Takeaway: Shimano’s new Dura-Ace group impresses with 12 speeds and semi-wireless shifting. There’s a new Ultegra, too.
- A new semi-wireless system uses a battery connected to both derailleurs to improve reliability and battery life while offering the convenience of wireless controls.
- The new groups are 12 speeds but use existing standards, which should please riders looking to upgrade their bikes.
- In a significant change, Shimano won’t offer cable-shifting versions; both Dura-Ace and Ultegra 12-speed drivetrains are now Di2 only
Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 12-Speed Di2 Groupset
Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 12-Speed Di2 Groupset
For the past couple of decades, Shimano has generally stuck to a tight and predictable release schedule for its road component groups. Every four years, a new Dura-Ace group would drop, then a year later, Ultegra would show up and make us question why we thought spending so much money on Dura-Ace was a good idea.
It has now been five years since Dura-Ace R9100 & R9150 groups were released. We knew that the latest group from Shimano was imminent. We got a glimpse of it on some Team DSM bikes at the Baloise Belgium Tour in June. We knew it would be 12-speed. What we didn’t realize was that we would be getting Ultegra at the same time.
Visually the new groups are very similar to the outgoing versions. I’ve been riding the new Dura-Ace parts for several weeks now, and very few people could spot them. A friend told me that they wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t pointed it out.
In terms of shifting performance, Shimano claims the new semi-wireless R9200 group can execute rear shifts 58 percent faster and front shifts 45 percent faster. Both those figures are compared to the wired R9150 group. I’m not sure that I could feel that difference in practice, especially given how fast Dura-Ace already shifted. But just like prior Di2 drivetrains, the new group transforms rider input into flawless and precise shifts without fail (with the exception of setup issues, a crash, etc.). Rear shifting is smooth, with individual shifts being completed before my finger manages to leave the button. Front shifting is still the best of any drivetrain you can buy.
The entire package is also remarkably quiet. The difference between R9150 and R9200 is noticeable when you compare the groups back to back with bikes mounted in a repair stand. Everything from chain noise to motor whine has been reduced. Part of this is down to the new 12-speed chain borrowed from Shimano’s XTR mountain bike group. The Hyperglide+ technology that Shimano introduced on its 12-speed mountain bike drivetrain comes to the road, and you can literally hear the difference it makes, silencing drivetrain noise and smoothing shifts, particularly under hard pedaling.
Shimano Dura-Ace Shifters
The big news with the shifters is that they don’t need to be plugged into anything to communicate with the derailleurs. I say “don’t need to” intentionally, as you can still choose to run the new controls fully wired if, for instance, you don’t feel like dealing with replacing the coin cell batteries that the shifters run on. Shimano claims a 12 to 18-month run time on those, by the way. But for the battery paranoid, you can check the shifters’ battery level by pressing both shift paddles simultaneously. A cleverly integrated LED light will indicate each shifter’s battery life by lighting up green, yellow, or red.
Physically the new shifters are larger compared to the R9150 versions. The overall body is 4.6mm longer which creates more space between the brake lever and the handlebar. The hoods themselves are also a bit taller with a slight curve inward.
For me, those ergonomic changes resulted in a pronounced feeling of security, particularly when getting low over the bars to ride in a “flat back” position. With R9150, I would often feel like my hands were about to slip forward and over the hood when I pushed hard on the pedals. I also appreciate having more space between the lever and the handlebar for added grip and security on rougher surfaces. While I prefer the texture of the R9150 hood compared to the less-textured R9200 version, overall, I think the shape itself will be a big hit with riders looking for an improved hold on the bars.
The shift buttons are now slightly taller and broader overall, making them easier to reach from both the hoods and the drops. Shimano has also increased the offset between the two switches, making them easier to differentiate while riding with full-finger gloves. The third button on the peak of the hood carries over from R9150, and just like on that group, riders will be able to set up these buttons to do anything from control head-unit screen pages, Bluetooth lights, or simply add additional derailleur control points all through the Shimano E-Tube app.
