After a very long wait, many years in development and no shortage of spy photos circulating online, Shimano has launched two new fully overhauled and redesigned road groupsets for the 2022 model year – Dura-Ace Di2 (R9200) and Ultegra Di2 (R8100). Building on existing technology and with feedback from pro riders, the results look truly impressive.
Here we look at the main features and technologies of these two new groupsets and what benefits they should bring to road bikes in the years ahead. We’re big fans of Shimano components here at Bay Cycles - both the mechanics and sales staff - so we’re keenly awaiting the 2022 range of Trek road bikes where we will see both 12 speed Ultegra and Dura-Ace on the Domane, Emonda and Madone models.
Shimano are known for reliability and it’s a shift to internal cable routing on modern road frames that has brought compromises to gear shifting consistency in recent years. Electronic Di2 has been around since 2011 so Shimano has had plenty of time to evaluate and test options moving forward – and it’s here that this brand has decided on wireless STI shifters but with the front and rear derailleurs staying hardwired to the internally mounted battery. So why didn’t Shimano go fully wireless? Shimano says that maintaining a central battery for the two derailleurs makes for longer run times.
The frame battery life certainly looks to have been improved, with up to 1000km of riding (Shimano suggests) between charges, whereas the STI shifters use a CR1632 coin cell battery, which should last between 1.5 to 2 years. Charging for the main battery has also been revised, with a cable charging port now on the rear derailleur.
For these new Di2 transmissions Shimano has introduced a new generation of E-tube - EW-SD300. Said to be able to handle more information than the current stuff, the connectors are now dramatically downsized to make them easier to fish through stubborn internal routing paths – great news!
This semi-wireless system offers the best of both worlds. With the move towards fully internal cockpit routing, getting rid of the wires up front eliminates one of the biggest hassles of building up a new bike. It’s one less wire to feed through a stem and/or steerer tube, one less junction box to hide somewhere, and a lot fewer wire lengths options to join the various pieces together up there.
Shimano has focused on drivetrain efficiency, giving quicker shifting front and rear. The new cassette and chainring teeth profiles result in better shifting under power as well as a consistent feel, whether changing to a higher or lower gear. These new STI levers send commands directly to the rear derailleur, and each of those components now houses all-new wireless tech that wasn’t there before.
Few, if any, riders had any real issues with the previous shifters but Shimano has tweaked the shape and made the gear shift buttons more identifiable when riding hard or sprinting. Shimano’s Servowave brake lever tech (seen on GRX Di2 levers and Shimano’s high end MTB brake levers) has been employed here to give a better braking feel and improved modulation.
For the rear derailleur it’s now one size fits all, with no cage length options, keeping it simple when it comes to swapping cassettes. The front derailleur is much smaller, with a cleaner design giving a much-improved aesthetic – great to see.
It’s a 2x12 set up here as these groupsets are aimed at pure road riding leaving Shimano’s GRX transmissions as the appropriate choice for gravel and all-road bikes.
The new Hyperglide+ sprocket teeth tech (first seen on Shimano’s SLX, XT and XTR 12 speed mountain bike gearing) is used on both the Ultegra and Dura-Ace chainrings. As with the rear sprockets it gives cleaner and quieter shifting under power. Chainset options differ between the groupsets, with Dura-Ace offering a racing focused option – here is what is in the line-up:
DURA-ACE Di2 (R9200): 50/34T, 52/36T or 54/40T
ULTEGRA Di2 (R8100): 50/34T or 52/36T
As with the new chainsets, Dura-Ace has a more of a race bias - with the option of an 11-28T cassette – but 11-30T and 11-34T options are available for both groupsets. You can now get a factory 1:1 climbing gear with both Dura-Ace and Ultegra using stock Shimano parts. It’s an 11 tooth smallest sprocket too, with no 10T option as seen on rival brands’ 12 speed transmissions.
Going to a twelve-speed cassette has allowed Shimano to widen the sweet spot between the sixth, seventh and eighth sprockets, allowing the rider to maintain an optimal cadence. Below are the sprocket size progressions for the two Ultegra cassettes:
11-30T : 11-12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27-30
11-34T : 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-27-30-34
There’s more good news here… Although Shimano has developed a new 12 speed freehub body design (to give a better interface with the new Hyperglide+ cassettes), the existing HG 11 speed freehub bodies will work with these new 12 speed transmissions. No need for a wheel upgrade to make the switch to 2x12 Shimano.
To work with this new semi-wireless technology is an updated iOS and Android smartphone app, with a more intuitive interface that allows Di2 users to quickly customize things like button functions, shift speed, shift maps, and so on.
