Which groupset road

Right means shifting up a gear, left is down. The front derailleur is operated using both shifters simultaneously. Press on both shifters and the front derailleur changes between the two chainrings. The ergonomics suit me very well and I think riders with small hands will find them even more comfortable. Using the brakes is simple both on the hoods and drops.

The shifter button gives crystal clear feedback. Going both up and down the cassette is smooth. On my road bike, I usually follow a simple pattern: when I shift into the big ring at the front, I simultaneously drop two cogs at the back.

With Sram eTap, you need both levers to first change at the front, and then click back up the cassette with the left shifter afterwards.

As a fan of beautiful gear I love to dream about my perfect setups. This groupset would best suit a lightweight climbing bike. You need to compromise in order to reach the lowest possible weight, and sacrificing a little shifting speed is something I could live with for that. Shimano was the last one for me to test in our high-end groupset comparison.

The third generation of their Di2 system is now available and bears the name of Shimano Dura Ace R for rim brakes, or R for disc brakes. Being able to personalise the groupset and user-friendliness are at the heart of this generation.

I took out a rimbrake-fitted test bike which boasted several new features. Firstly, the bike looked incredibly clean! Shimano offered an awesome groupset as it was, and they just made it even better. You just feel that everything works flawlessly as soon as you try it. Shifts are silky smooth, the ergonomics of the levers is great, and the bike just rides like a dream.

It just works! Besides the new modern looks, the groupset has been given a number of technical upgrades. First point of contact, the shifters. The buttons work perfectly but are fairly small. I must confess I missed a few shifts. No doubt something which just takes some getting used to. The brakes are fantastic! The modulation and power are both second to none. They inspire a lot of confidence on descends. New is the junction hidden inside your bars.

From the junction, a single cable runs to your frame and on to another novelty: the D-Fly unit. The D-Fly means you can connect your groupset to your tablet, smartphone or pc through Bluetooth and adjust any settings you wish.

The cranks, brakes, and deraileurs all look slick. It matches nicely to the modern looks of the bike. Like I said: it just works. Back at the office, and I get going with the tablet. The system first checks whether there are any updates available for the derailleurs or battery.

Naturally, everything needs to be up to date in order to work properly. I quickly discover that the possibilities are virtually endless. Shifting patterns, speeds, and even the functionality of each button in the system can be adjusted. Naturally, not many riders will probably do this. Sure, although you get carbon brake lever blades, some bits are alloy when they could be carbon, or steel when they could be alloy, but the result is only an extra g when totalled up.

Far more noticeable will be the saving in cost. In short, you get all the best Shimano has to offer, which includes easy and reliable shifting, probably the best ergonomics going, and a readily available spares directory. The brakes in particular, with their finned pads and rotors, along with the skinny levers, are splendid.

For one thing, you only get 11 sprockets on the back. Ultegra can't replicate the huge spread of ratios now offered by Sram.

Now with a multi-faceted selection of components available, the current line-up is both superb value and surprisingly adaptable. If Shimano always drops its formerly top-end technology into its cheaper groupsets, and is its latest groupset to be updated, surely it follows that must offer its best technology-to-value ratio? Coming courtesy of a collection of recently redesigned components, these now much more closely mimic their more expensive siblings.

For one thing, the latest dual-control levers are far reduced in size from their predecessor, now much more closely matching the look and feel of Ultegra. In fact, despite the alloy rather than carbon blade, all three of Shimano's shifters now use the same internal mechanism. Also looking posher, the redesigned chainset is now sleeker and more appealing.

Overall weight has also been trimmed slightly, cabling up the derailleurs is now easier, while the amount of movement necessary to shift gears has been decreased. Like with Ultegra, you can now also bung in a wide t cassette. Read our range preview here. But what does this get you?

Chiefly, the ability to run a choice of off-road specific single or double chainsets, along with ultra-wide 10 or speed cassettes. Plus more powerful braking, and less chance of your chain coming off.

This includes developments like the stabilizing clutch mechanism on the rear derailleur or the alternating narrow-wide profile of the teeth on the chainrings. Both things that aim to keep your gears working in wilder situations, the distinctly chunky levers also operate brakes that are subtly different from Shimano's dedicated road models.

