It's been five years since Shimano launched its latest Dura-Ace groupset and rumours are beginning to circulate about the next-generation release.
Of course, any new addition at the premium end of the market is always interesting. It’s good to see the innovative engineers at Shimano pushing an already brilliant groupset forward.
The reality, however, is that no matter how good the new Dura-Ace Di2 might be, it’s of minority interest. Few can afford the pro-level drivetrain, and even fewer ‘need’ it. I would always choose a lower-tier option, such as Ultegra Di2 to get 95 per cent of the performance with a massive cost saving.
But the bigger issue is at the lower end of the market. If you want a solid, high-performing road bike, but don’t have the funds for Shimano 105 or SRAM Rival AXS, you are in a wilderness.
Aside from a small selection of high-value models from brands such as Ribble and Van Rysel, we no longer have a solid groupset option for new bikes between £1,250 and £2,000.
So, rather than focusing on Dura-Ace, Shimano should really put its expertise into the mid-range and give us an affordable, performance-focused groupset.
A mighty mid-range groupset
Shimano recently shook up its groupset hierarchy, introducing its CUES range, which is fine for a city bike or affordable gravel bike. As a result, we have a yawning chasm on the road between CUES and 105, Shimano’s lowest ‘performance’ groupset.
Don’t get me wrong, I like CUES. I’ve tried it on flat-bar bikes and been impressed. It’s also the drivetrain I’ve chosen for my mountain bike to gravel bike conversion.
However, it’s not quite right for mid-range performance road bikes. Its design is derived from Shimano’s GRX gravel groupset and mountain bikes. CUES has a more robust look, which is good for gravel and urban bikes, but too chunky and clunky for a lithe-looking road bike.
The now-defunct Tiagra had enough of the racy DNA of 105 and Ultegra to inspire. So, I think Shimano needs to revive Tiagra and bring some of the style elements of the latest (and quite brilliant) 105 mechanical.
Revive some of the older designs with a little spruce-up to the graphics and finishing, and it’ll light up the mid-range road bike market.
Cool bikes need cool parts
It looks as if lots of very cool mid-price bikes are on the way, such as the leaked Cannondale CAAD14, not to mention Canyon’s value-packed Endurace AllRoad.
Giving bikes such as these a proper, cost-effective performance road groupset could reignite this often-overlooked segment.
The road bike market shouldn’t be so focused on the high-end; we need serious bikes at more realistic prices, but that can only be achieved if brands have quality kit to adorn their bikes.
It’s not only a Shimano problem either. SRAM really needs to revive and revamp its affordable, mechanical groupset offerings – especially as Campagnolo is now no longer to be found anywhere approaching the affordable portion of the market.
What would I want from a reimagined Tiagra?
I think the styling of the current 105 groupset is great, so I’d love a crankset in that image.
It would be great to have lots of options, too, such as shorter cranks to suit both current trends and the junior level, where a groupset such as this would be popular.
It should also be 11-speed. It wouldn’t be cost-effective for Shimano to introduce 12-speed at this level just yet, and the performance and reliability of Shimano’s 11-speed drivetrains are legendary.
There should also be a broad range of chainring sizes: 52/36, 50/34, and even a smaller 46/30 for all-road and junior use.
The shifters should have the same low-profile hood shape as mechanical 105, and critically, the same light, smooth action that’s ideal for all riders, young and old.
The rear derailleur could easily be more of a throwback to standard cage lengths, rather than the longer mid-cage adopted on 12-speed mechanicals. The longer cage is designed to work with wider 11-36 cassettes; I wouldn’t mind a compromise of only having the tighter 11-34t, 11-speed cassettes if there was the option on chainring sizes for those wanting easier gearing.
Braking on the latest and previous-generation Shimano groups is good, so we’d be well covered on those.
What I would really love to see, however, is a return to simple, polished metal for all the components, something like the beautiful silver option on the R7000 Shimano 105 from 2018 – or even the limited-edition polished GRX from a few years ago.
Now that would really make the £1,500 road bike special again.
