New patent suggests Shimano is designing 13-speed, fully wireless electronic groupset

The patent appears to show plans for Shimano’s first fully wireless electronic groupset, and the first ever 13-speed electronic groupset

04:07, Thursday 9th May 2024

Tom Hallam-Gravells

Online Production Editor

Shimano has submitted a patent showing what appear to be plans for a 13-speed groupset

Shimano has submitted a patent which appears to show plans for a 13-speed, fully wireless groupset.

Patent US 11,975,800, first spotted by Instagram account Better Shifting and first reported by BikeRadar, shows multiple details that veer from the designs used by the Japanese brand for its current Di2 groupsets. This includes an image showing a Di2 derailleur working with a 13-speed cassette, while the patent also indicates a move to fully wireless shifting with rechargeable batteries housed in both the front and rear derailleurs.

Like most patents, the technical language doesn’t give too much away and there’s no specific indication for whether the designs are for a road or off-road groupset. However, the inclusion of a front derailleur in the plans indicates it will be 2x, meaning it’s likely to be a new version of a road groupset, most likely Dura-Ace, although it could also be for gravel.

Patents aren’t a guarantee of a future product, but if the plans come to fruition, it would be the first 13-speed electronic groupset.

2x, 13-speed electronic groupset

Currently, Shimano’s road and gravel groupsets top out at 12-speed shifting, but that could be set to change. Figure 10 in the patent displays a Di2 derailleur - which strikes a close resemblance to the current Dura-Ace model - working with a 13-speed cassette.

Figure 10 shows a rear derailleur working with a 13-speed cassette

It would not only be a jump up in gearing for Shimano, but also be the first 13-speed electronic groupset available. Like Shimano, SRAM’s road and gravel groupsets max out at 12-speed shifting. We recently spotted what appears to be a new version of its top-tier Red AXS groupset at the Giro d’Italia which was still 12-speed, suggesting the American brand won’t be going higher any time soon. Campagnolo has forayed into 13-speed shifting through its gravel Ekar groupset, but it is a mechanical groupset, not electronic.

While the similarity with the current Dura-Ace derailleur suggests a 13-speed groupset could be coming to the road, Figure 29 shows a clutch derailleur. These are used by Shimano for its gravel and mountain bike groupsets, so the plans in the patent could be used across Shimano’s road and off-road offering.

Fully wireless

Up until now, Shimano has stuck to semi-wireless shifting for its electronic groupsets. It’s the only one of the three biggest groupset brands still using the system, as opposed to the fully wireless set-ups used by SRAM and Campagnolo. SRAM’s groupsets have been fully wireless for some time now, but Campagnolo only joined it last year through the release of its first fully wireless groupset, Super Record EPS.

Shimano may soon be joining them, as the rear derailleur is home to what Shimano describes as a “power source”, meaning a battery. Currently, the batteries on Di2 groupsets are housed in the frame and connect via a wire, hence the semi-wireless name. Plans for what appear to be the battery are shown in figure 41, along with a charger in figure 40. Based on the pictures, it appears as though the battery may be removable.

Figure 41 shows the power source

Plans for the front derailleur also contain space for a “power source”, which the patent says would be located between points 30X and 30Y on Figure 47. The patent also says that the system “can include the electric front derailleur”, suggesting it isn’t a necessity and a 1x variation is also in the works.

A "power source" would be located between 30Y and 30X

While the 13-speed elements detailed in the patent are a new development, the fully wireless designs aren’t too much of a surprise with Shimano submitting patents for similar designs already this year.

The patent doesn’t provide any timescales for when we may see the designs in action and there is no guarantee they ever will. However, it’s safe to assume that if they do, the designs are likely to debut on Shimano’s top-tier groupsets, most likely Dura-Ace which was last updated in 2021. That came five years after it was last updated, although that bucked the four-year release cycle that is more commonly followed.

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Shimano

Shimano is a bike component manufacturer based in Osaka, Japan. The company is one of the industry’s most popular manufacturers and it makes up around three-quarters of the bicycle component market by value.