We spied it, they teased it and now it’s official. Tiso’s electronic 12-speed road bike group brings everything it said it would, plus a few surprises.
For starters, the wireless works with radio frequency between the controllers and/or a separate remote. The surprise is that it also works with Bluetooth, letting you control it with your smartphone. The other surprise is that it’ll work with 10 and 11 speed cassettes from SRAM, Shimano and Campagnolo!
The system consists of just five parts, the cassette, front and rear derailleurs, shifter levers and control box. The derailleurs use a micromotor and are powered by the control box/battery pack. Shifter levers have rocker switch that faces outward, a nice work around patents on the other brands’ systems.
UDPATED! More photos and details added below!
Click through for more info…
The cassette gets away with fitting on a standard 10-speed freehub body because they’re full titanium cogs. That makes them strong enough to be thinner and have very narrow spacing. Notice there’s no chain mentioned in the group? It’s designed around Campagnolo’s standard 11-speed chains.
Other noteworthy features:
- The system runs off standard (or, preferably, rechargeable) AAA batteries.
- Pulley bearings are ceramic
- Cassette has all titanium sprockets with a total weight of just 150g for 11-29.
Assembly and set up should be super easy, just run wires to the derailleurs. Based on the loose translation, we’re assuming the shifters run on their own battery power, but again, we’re confirming. Once installed, just set it at zero (meaning the smallest cog, probably) and tell it to start and it’ll self adjust. The controller will also tell it to move the proper amount for different cog counts, so set up for 10, 11 or 12 speed systems should be fairly automatic. Presumably, you’d need a crankset running 11-speed chainrings, though.
Full tech details are coming soon, including any info about a Tiso-specific smartphone app, which we’re thinking would help with quick set up.
Dealer and consumer orders will be taken after the first of the year. For the US, it’ll come through Albabici. Delivery date and pricing aren’t finalized, but it promises to be cheaper than other electronic groups.
UDPATE #1:
Just received photos of the lever and cassette, more coming soon.
Yep, that’s 12, and a very nice progression. After all, that’s why Shimano said they went to 11-speeds, was to make for smoother transitions between gears.
Other tech updates:
- Rest easy, dear commenters, these are indeed pre-production versions in the video. The rear derailleur will get a carbon fiber cover and more upscale appearance.
- The battery box will be much smaller, and in addition to the AAA main batteries, it’ll have a smaller self contained battery for system memory.
- The shifters can be set up to work with 10, 11 or 12 speed systems, confirming usability with pretty much any modern drivetrain.
- They are officially developing a smartphone app that would allow for control of the system. While their purpose isn’t stated, this should open the doors to other developing training software that autoshifts to adjust cadence or intensity to keep you in the right zone.
- Retail availability is targeted for mid-spring, likely late April.
