Shimano’s entry into the 12-speed street drivetrain class got here a bit later than their competitors, however they made up for it with stellar efficiency and long-term sturdiness.
I’ve been driving the group for almost two years and it continues to supply flawless shifting, clean operation, and quiet rolling. Even the wheels, which by no means appear to get as a lot consideration, are nice. Right here’s my long-term evaluation…
Setup & Set up Notes
I put in the Ultegra group on a Pursuit Allroad, a wonderful bike that made my 2022 Editor’s Selection record. All the things went because it ought to with one catch that’s vital to notice in the event you’re putting in it your self, and this consists of store people… be certain that to make use of the right spacers on the BB spindle.
Earlier than you learn the subsequent 5 paragraphs, know that I’m not knocking anybody. This can be a easy mistake that anybody could make, and it brought about a variety of head-scratching grief. Shimano put in the group of their SoCal HQ and commented about how entrance shifting appeared off. The entrance derailleur couldn’t transfer the chain far sufficient right down to reliably shift onto the small chainring.
So that they despatched it again to Pursuit pondering that it was a body tolerance concern. Carl Robust, co-founder of Pursuit and superb body builder, checked, re-checked, and confirmed the body was precisely to spec.
Even so, he heated and molded a small divot into the downtube so as to add clearance for the entrance derailleur’s cage pivot, and that helped, however didn’t completely repair it.
I obtained the bike and had the native Shimano rep go to to switch the entrance derailleur, pondering perhaps that was the difficulty, after which re-check every part. The brand new half was similar to the unique, and that wasn’t the issue.
Seems, we wanted a 1-2mm (I overlook which, precisely) spacer on the crank spindle on the driveside to push the chainrings out. That tiny quantity of further offset solved the issue. It’s one thing so easy, with no different warning indicators to counsel it, that it eluded Shimano, Pursuit, and myself till we simply tried it on a whim.
The purpose? Strive the easy stuff first, and take a look at to think about different options. As soon as the spacer was put in, shifting was excellent and has been for the 18+ months I’ve been driving the bike.
The entrance derailleur comes with a small wire information that offers it a 90º angle whereas additionally defending it from bending too sharply. This additionally retains it from looping so large it rubs your rear tire. It’s tiny and finest put in along with your rear wheel off the bike, belief me.
Shimano has simple guides for setting chain size…
…and rear derailleur B-tension settings. The information is plastic-free, which is sweet, too.
A small gentle is color-coded throughout setup so it’s simple to know in the event you’re in setup mode. It modifications to blue whereas charging, then turns off when the battery is full.
One of many greatest upgrades to the brand new Di2 12-speed is the power to customise the shifting patterns, activate Synchro Shift, and different options straight from their e-Tube app. Right here’s a superb video displaying find out how to set it so you possibly can put the rear derailleur into adjustment mode remotely from the shifters, permitting micro-adjusts whereas driving (not that you need to want them, but it surely’s nonetheless cool).
Ultegra R8100 Trip Evaluation
The nutshell model is that this: I’ve ridden the brand new Dura-Ace 12-speed Di2 additionally, and Shimano’s Ultegra group performs each bit as properly, however for lots much less cash and only some additional grams. If you happen to’re constructing a motorbike or upgrading, it’s an incredible selection not solely amongst Shimano’s drivetrains however an incredible selection on the whole.
Shifting is as fast as ever, to me feeling barely sooner than SRAM. It’s additionally very quiet, and feels clean and easy, even for an digital group.
If you happen to haven’t watched this video but, please do, there’s much more to it than simply velocity…it additionally barely overshifts each cog to make sure the chain will get the place it must go, then trims again. It’s actually cool!
The entrance shifting is highly effective and direct, as I anticipated. I’ve additionally owned Dura-Ace Di2 and GRX Di2 11-speed teams, and the brand new 12-speed entrance shifting appears barely smoother.
SIDEBAR: I can’t evaluation this group with out speaking about Shimano’s 11-speed crankarm recall. The 12-speed cranks are made utilizing the identical hole solid and bonded building, so I requested Shimano what modified with these new ones to forestall them from having the identical downside. Their response was:
“Shimano has made quite a few modifications, enhancements, and enhancements in response to the market info we obtained. That is customary follow at Shimano.“
…which is about what I anticipated. I’d love a extra technical clarification, however they’re very secretive about their processes. I obtained a have a look at that course of throughout my manufacturing unit tour for the XTR launch in the event you’d wish to see it. FWIW, they’re not the one model utilizing this building methodology, and I haven’t had any issues with these (or my prior DA) cranks.
