Our tour began, however, well outside their walls, with a well curated tour around Osaka to provide context for what they do. Shimano was started in by Shozaburo Shimano, who wanted to create a more reliable freewheel. Here, steel was imported to build tools 1, years ago in order to build the tombs for their emperors. Digging and cutting tools allowed them to create trenches and giant burial mounds more efficiently, as well as cut stone.
It measures m long with a series of three moats around it. The dirt pulled up to create the moats was piled up to create the keyhole shaped burial mound, which was then covered with neatly arranged stones to prevent erosion. Built in the early 5th century, it has since overgrown with trees.
Jun Mizuno is a 5th generation knife maker at Mizuno Tanrejo literally Mizuno knife factory. Here, he blends Tama Hagane Jewel Steel with iron to make about 15 blanks per day, which he spends the next days turning into finished knives. Over time, iron forgers began crafting Samurai swords for generations, as well as armor and helmets. As the warrior class system fell away and carrying a sword on the streets became illegal, the bladesmiths switched to making knives.
This gun is the largest remaining example in Japan, thought to be an experimental design capable of firing 1. In , the Portuguese introduced guns to Japan, who then used their expertise to perfect the Match Lock type of rifle and, eventually, bicycle frame repair and manufacturing.
Based in Osaka, this history and culture becomes evident as we tour their factory. Raw material arrives in the form of sheets and rods of metal, then goes first to the forming room. Once cut to size, sheet metal is pressed into cassette cogs. Modern speed cogs are stamped into shape over multiple steps to reach their final shape with all of the holes.
The finished product is 1. They stamp the titanium cogs here, too, but they take more pressure to cut, so the internal dies and parts have to be swapped out when switching materials. The largest machine produces up to 2, tons of pressure. Once complete, they two pieces are bonded together. They turn out a few thousand crank arms per day, usually batching different models throughout the day.
Rim brake arms start life as solid aluminum coil before being forged into shape. Why so much forging? Because it maintains the inherent crystal structure of the metal, which results in a stronger, more resilient piece. Shimano uses high frequency induction heating to speed up the process, and it yields a nearly complete part in a single step, which is how they get such a smooth one-piece caliper.
The process allows them to get more complex shapes than they could with forging, and is more appropriate for certain materials like magnesium. The internal cavity is then machined out to create the piston bores, etc. Which brings us to…. After forging, parts are brought to the machine room to be finished, bringing them within required tolerances. In particular, the cranks receive plenty of attention to ensure the inner and outer faces will be perfectly fitted to one another.
And chainrings need to mate with those with zero play, and the hole where it slides into the spindle must also be perfectly aligned. Left to right shows the progress from final forging to machined part ready for next steps.
In , Shimano released the series, which evolved to be more racing oriented in terms of functions and design. Making more compact connectors and wires connected to the E-tube Project system for DI2 shifting customization and failure diagnosis achieved smart and simple cable routing and improved workability when the system was built into the frame. After that, in the road bike market, carbon frames and lightweight components further evolved and Shimano was also required to make components ever lighter.
In , the new series that had an all-new design appeared with the model number changed to R In , the Flight Deck system, which made the cycle computer easier to use by building command buttons and gear position sensors in the Dual Control Lever system, was added to the lineup.
Two color options of glossy gray and silver were offered. In , the DI2 electric shifting system version, series, appeared. R component weights are very similar to Ultegra The significant differences are in the shifting, which gets an Ultegra version of the Shadow rear derailleur from Dura-Ace ; the brakes, which have been shaped to make room for 28mm tyres; and the sprockets which now have an option. The larger cassettes require the use of the medium-cage rear derailleur, which has been reported as working with even larger sprockets such as the and cassettes Shimano makes for mountain bikes.
Like the previous incarnation, there's just one chainring bolt circle diameter that will take chainrings from 34 to 53 teeth. Ultegra is also available with a Di2 option.