Another potential upside of the semi-wireless system—your mechanic will love you a little bit more. As anyone who has set up SRAM eTAP levers already knows, the only thing you need to do is route the brake cables. With this system, there’s no routing E-Tube wires through bars, under bar tape, or figuring out where to hide excess wires without it looking like a rat’s nest. This small change simplifies bike set-up a little and cleans up cockpits a lot.
The addition of wireless transmitters and individual batteries brings the weight of the set of shifters to 350g (a 30g gain over R9100).
Time-trial controls remain entirely unchanged from R9100 and will need to be run fully wired with an adaptor since R9200 uses a different wire. Satellite shifters will need to be plugged into the main shifter bodies. There are two ports on the shifter bodies to accommodate riders wanting to run both “sprint” and “climbing” shifters or run the system fully wired with just one satellite shifter.
Shimano Dura-Ace Derailleurs
With the elimination of the D-FLY module and the junction box, both functions are now integrated into the R9250 rear derailleur. In essence, it’s the command unit of the new drivetrain. It wirelessly communicates to the shifters at the front of the bike, has Bluetooth built-in for using the E-Tube app, and is also the charging point of the whole system. The central battery, which powers both derailleurs, is still stashed away in the seatpost. The built-in function button and LED indicator on the back of the rear derailleur body replicate the functionality of the Junction Box. Unfortunately, this is an all-new battery system and therefore not backward compatible with previous iterations of Shimano Di2.
In terms of actually moving the chain across the gears, the rear derailleur still uses Shimano’s Shadow geometry, with a single pulley-cage length that now accommodates up to a 34T large cog. This will help a lot with compatibility and maintenance down the line for riders, as well. No more wondering if the cassette you purchased or swapping on for a ride in different terrain will be compatible with your derailleur. As long as it has 12 gears and 34 or fewer teeth, you should be good.
The R9250 front derailleur sees probably the most visually prominent re-design of the group, with its black outer plate and seemingly the largest and boldest Dura-Ace logo for such a small piece of hardware. It’s quite a bit smaller than its predecessor, with Shimano claiming a full third less frontal area over the R9150 unit. There are no limit screws on the new derailleur; the entire process of setting it up is now done electronically. The smaller proportions should also help with tire clearance as riders look to put wider rubber into all sorts of drop-bar bikes.
The new rear derailleur now weighs 215g, exactly 18g more than the R9150 version it replaces. But when you add in the weight of a D-Fly unit (7g) and a junction box (11g), the net gain is zero grams. The new smaller front derailleur slims down to 96g (8g lighter than R9150).
Crankset, Chainrings, and Cassettes
Where SRAM decided to go small with its X-Range gearing, Shimano is doubling down on its 11T guns by replacing the long-running 53-39T chainring combo with a 54-40T. With the increased focus on drivetrain efficiency and the higher speeds in the professional peloton, the move makes sense for those who race or ride like they aspire to. Paired to the new 11-34T rear cassette, the 54-40T chainring combo adds more range in both directions for the pros. The only downside, this chainring pairing is only offered on the Dura-Ace group (it will work just fine with Ultegra though for those that want to use the chainrings or the entire Dura-Ace crank).
For the rest of us, there are 52-36 and 50-34T chainring options. With the dual-sided power meter option, a 52-36T crankset weighs a claimed 754g.
In a move that will surely make bike fitters and some riders very happy, Shimano has added a 160mm length option to Dura-Ace and Ultegra groups. Both Dura-Ace and Ultegra will have cranks offered in 160, 165, 170, 172.5, and 175mm. (Dura-Ace will additionally be offered in a 167.5mm length.) The 160mm option is something needed by many women, junior riders, and triathletes to achieve optimal bike fit or lessen toe overlap with the front wheel. This is the first time one of the three big component brands offers this length on their premium road groups.
Visually the new crankset is more symmetrical than the FC-R9100, but the overall design is very similar. I’m not a massive fan of the changes, but I’ve historically said that about every new Shimano crankset going back to R7800, and each time, the new design grows on me until I fall in love with its sinister geometric darkness.