The rear derailleur is attention-grabbing. There’s no clutch or spring damping for the pulley cage, and the spring stress may be very gentle. I applaud having derailleurs that may cowl every part from street to tough gravel, however I additionally respect a component that’s function constructed to excel at one factor. I imagine that is what permits Shimano’s shifting to really feel so gentle and quick, which is very noticeable on their mechanical teams.
That is permits the chain to bounce, however not the way you may assume. As the 2 motion pictures (and mud) counsel, a variety of my street rides find yourself on stretches of gravel, typically with numerous stutter bumps and potholes. Regardless of these mini adventures, I by no means seen that lack of chain administration and by no means dropped a sequence.
The place I discover it’s after I backpedal rapidly, notably within the small chainring. I do that to regulate crankarm place for a nook, or shuffle round on my saddle. A fast, exaggerated backpedal typically yanks the pulley cage ahead, creating an enormous swoop of chain slack, adopted by a speedy retraction. It feels bizarre, somewhat disconcerting, and is diminished by growing B-screw stress.
I thought of shortening the chain barely, however the setup is dialed in line with spec and a shorter chain would doubtless trigger points entering into the most important cogs from the large chainring (I do know, you don’t must say it, however all of us do it). Finally, it hasn’t affected efficiency, however I needed to say it.
Hood shapes are nice, with good ridges on prime for grip. The pronounced bump on the entrance is reassuring on spirited climbs, and finger clearance is sufficient when braking from the hoods.
The bigger shift paddles are simple to make use of, and the differing textures make them simple to establish even with full finger gloves. The wi-fi design is sweet, decluttering the cockpit, and shifting is as quick as ever…I couldn’t inform any distinction between response velocity from prior wired variations.
The charging port is on the rear derailleur, which is an enormous improve from the tiny junction port and having to wire it someplace. It’s nonetheless a single wire to cost the group, which is handy, although you’ll must put your bike close to an outlet.
SIDEBAR: Shimano typically sends evaluation teams with a full PRO cockpit, and their PRO PLT Ergo Carbon Handlebar deserves a shout-out. It has an exceptionally good condition. The flattened tops get deeper on the corners the place my palms typically relaxation, creating an enormous platform for my palms. It’s stiffer than most carbon bars I’ve ridden, so it transmits a bit extra vibration, however I plan on swapping to a gel-backed bar tape to mitigate that as a result of its ergonomics are value protecting.
The PLT stem can be nice, with surprisingly good torsional stiffness for its girth and faceplate width. Each are moderately gentle and an ideal instance of Shimano’s understated excellence.
When Shimano first launched their street disc brakes, they made it clear they have been highly effective and funky sufficient to run 140mm rotors, whereas others have been suggesting 160mm at least.
For me, I went with 160m within the entrance, 140mm within the rear. It’s a superb combine, and I like the additional modulation the bigger rotor gives. Shimano’s brakes are clean, with the correct quantity of chew from their Servo Wave lever main into well-controlled development.
Maybe the least talked about a part of the group are the Ultegra WH-R8170-C50-TL wheels, and I blame Shimano. They merely don’t hype them sufficient, however they’re actually good. They’re aero with out making a bunch of aero claims, and Ultegra shares the identical rim profile because the Dura-Ace wheels.
They roll very easily because of cup-and-cone bearings. The 21mm inside width rims held every part from 28mm to 36mm-ish tires with simple tubeless setup. And so they’re moderately gentle (628g entrance, 872g rear, 1500g complete) for the C50 mannequin (50mm deep rims, additionally obtainable in 36mm and 60mm depths).
The hubs have a grey anodizing to match the remainder of the group and include a typical HG freehub physique.
For prime efficiency street driving, Ultegra Di2 12-speed leaves nothing to be desired. Shifting is exact and quick. Hood and lever ergonomics are nice. It’s gentle, and the understated darkish grey ano appears nice on any bike, maybe even higher than the shiny black of Dura-Ace.
It even works properly on “alt roads”, and the edges held as much as low tire pressures on gravel roads, too. If you happen to’re out there for top-tier efficiency with out the top-tier value, Ultegra R8100 delivers.
Learn our launch protection right here for the entire tech particulars on this and Dura-Ace.
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