Like Dura-Ace, both Ultegra groupsets are speed. For the bike model year we got a new Dura-Ace groupset, for Ultegra got a makeover and for the model year which pretty much started in July Shimano's most popular groupset got a makeover and a hike in model number from to R The main mission of remains the same: excellent performance at a sensible price.
Many of the changes from are visual, bringing R into line with the styling cues of the other two speed groupsets, but there are some performance improvements too. The shift lever throw has been shortened for faster, crisper transitions, and the rear derailleurs have greater capacity.
The SS short-cage derailleur can now handle a tooth largest sprocket, while the long-cage GS model goes up to 34 in theory, and in practice will cope with a whopping tooth sprocket. The rear derailleurs are Shimano's 'Shadow' design with the main parallelogram moved back and down by an extra pivot that effectively extends the gear hanger so the derailleur is tucked under the chainstay more, reducing the chance of crash damage.
The front derailleur gets the compact toggle design of Dura-Ace and Ultegra so there's no longer a gert long lever arm poking skywards from the front mech. The big news in braking is that R gets its own hydraulic disc brakes and levers rather than having to make do with brakes that were quality but lacked the logos and styling of the rest of the group. A disc-braked equipped bike will now look 'of a piece' as it were.
Speaking of brakes, there are also restyled rim brakes for old school types. They follow the Ultegra and Dura-Ace convention of the quick-release lever tucking under the brake arm and have a couple more millimetres of brake drop than the previous brakes so they'll work with bikes that have a bit more room for fatter tyres.
You see a lot of entry-level and mid-range bikes specced with Shimano Sometimes it gets mixed with other branded parts to meet key price points, but a full groupset is definitely something to look for, as there really is no weak part of the groupset. The changes bring it the appearance of Shimano above it, with the same four-arm crankset and new shifters, with the gear and brake cables hidden underneath the bar tape.
As well as the drop-bar kit, Tiagra will be available with flat bar levers and shifters, so expect to see it on commuter and city bikes as well. Tiagra retains the speed configuration, though, and that could be a deciding factor if choosing between Tiagra and It now matches the higher groups in the range visually, with its four-arm chainset, and a similar grey finish though we can't be the only ones who wish for a shinier option.
You get proper Dual Control gear shifters, with the brake lever changing down the cassette and the smaller lever changing to a higher gear. Other similarities with the more expensive groupsets include the Hollowtech 2 bottom bracket, with the bearings sitting outboard of the frame.
The most recent update to the groupset saw Claris get the four-arm, fixed-axle chainset design of higher groupsets. Claris really does have the quality feel of the more expensive Shimano groupsets. It's almost impossible to buy a full Claris groupset at the moment; you'll have to assemble it from various sources. We can't have a guide to Shimano groupsets and not mention the brakes.
Shimano offers a choice of regular dual pivot or newer direct mount brake calipers, and also an increasing choice of disc brakes. Most groupsets now have dedicated disc brakes, and there still plenty of 'non-series' disc brakes around too, with options for electronic and mechanical shifting.
Shimano says these are its first discs designed specifically for road bikes, rather than being adapted from mountain bike brakes. Disc brakes have numerous advantages over rim brakes: they're less affected by water; they're unaffected by rim damage and they provide finer control over braking power than is possible with rim brakes.
Hydraulic brakes also self-centre and automatically compensate for pad wear, neither of which you get with cables, and both of which are real benefits. With the R components, Shimano introduced its first Ultegra-labelled disc brakes, with variants at the hydraulic levers for mechanical and electronic shifting.
Like the previous non-series disc brakes they use Shimano's Flat-Mount standard for a tidy appearance. The first Shimano level disc brakes were pretty good, but with the new hydraulic system, the R lever and the R calliper, Shimano has upped its game significantly.
They're still quite expensive as an upgrade, but definitely one to look out for if you're in the market for a new disc-braked road bike. The new R lever is a full redesign and it's a much better overall shape. The extra width of the lever at the bottom meant that the bottom of the hood sat away from the bar tape a bit; it was noticeable close up but not really an issue.
