USAZorro

Hey Shimano. Remember me?

embankmentlb

It seems the world in general has long abandoned me. Maybe I am just old. Weird and scary how all of a sudden it just happens. I was just going through a box in storage this morning and found a Colorado Cyclist catalog from spring 1991. How comforting it was to look through those pages.

Andy_K 

You should try spraying a bit of WD40 in the shifters. I hear that can sometimes bring them back to life.

nlerner

Well, the Ultegra hydro group on my new rig shifts like buttah'!

gugie 

You're now dead to me.

martl

BMW is offering a subscription system in their newest products. The car is built with all the features, but for using them they charge a fee, for example the heating system in the driver's seat - 17,99 a month or 350 for a lifetime subscription. It is unclear if the life time of your sorry cold behind is meant or the lifetime of the android system used.
I imagine this will become popular as it offers unlimited options (for the vendor) and we can buy a subscription for the granny gear support on our bikes soon.
Thankfully, my vintage bikes will mot be affected. I like to ride bikes; Needless to say I hate to look for a new hobby just because some marketing geniuses got gold of it.

squirtdad

and the crankset works well also I assume

nlerner

Buttah!

RiddleOfSteel

While expecting a jump to 12-speed for R7100, I didn't expect both hydraulic braking and Di2. I think it looks good, just like R8100 and R9200--all three new generations look better and more balanced (crankset primarily) than before. The massive jump in price, while understandable (since it's hydro braking and electronic shifting), is unfortunate for Shimano's "entry level road/race groupset", but here we are. 105 is no longer the gateway drug (to nicer groupsets), it's the gatekeeper.

So yeah, my C&V + modern component evolution stops at R7000 as far as 105 is concerned. I will have to try that groupset out on a bike as I have the 5800 generation, and with non-fancy Shimano cables (housings, too), the shift feel sucks. Really draggy and dull, with front shifting being alarmingly difficult. And in all honesty, setting up the long-arm-FD generation of Shimmy Shammy derailleurs is a hassle at best. Di2 is a lot easier...... That being said, Dura-Ace 9000 with its branded cables and housings feels wonderful to shift. But aside from that, it really makes you miss the 10-speed stuff, especially 7800/6600/5600. 7900-era Dura-Ace was great, too. Dirt simple to set up. No hyper-tensioning the FD cable and fussing with analyzing cable-to-FD attack angles to get ideal shifting. Gen 1 11-speed stuff looks great, but is a hassle. Braking is fine, but seriously 7402 levers hooked to 7800 calipers is demonstrably stronger feeling.

For mechanical shifting and braking, if you are a moderately good hunter, you can find a beautiful DA 9000 groupset for around $1100 vs. just under $1900 for R7100. R7000 mech/cable systems are of course under $1000 blah blah blah.

I understand, the door on upgrading or updating vintage bikes with modern stuff seems to be closing, or getting even more cost-prohibitive--both in fairly rapid fashion. Still, IMO, EONS better a cost situation than the current "market" for housing for (us) Millennials and Gen Z, but I digress. So lets take stock of what we do have here: TONS of current, new and nearly new generations of groupsets, including ones that many here crabbed about when they were introduced, plus a bunch of older stuff. I am really thankful for Tektro and VO and RH/Soma et al who sell new polished silver components and consumables (tires). My 720 is not going to look good in anything but sparkling silver and tan wall tires, and I am aware of the finite nature of new silvery bits being made/sold. I will continue to methodically gather my favorite pieces and have them waiting in the wings as replacements, or for new builds.

Shimano recently did a limited actually silver silver GRX gravely-goo groupset and wonder of wonders, it looks good! It looks good in context (of modern bike designs/builds). Yes...it's super-fantastic-angle-gasmic modern design, but it's actually polished! Fellow C&V'ers, there is hope.

I could see this looking good on my 620, or any of our repurposed touring/CX bikes, especially if we powder coat or paint them some fun colors.

Andy_K 

I hadn't seen the silver GRX before. Thanks for posting! I do like the look of that crankset, but I can't quite accept the rear derailleur. It's just got too many segments.

Coincidentally, I am in the middle of rebuilding my red Gitane with the black GRX crank (46-30) and black 105 5800 components. This bike had black components when it was new, and I think it's going to look really sharp. I'm doing a bit of a parts bin build on it right now, apart from the drivetrain, to see how I like it, but I know what I'm going to use if I do like it. Hopefully I'll like the 5800 shifting better than you. I got it new on a 2015 bike, and I don't remember being dissatisfied then, but I replaced it with Gevenalle pretty shortly after I bought it (because it came on my CX bike and Gevenalle is awesome for CX).

Teaser pic

RiddleOfSteel

You're welcome! I understand the too-many-segments thing. I hope you like the 5800 as well. It seems to me to be an issue of how decent or nice are your cables and housings. Pre-Covid, Recycled Cycles ran good/solid Shimano cables and housings. They don't anymore. Prices are up on consumables enough that for a couple bucks more one can go Dura-Ace or decent level Jagwire. Even Jag's Sport stuff is pretty nice. Lol, I'm a big ol "YMMV" seller right now..

52telecaster

I'm so glad touring and commuting don't require the latest but to be honest, what I really wanted was hydraulic shifting. Until that happens I am not going to go new.

repechage

Already a thing.
rotoramerica.com

11,12, 13 speed hydraulic shifting.

52telecaster

Holy crap.... Tell me why we can't solve world hunger????