All these cranksets now use a slightly wider chain line to increase clearance compared to comparable road models. Read our extended preview here. However, as its most high-end groupset to still be capable of working with conventional calliper brakes, this version of its Red groupset continues to provide a lightweight and highly functional set of components.

Shop Sram Red 22 at Chain Reaction. Shop Sram Force at Chain Reaction. From Force downwards, Sram offers its mechanical groupsets in either double or 1x single chainring versions.

Sharing the same brakes and shifters, the design of the rear derailleurs, the potential absence of its front-mounted partner, and the difference in the crankset mean that elsewhere the difference is quite pronounced. Often used on adventure or gravel bikes, these 1x versions feature a clutch on the rear derailleur to help retain the chain, along with the capacity to fit hugely wide cassettes spanning up to t.

Allowing them to cover almost the same range of ratios as the double chainring equipped version, these more conventional groupsets feel a little as if they miss a trick, coming as they do with a sprocket less than the latest speed electronic versions.

Similar to Force, Rival offers the same broad range of speed components, covering both hydraulic and mechanical brakes, alongside options for running a single chainring setup. A lot of the same core technology carries over from further up the range, such as the actuation ratio that means the derailleur moves the same amount you push the shifter. Ditto, the huge range of wide-ratio cassette and chainset options. Both cranks and brake levers switch over to aluminium, but most of the key competencies remain — just at a far lower price.

This means that the single chainring version can run a sprocket as large as 42t while the double version manages a still sizable 32t, this ensures riders are unlikely to find themselves having to get off and push on steep hills. Campagnolo is the fanciest of the groupset makers. So what does your money get you? With 11 speeds, it's available in both rim and disc brake versions and with black or polished silver components.

The shifters maintain the thumb lever, however, Potenza features what Campy calls Power-Shift, meaning you can downshift three cogs, but lose the ability go up by five — if this is a feature you're after head back up to Chorus. Here you still get the four-arm crankset and all the chainrings abiding by the same BCD for universal compatibility, and up to an T cassette, though you'll need the medium-cage derailleur to turn this cog.

While the polished silver colourway makes it look pretty Gucci, Centaur is Campy's entry-level groupset, and like the similar options from SRAM and Shimano it greatly benefits from trickle-down tech.

The shift levers are fibre-reinforced plastic, the brake levers are aluminium and there is no option for disc stoppers. Like Potenza, the speed cassettes come as big as 32T, but you will need the medium cage version of the derailleur and all the chainrings utilise the same BCD thanks to the four-arm crank.

Unfortunately, if you're after disc brakes, you'll need to work your way upwards in the Campy price hierarchy. There will be two significant factors in determining what you may choose: your budget, and the bike you're planning to bolt the groupset onto. It's possible to spend thousands on a groupset alone and that doesn't take into account the other parts you'll need to complete a bike. It may seem obvious, but your bike will be designed around either rim or disc brakes and no matter how skilled you are with a Dremel tool or a tig welder, you're not going to be able to swap.

The other consideration is whether you're after electronic or mechanical shifting. Each component company has a different name for its digital shifting, but all three use batteries and motors to move derailleurs, either communicating via wires or a proprietary wireless protocol.

The advantages to electronic shifting are: there are no gear cables and housing to replace, which is handy if your bike has fully hidden or internally routed cables; they have programmable shifting including supplementary 'satellite' or 'sprint' shifters; they are often easier to adjust, typically with an app and a few presses of a button rather than tools; and they enable precise shifting that shouldn't degrade over time.

The major downsides are that you have to remember to keep the battery or batteries charged and they cost significantly more. Mechanical shifting, on the other hand, is cable-actuated. There are no junction boxes or batteries to keep track of and you'll get a more tactile shifting feel. Usually a bit cheaper than their electronic counterparts at a similar performance level, mechanical shifting does require a bit more tuning and maintenance.

Poorly maintained, the performance of mechanical groupsets will degrade over time. Maintenance or repair is often a simple fix such as a replacement cable, and if it happens on the road, it can likely be bodged to get you home in a rideable, sensible gear. If an electronic groupset fails, it's often without warning and catastrophic in that a component will need to be replaced, with roadside hacks proving considerably more difficult.