Both Dura-Ace and Ultegra will have 11-30T and 11-34T options for the cassette. Dura-Ace will also get an 11-28T, but it won’t be available at launch, so if you want one of these, you’ll need to wait for an unknown length of time. For the tooth counters among you, Shimano added a 16T cog to its 11-28 and 11-30 11-speed cassette options to make the new 12-speed cassettes. The 11-34 is the same old 11-30 but with a 34T cog added at the end instead of the 16T in the middle. Weight-wise, the addition of the 16T adds 12g to the new 11-30T (223g total).
Most importantly, the new cassettes fit both the new 12-speed specific road freehub (that currently only exists on Dura-Ace wheels) and are compatible with existing 11-speed freehub bodies (which I guess makes them 11/12-speed freehub bodies). The thickness of the cogs and spacing between them also remains the same. Shimano told me that there was always extra room in the existing freehub design for the 12th cog, especially with the larger cassette cogs being able to be cantilever further toward the spokes.
As mentioned previously, the R9200 group will use the existing 12-speed XTR M9100 chain. I was happy to see Shimano avoid having two 12-speed drivetrains with incompatible chains the way that SRAM has Flattop and Eagle chains.
New Brakes With Better Modulation
In daily riding of the new Dura-Ace group, I was most impressed with the brakes. Shimano brakes have always had excellent stopping power, and lever feel but have lagged behind Campagnolo and SRAM in terms of modulation. To help address this issue, Shimano applied its Servo Wave technology to the new levers.
Servo Wave essentially controls brake modulation, which is a fancy way of saying how smoothly the brakes apply power. As you pull the brake lever, the initial part of the lever throw moves more hydraulic fluid to eliminate free stroke and help the pads bite a little bit faster. Deeper in the lever throw, once the pads have made contact with the rotors, the cam begins to move less fluid, giving you more precise modulation over the brakes. The result is a disk brake that offers sensitive, fine-tuned control AND excellent stopping power.
The calipers themselves have been redesigned to help reduce pad noise, improve serviceability, and save weight. The new calipers are forged as one piece and weigh just 233g, saving 17g over the previous version. Shimano also increased pad-to-rotor clearance by 10 percent to address noise concerns around rotors rubbing on pads, especially during hard, out-of-the-saddle efforts. A redesigned bleed port and valve screw improve serviceability allowing mechanics to bleed the brakes without removing the caliper from the frame. The new calipers will continue using the same L04C and L03A brake pads.
The Centerlock rotors are another carryover from XTR. Pro teams have been spotted using these rotors for some time now, as they are 22g lighter and have a 66 percent reduction in heat deformation compared to R9100 rotors, Shimano says. The company took the hint from those teams and brought the rotors over to Dura-Ace, shedding some key grams while eliminating the need for manufacturing multiple versions of essentially the same component.
Wheels -
Shimano wheels have always been good but not great. Historically Shimano has prioritized reliability over low weight and lagged a little behind the times when it comes to internal widths. On the other hand, they have been universally praised for their excellent cup-and-cone bearings, which allow more finely tuned adjustments than cartridge setups that use a simple preload. Shimano redesigned its new wheels to address all those issues. Don’t worry, the cup-and-cone bearings didn’t go anywhere!
Both Dura-Ace and Ultegra get three new wheelsets in 36mm, 50mm, and 60mm rim depths. All feature hooked rims and are tubeless compatible. Shimano does not have a position on hookless wheels but says that a hooked design allows riders to have the most flexibility in choosing which tires to run. Dura-Ace wheels weigh in at 1,338g, 1,465g, and 1,609g, respectively. The two shallower options are priced at $2,100, while the 60mm version is $100 extra.
All Ultegra wheels are priced at $1,400, but each gains a bit of weight, coming in at 1,481g, 1,562g, and 1,642g. Shimano also confirmed that it will offer tubular versions of Dura-Ace wheels, but did not provide weights or when they’ll be available. Expect availability to be limited to essentially WorldTour teams for a while.
