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In addition to the Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 Di2 group on the scale, Fair Wheel Bikes also had something else to share with us this week. Namely, a 12-speed road drivetrain with components from four different manufacturers. The result is a very light Open Up with an interesting mix of drivetrains.
Why would you want to combine these different groups rather than selecting one complete drivetrain? According to Fair Wheel Bikes, it was all about that gearing.
“We just finished an Open UP gravel bike which on its own is nice but what makes this one special is that we mixed Dura-Ace 12 speed and SRAM XPLR/Red stuff to get a good gravel gearing. We also tested different cranks and rings with the Dura-Ace stuff to see what worked and what didn’t. Ended up with a 48/33t [chainring] and 10/36t [cassette] for gearing, which in my mind is pretty ideal for gravel.”
The drivetrain is made up of Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 shifters and derailleurs, a SRAM Force XPLR 10-36t cassette with RED Flattop chain, and a Lightning carbon road crank with 48/33t Carbon-ti chainrings. Fair Wheel claims to have tested the system enough to verify that the shifting works well while providing a 48-10t high gear, and 33-36t low gear for extra help up the steep bits.
While the brake calipers are the standard Shimano R9200, they clamp down on Carbon-Ti 160/140mm rotors mounted to Carbon-Ti Centerlock hubs.
The build may feature some of the lightest parts out there, but that hasn’t stopped Fair Wheel from including the Cane Creek eeSilk+ carbon suspension seatpost. Additional cockpit components include an Mcfk carbon stem, FSA K-Wing AGX carbon handlebar, and a Specialized S-Works Phenom Saddle.
The build is finished off with Fair Wheel’s own V2 Carbon water bottle cages and tubeless valves. The cages weigh in at 22g each, and are available in 3k weave or UD carbon finishes, both in matte or gloss finish for $35 each.
The valves are offered in 48 or 60mm lengths, and in six colors. They look to be fairly basic aluminum bodies with a brass valve core, but they’re also attractively priced at $7.50 for each valve and weigh just 4.6 or 5.1g respectively.
All together, the Open Up checks in at 15.81lbs (7.17kg) with 700c x 38mm Panaracer Gravel King SK tires.
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.
I still don’t see why Shimano didn’t integrate a clutch into their new Di2 stuff. It doesn’t affect the “feel” of the shift since it’s electronic but would provide some extra chain retention for gravel use if you wanted. Especially since GRX didn’t get the 12-speed upgrade.
I can already confirm that chain whip started 600 kms, even in 52/14!!!! As n I am pedaling, road bump, bang!! never had that on 9100 mech esp 53/39. One thing we realize is that the RD spring seems,… soft, or too soft for a longer chain
I would guess it was due to friction concerns. There were those tests that showed that when shifting to a larger cog, the clutch doesn’t release the cage to the same point that a standard design would, so the lower run of chain will have more tension, and thus more friction. Hitting a bump that overwhelms the clutch, and causes the tension cage to spool back on the rebound, will bring it back to the normal, non-clutched tension, as will shifting to a smaller cog, but on the road those events may be fewer and further between. I would assume that is also why SRAM switched to a fluid damper rather than a solid friction source, when they introduced a clutch on their road groups, as it would presumably just slow, rather than fully arrest, the cage settling into the normal tension position following a shift to a larger cog. Not saying Shimano couldn’t do something similar, but perhaps patents and development time made it impractical.
esc8engn
2 years ago
A Shimano road group with a 10t!!! Why don’t the new GRX &/or Dura-Ace groups take advantage of the not-even-new-any-more micro spline freehub to go 1x? There’s so much more potential for TT and Gravel and 12. Shimano is really behind the times on this one. They have all the tech on the books, just not put together to full potential.
Gregory Thomas
2 years ago
For TT? Why in the world would you want a 10t cog for time trials? So you can waste more energy as friction?
satanas
2 years ago
They just need to shrink both chainrings by about 10T and the drivetrain might make some sense. 38×24 with 11-34/36 should be about right. 10T cogs make sense to get more range out of 1x, or to lock people into proprietary parts with AXS, but otherwise not so much. Sigh.
Sean's Dowden
2 years ago
Having tried the clutch on an XTR Di2 mech I can tell you that it does impact shifting feel.
Seraph
2 years ago
@Sean there is no “shifting feel” on Di2. You press a button and it shifts the derailleur for you. It requires almost no effort on your part. It may affect the shift itself, but it is in no way fed back to the way your shift “feels” because there is no direct feedback from the derailleur to the shifter with an electronic system.