As you move up into higher echelons of groupsets the materials will become lighter and more exotic, the shifting action will become crisper, the braking more powerful, and you start to see the integration of other features such as power meters. Consisting of cranks, a chain, chainrings, cassette, derailleurs, shifters, brakes and bottom brackets, all three of the major manufacturers — Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo — offer groupsets at varying performance levels and price ranges.

The significant differences between them really come down to the shifting mechanism and slight variations in ergonomics. Which one is best for you ultimately comes down to personal preference. Sign up to the Cyclingnews Newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how to do this, and how we hold your data, please see our privacy policy. Group 3 Created with Sketch. Cyclingnews The World Centre of Cycling. Sign in. The Planning Hub offers in-depth guides to planning permission in England, brought to you by Cyclingnews's planning experts.

Included in this guide: 1. Jump to the following sections: 1. Shimano Dura-Ace Di2. Specifications Speeds: 2x Reasons to avoid - Empty List. Cassettes: T, T, T. Specifications Speeds: 1x12, 2x Shimano Ultegra Di2. Cassettes: T, T. Brakes: Disc only. Shimano Dura-Ace. Campagnolo Super Record. SRAM Red The flagship GRX level is equivalent to Ultegra road components in quality, but has a host of details and options offered nowhere else in Shimano's range. These include:. Both double and single-ring chainsets are available in mm, The electronic-shifting version of GRX boasts the same feature set as RX, but with click-whirr shifting.

Both double and single-ring chainsets are available in mm, mm, If you want the widest possible gear range from your GRX set-up, then you want the speed RX derailleurs because the rear unit will shift up to a tooth largest sprocket, the greatest capability of any Shimano drop-bar rear deraiilleur. For more details straight from the source, check out Shimano's website. Explore the complete archive of reviews of groupsets on road.

Here's the pick of readers' comments from previous versions of this article, with your usual blend of knowledge, experience and opinion. Seriously though, what colour do you want your groupset to be? Is your car's steering wheel green???? Far too late, as this article is a bit of a classic - but kudos for use of the word "gert".

Lush Somerset word-smithing. I'd always assumed it was some sort of Japanese linguistic thing - ichi-maru-go one-oh-five or hyaku-go one hundred and five might mean something. The internet is rather shy regarding the origin on the groupset name. The only vaguely plausible story I managed to find is that when they thinking of names for the groupset, Levi jeans were absolutely massive in Japan, the whole country was going crazy, and Shimano cashed in by naming the groupset hoping to attracting some of the cache of the jeans.

You really need to get out more. I bought a bike recently that came dressed with I had all good intentions of stripping it, putting it on another bike and selling it on, then I rode with it. The shifting is just incredible. It's so light and never misses.

Braking is excellent too. Cranks - I switched to a few years ago, and it's fairly standard across the Shimano range, something I'm gutted Campag seems to have dropped. Although I truly love the Chorus on my race bike, I think it'll end up getting phased out, as Shimano really does have an edge. I've already upgrade the wheels to 11 speed compatible so that's not an issue.

The cable routing from the hoods is a bit irritating as my front light shines off it and the hoods are are a bit fat for my stubby little fingers so brake reach is an issue. Also, the cranks are pretty beefy and I'm fancying a slightly shorter crank length although I don't really know if I'll notice the difference. I also have cheapo tektro brakes and peope tell me that the brakes are signifficantly better.

But then it all works and is in pretty good condition so am I just being lured towards shiny stuff. I have an old Felt road bike with shiny Ultegra , which just refuses to die and still shifts very nicely indeed. It's my second-favourite groupset after current Campag Chorus. Ultegra was great. Put me right off Shimano. The new Ultegra looks pretty nice though, in an understated way. I have DA, it's fantastic, I also have triple as it happens I find it's more than fine, it's usually down to the operators who don't set up their gear properly that have problems with that series.

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He joined road. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds. If a business is capturing members of the public then they come under the DPA and are required to supply footage to the Don't forget long bow practice after church on Sunday. See you in the butts. On the mode of transport scale of considerateness, the choice of the motorist is pretty low down the list in my view well, unless your only I fitted my surly dirt wizards last weekend, mud specific and a pig on tarmac, doable.

When I put a new front on over the summer I needed to Old cycling businesses like DT Swiss need to get real, real fast on what they're charging for carbon wheels The issue with Absolute Black is not really the price, but the claims that are being made and whether they are true or not.

The high price simply