All the rims are now full carbon with an internal width of 21mm (25mm is the skinniest tire recommended by Shimano) and aerodynamic profiles to help reduce drag while increasing handling stability. Shimano claims that the new R9270-C50 (which, as its name suggests, is 50mm deep) is 5 watts faster than the shallower R9170-C40 while losing a substantial 101g in weight. Shimano also claims improved rigidity front and rear for all wheels, with an added focus on front-wheel stiffness for improving steering input, particularly at high speeds such as during bunch sprints.
There is, however, a weird caveat. As I’ve mentioned, 12-speed cassettes fit on existing 11-speed freehub bodies, and a standard 11 (and now 12-speed) freehub is what you’ll find on the Ultegra wheels. In the push to make Dura-Ace wheels lighter, Shimano decided to switch from titanium to alloy on the freehub body; this resulted in an unacceptable level of cassette scarring when using the now-ubiquitous Shimano freehub spline. To fix this issue, the company created a new freehub-to-cassette interface, which is not backward compatible with 11-speed cassettes. That means the new Dura-Ace wheels is only compatible with R9200 and 8100 cassettes, while Ultegra wheels can be used with either 11 or 12-speed parts.
I got to ride the C50 wheelset on a Pratt Frameworks test bike, and it impressed me. The 50mm wheels weighed 1,465g, which is light, but I appreciated even more how fast and responsive they felt were under hard pedaling. There was never a hint of sway or wind-up that happens with softer wheels. They were as fast down the hill as they were up, with excellent steering feedback from the front wheel, making me feel confident and secure. I typically ride shallower wheels and have not noticed the extra depth, even on particularly windy days.
My initial conclusion after a few weeks of riding is that they are excellent wheels. But with a heap of good options out there that are priced at sub-2k, I’m not sure how many folks will be enticed to spend the extra money since existing 11-speed wheels will work with the new drivetrain. But those who do will be treated to some excellent wheels that are on par with Zipp, ENVE, and others, plus feature some of the best bearings in the industry.
No More Rim Brakes?
Yes, there will be a rim-brake variant of R9200. No, you probably won’t see a lot of it. Shimano North America says that a rim-brake version was largely done for pro team partners (INEOS is one of the last WorldTour teams racing regularly on rim brakes) and told us that there are no plans to sell rim brake R9200 parts aftermarket in North America. But it will be an option for brands to use on complete bikes. However given market trends, I'm not sure how many brands will go for it.
For that drivetrain, Shimano made no changes to the existing R9100 levers and brake calipers, except for modifying the shifter internals to accommodate the 12th cog. They have updated cosmetic styling but remain otherwise unchanged. Rim-brake controls will also need to be run fully wired as Shimano did not foresee sufficient demand to justify doing a complete rework of the levers to get them to work wirelessly.
For wheels, Shimano has said there will be tubular rim brake wheels for Dura-Ace, confirming that these parts more or less exist solely for Team INEOS. Shimano is following consumer trends, which clearly favors disc brakes on road bikes. My colleague Matt Phillips wrote an excellent piece on the demise of rim brake road bikes.
Pricing, Weight, and Availability
Without wheels or a power meter, a full Dura-Ace group will set you back $4,280, which is a lot less than Campy’s Super Record EPS at $5,039 but substantially more than SRAM’s Red AXS ($3,610). Still, Dura-Ace R9200 is (barely) the lightest of the three options, coming in at 2,507 grams. For comparison, Red AXS weighs 2,549 grams and EPS splits the two at 2,526 grams. The difference across all three groups is 42 grams or 1.7 percent. Interestingly R9200 gains 22 grams over its predecessor even with the extra gear, two more batteries, and Bluetooth.
A full Ultegra R8100 groupset will set you back a slightly more reasonable $2,570. More importantly, it is 272 grams lighter and $160 cheaper than Force AXS.
Availability of each, like most other bike products right now, is likely to be spotty. Shimano says Dura-Ace parts will be available as soon as October, with Ultegra to follow later in the fall. Specialized confirmed that S-Works Aethos, Roubaix, and Tarmac SL7 will be available with R9200 for $14,000. Expert-level frames with R8100 will go for $7,700. With planned availability for all models from the end of December to early January.
Giant confirmed that a TCR Advanced SL Disc will feature the new Dura-Ace parts with new Ultegra builds coming to three other TCR Advanced builds and a Defy Advanced Pro 1. These should be available "This fall." according to Giant.
