NEW Shimano Ultegra Groupset – GCN's First Look At The Tech

Shimano's NEW Ultegra groupset is here, following on from the release of the updated Dura Ace last year. SHARE this video!

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Shimano released the latest version of their all conquering Dura-Ace Groupset last year. But hot on it's heels, is this, the little brother. The Ultegra R8000 Groupset. Now it was announced, a couple of months back, but seeing how Shimano actually invited us out to Austria to have a look at it, and to have a little ride on it, we thought it would be a bit rude to say no. Shimano Ultegra has always promised the functionality and the durability of Dura-Ace, but at a lower price point. But recently as well, it's also added in a little bit of versatility, which we'll see later on. Because it's not just about racing.

Now as with Dura-Ace, there are four options here. So you have a mechanical shifting, rim brake version, which is R8000. You also have a mechanical shifting, hydraulic disc brake version, which is R8020. Then, you have an electronic Di2 shifting rim brake version which is R8050. And then finally you've got this, which is the bells and whistles R8070, electronic Di2 shifting with hydraulic disc brakes. There here is a whole load of tech that is new to the Ultegra level that's trickled down from Dura-Ace. So I'm going to walk you through it.

Starting with shifters, up there. The big news with Shimano Dura-Ace was the improvement of the ergonomics of their hydraulic levers. And rejoice, the same things has happened here. So we've now got a smaller diameter lever body and also with shorter reach. I am told that it is every so slightly larger in diameter compared to the Dura-Ace 9170 version. But, frankly I've held the two side by side and I couldn't actually tell the difference. Sticking with ergonomics, you also still have the reach adjust, so great for people with small hands. You can move the lever in a little bit more. And you've also got lever pull adjustment as well. So if you're like me, like a lot of lever pull and therefore more pad clearance, you can set it up as that. Or, if you like a more immediate brake, so less lever pull and less pad clearance, you can have that as well. Now that's something that we take for granted on rim brakes, but until recently it didn't use to be possible on disc brakes. Now, having a look up here, the hidden buttons from Dura-Ace Di2 have also migrated across.

Photos: © Bettiniphoto / http://www.bettiniphoto.net/ & ©Tim De Waele / http://www.tdwsport.com

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