Shimano’s way of painting the picture of the ideal customer for their conceptual Metrea group. After being teased for a while, this is the first time we’ve seen a complete group under the Metrea label. While Shimano isn’t giving any indication to if or when the group would be produced, the level of finish and completeness of drivetrain options indicates to us that it will be available in the near future.
Built around multiple options with 1x or 2x cranks and derailleurs, Metrea maybe the newest option for 1x commuting…
Shown on the display bike as a 1×10 drivetrain, the Metrea group pulls design cues from Shimano’s higher end groups for a classy polished on black look.
The shifters on the bullhorns were one of the more interesting parts of the group with a mechanism reminiscent of the shifter/clutch lever from an old Vespa or Lambretta scooter (or some of the Tri bike shifters out there). They appear to brake like a normal bullhorn lever, but to shift you would rotate the entire lever inwards while shifts in the opposite direction are actuated by the small lever near the brake. Fitted with cables to a mechanical rear derailleur it would appear these are not Di2. The bulge on top is likely the reservoir for the hydraulic disc brake system. For standard flat bars there is also a brake lever/shift pod under the Metrea branding.
Hydraulic disc brakes were shown with flat mount calipers and 140 mm Centerlock rotors with a new shape.
