Shimano's Newest Groupsets are Disappointing
I've been a big fan of shimano componentry since the late 80's with the introduction of hyperglide. That single innovation made off road riding so much more enjoyable and practical it was a joke.
I've always been super impressed with their "higher" end stuff (the top two groups on the road and mtb side respectively). Until now. I feel like they've fallen off the back a little.
On the road side, SRAM has taken a big leap forward with wireless electronic. The wireless aspect is a huge boon for esthetics, not to mention simplicity in installation. Third the simplicity of the shifting controls is unparalleled. Shimano meanwhile decided inexplicably to go with a wired system, adding a great deal of clutter and hours to the install time. Four shift controls vs two is inferior ergonomically as well.
On the mountain side, shimano has fallen off the back sticking with a wired system and only very recently adopting a single ring design. Single rings have completely taken over the mtb market and reviews for Eagle, their 12 speed, are very positive.
I just saw the recent designs for dura ace and ultegra and the cranksets look absolutely awful. There is no innovation: basically minor tweaks with a major downgrade in esthetics.
I hate to say it, but shimano is becoming a stodgy, very conservative company afraid to take risks and innovate. They'd rather refine proven designs rather than risk striking out by swinging for home runs.
I feel like Eagle and Etap are home runs (well, maybe etap is a triple). Whereas Shimano is focused more on hitting a ton of uneventful singles. It's like Frank Thomas the Big Hurt vs Ichiro Suzuki.
My sense is that SRAM is poised to take the industry lead in components innovation. That's not a bad thing, but they were so dominant for so long, maybe it just took a rogue company like SRAM to show up Shimano's weaknesses.
If cost were no object, I would be going with Etap and Eagle, no question.
Who do you think becomes the market leader in the years to come? Will Shimano hang on as the top dog or can SRAM take the lead?