Other brands either didn’t get back before we published for this piece or couldn’t provide availability for their bikes with the new parts.
Should You Upgrade?
For me, the biggest selling points of the new group are:
- The new brakes are leaps ahead of the previous version, and I would argue worth the entry price.
- The new lever ergonomics are also a massive plus for anyone who found the R9100 hoods small and cramped-feeling.
- True wireless communication with the E-Tube app without the D-Fly unit. This is how the system should have been designed from the get-go.
- The added range of the 11-34T cassette is a huge plus as well.
The new groups are obviously well-thought-out, and in our testing so far, the Dura-Ace group has been excellent. There are a lot of practical, functional features packed in the new components. The biggest obstacle I see to riders upgrading right now is simply parts availability.
Click here to check out Matt Phillips' analysis of the new Dura-Ace and Ultegra.
What's next?
Anytime Shimano drops a major update to their top-tier road or mountain bike component ranges, you wonder, “Ok, so what comes next?” For the most part, the upgrades to Dura-Ace and Ultegra are well thought out and will be well received by most riders. Many will lament the lack of cable-actuated derailleurs or that rim brakes are effectively being shoved aside, but honestly speaking, the writing has been on the wall for the demise of those components for a few years now.
For us, the unanswered questions are:
What about GRX?
The new Dura-Ace and Ultegra are pretty much pure road groups, but the addition of the 34T cog on the cassette and disc brakes with more pad clearance and better modulation will certainly catch the eye of riders who like to ride their drop bar bikes on gravel road or dirt. With Ultegra moving to 12-speed, this leaves GRX Di2 in the weird limbo of being Shimano’s lone 11-speed, electronic-shifting groupset.
What about 105?
When SRAM launched Rival eTap AXS earlier this year, it was a big deal. Not only because it performs nearly exceptionally well, but because it is priced considerably less than SRAM’s Red or Force eTap groups, thus lowering a significant barrier of entry for many riders who want to experience electronic shifting on their own bike.
Shimano appears to have an ambitious launch cycle for their road groups. In addition to Ultegra launching side by side with Dura-Ace for the first time, sources in the industry have said that they expect 105 to follow quickly, possibly as soon as next year, cutting a year or two off the typical launch cycles. One person we spoke to claimed that the new 105, which should have plenty of tech borrowed from Ultegra and Dura-Ace, could compete with and perhaps even outperform SRAM’s Rival AXS group.
What about Di2 mountain bike components?
Speaking of 12-speed mountain bike components, the future of Di2 mountain bike drivetrains has been up in the air now for the past few years. Technically, Shimano still offers Di2 options for its XTR and XT platforms, but they are fully wired and only available in 11-speed configurations. These groups are also seven years old now, as we first reported on XTR M9050 Di2 in May 2014.
However, like on road bikes, electronic shifting drivetrains have quickly taken off in the mountain bike segment over the past few seasons. Or at least they have for Shimano's biggest competitor in mountain bike drivetrains, SRAM. Will we see some of Shimano’s developments in semi-wireless shifting make the jump over to knobby tires? This remains completely unknown at this time.
What about mullet set-ups?
To those not in the know, a “mullet” drivetrain is when a rider pairs drop bar levers with a mountain bike rear derailleur—business in the front, party in the back. This is a common pairing of aftermarket components, sometimes used by gravel riders, cyclocross racers, those with a 1x drivetrain, or people looking to have a super-wide gear range. With 11-speed Dura-Ace and Ultegra Di2 shifters, riders can use an 11-speed Di2 XTR or XT rear derailleur to massively expand their gear range and add a clutch derailleur to their bike. Without clutch-type derailleur options available on the new 12-speed Dura-Ace or Ultegra offerings, and with XTR and XT Di2 not being compatible with these new shifters, this leaves the only choice for 12-speed mullet set-ups to be SRAM AXS wireless drivetrains.
In some ways, the new parts leave us with more questions than answers. One thing is for certain though, the new Dura-Ace is really good and was worth the wait.