The brakes work brilliantly out of the box, and they're almost entirely fuss-free. These brakes bite when you'd expect them to in the lever travel, and from there there's masses of stopping power available as and when you need it. The reach is adjustable, but there's also a new, smaller lever R that should be ideal for those with smaller hands.
The amount of effort you have to put in to control your speed on the steep, loose back road descents round here is genuinely a revelation compared to rim brakes or mechanical disc brakes. Read our review of the Shimano R hydraulic disc brakes. If you're happy with 10 sprockets on your back wheel, but want hydraulic disc brakes, then Shimano has these brakes for you, matching the colour and styling of the rest of the Tiagra ensemble.
These level 'non-series' hydraulic disc brakes are based on the RS hydraulic brakes with mechanical shifting below , but have a new ergonomically shaped hood design.
To save weight, and keep the cost down, the brake levers are aluminium rather than carbon fibre. There's 10mm of reach adjustment so you can tune the lever to your hands. The lever shape looks very much like that of the speed RS hydraulic lever, although the BR-RS lever is speed rather than speed.
Tiagra is currently Shimano's only speed road system, so while they're not startlingly cheaper than , they were the only game in town if you wanted to upgrade a speed-equipped bike to hydraulic stoppers until the proper Tiagra brakes were launched. The system comprised brake calipers, disc rotors and brake levers, and you could combine them with either Dura-Ace Di2 or Ultegra Di2 speed groupsets.
Shimano's road disc brake system has been designed for use with mm or mm rotors, with the idea being that users can choose the size to suit their weight and intended use.
The rotors are designed to combat overheating with fins and grooves. They are CenterLock only, there's no 6-bolt option.
These are now very hard to find. On the off-chance that you want these particular brakes rather than the many other speed options Shimano now offers, we suggest searching eBay. But what if you don't want Di2 with your hydraulic disc brakes? Shimano was listening, and RS was the result. It offers mechanical gear shifting with hydraulic disc brakes. Shimano has included a mineral oil reservoir and brake system in the mechanical lever while managing to keep that lever compact.
The lever features a 10mm reach adjustment to customise the fit for people with smaller or larger hand. GRX isn't a single groupset, it's a collection a 'series' in Shimano-speak of components at different quality levels that share similar colouring and styling so that bike manufacturers can mix them to tailor their gravel bikes. These correspond to Shimano's Ultegra, and Tiagra levels respectively.
As with Tiagra, RX has the same ratio of cable pull to sideways movement as the more expensive, speed systems, so you can, in theory, mix them all. All have new details designed to make it easier to keep your hands firmly on the hoods as you rattle over rough surfaces. The GRX chainsets are available with double or single chainrings, which is a first for a drop-bar offering from Shimano.
There's no RX chainset though. Instead there's a variant of the RX chainset with speed spacing. Shimano has moved the chain line out 2. Similarly there are no RX derailleurs; you use the RX derailleurs with the RX shifters, brakes and chainset if you want a mid-priced speed bike. Both the RX and RX rear derailleurs are available in versions for single and double chainrings.
The single-ring derailleurs will shift up to tooth sprocket, while the double-ring derailleurs go up 34 teeth or 36 teeth in the case of RX All the GRX derailleurs have clutch mechanisms to reduce chain slap when riding off-road. All GRX brake calipers are flat mount. There are no specific GRX cassettes, chains, bottom brackets or brake rotors; you just use the ones from the equivalent road or mountain bike groupsets. The flagship GRX level is equivalent to Ultegra road components in quality, but has a host of details and options offered nowhere else in Shimano's range.
These include:. Both double and single-ring chainsets are available in mm, The electronic-shifting version of GRX boasts the same feature set as RX, but with click-whirr shifting. Both double and single-ring chainsets are available in mm, mm, If you want the widest possible gear range from your GRX set-up, then you want the speed RX derailleurs because the rear unit will shift up to a tooth largest sprocket, the greatest capability of any Shimano drop-bar rear deraiilleur.
For more details straight from the source, check out Shimano's website. Explore the complete archive of reviews of groupsets on road.
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