The world of bicycle drivetrains can feel like a two-horse race, with Shimano and SRAM dominating the market and media attention.
But at this year’s Eurobike, the world’s largest cycling tradeshow, there were a slew of launches from challengers to the market leaders, who are taking a more active role in the cycling aftermarket rather than selling directly to bike brands.
The new groupset tech from Microshift, Magene, Wheeltop and others points towards a burgeoning trend in drivetrain technology: the proliferation of electronic shifting and wireless designs. It also points to what could be a more diverse market in the future.
Shimano, but no SRAM
Shimano’s stand had all of its new electronic groupsets on display. These included XTR and XT, as well as Shimano GRX 1x, which launched a day before the show opened.
The three groupsets reflect the trend for wireless designs that no longer see derailleurs and shifters powered by a central battery.
SRAM didn’t have its typically large stall at Eurobike this year – a growing trend itself, with many key brands giving up their booths – but it was still present through its sheer size. Its new Rival and Force groupsets were displayed on countless bikes.
On the other hand, XTR was visible on many high-end show bikes. But we saw very few bikes equipped with Shimano’s Deore and XT Di2 groupsets, hinting at potential availability issues.
Campagnolo didn’t have a booth either, but its new Super Record Wireless groupset cropped up on bikes including Factor’s unreleased aero bike.
Benchmarking Shimano
When it comes to shifting technology, it was the challenger brands that had a greater – or more intriguing – presence at Eurobike. Magene is one example. The Chinese company, known for its radar bike lights, had its new QED and PES electronic groupsets on display.
A Magene spokesperson told BikeRadar that QED is benchmarked against Shimano Ultegra. The semi-wireless groupset launched last year and has the same two-button shifting as Shimano’s road groupsets. It has apparently sold around 20,000 units in China so far, with brands testing it in the USA and Europe.
Meanwhile, PES, which has just launched, is said to be benchmarked to Shimano 105 Di2.
Wheeltop and two surprises
Magene isn’t the only brand to look to Shimano. Wheeltop released its first wireless electronic groupset, EDS OX, in 2022, and it now has a range that covers all disciplines.
All of Wheeltop’s wireless electronic groupsets share the EDS name. The brand declared in big letters above its Eurobike booth: “EDS Wireless for Everyone”.
If you look closely, you can see how Wheeltop styles the name of its EDS GeX gravel groupset a lot like ‘GRX’.
Wheeltop had its new EDS OX 2.0 mountain bike groupset on display, but the most intriguing news came from the brand Wheeltop was sharing a booth with: Rotor.
Rotor briefly made hydraulic-actuated groupsets, and BikeRadar revealed at Eurobike that the power meter and chainring brand is returning with an electronic groupset later this year.
We have few details currently, but a Rotor spokesperson said the new groupset will be called Uno, the name of Rotor’s first groupset.
According to the spokesperson, Rotor initially used Wheeltop’s electronics (EDS for everyone, indeed) but will develop its own, so the groupset can be made entirely in Europe.
Another surprise from Eurobike was Microshift Cypher. Microshift has a large range of cable-actuated groupsets, and the Taiwanese company is often seen as a more budget-friendly alternative to SRAM and Shimano. Yet Cypher, spotted on Giant’s new Seek kids' bike, will be Microshift’s first electronic groupset.
While we haven’t heard anything official about Cypher yet, it has the same button layout as Microshift Sword and appears to use cable-actuated brakes.
L-Twoo’s new ETX
If Magene and Wheeltop appear to be looking towards Shimano for inspiration, L-Twoo has its eyes on SRAM.
Its new wireless ETX mountain bike groupset uses a shifter that looks a lot like SRAM’s AXS Pod controllers.
The groupset also has a removable battery that you charge via a USB-C port for simplicity. L-Twoo says the rear derailleur can handle more than 8,000 shifts per charge.
You can also customise the gear shift settings via an app – and even fine-tune the shifting speed.
The groupset comes with two- or four-piston brakes, which are operated by either two- or three-finger aluminium brake levers.
New groupsets from Tektro
At last year’s Eurobike, we spotted TRP (Tektro Racing Products) and Classified’s Vistar Powershift groupset, which finally launched in June this year.
TRP also revealed its E.A.S.I A12 groupset at last year’s Euorbike. Developed in collaboration with Bosch, it was the first derailleur groupset to be compatible with Bosch eShift. This year, TRP revealed E.A.S.I A10 and A11, two more versions of the groupset, which are compatible with 10- and 11-speed chains.
Automatic shifting
Bosch first announced its eShift automatic shifting tech in 2014. But the announcement of its Performance Line PX ebike motor system, which was on display at the show, came with the news that eShift is compatible with Shimano groupsets.
Alongside XT and XTR, Shimano also displayed its new Q’Auto system. Q’Auto integrates with a Cues derailleur to provide automatic shifting based on your pedalling input, gradient and speed.
As with the likes of Magene, Wheeltop and L-Twoo, there will be competition for the big companies. For instance, Chinese manufacturer Lofandi had its 5-speed electronic hub on display, which provides manual or automatic shifting.
The future’s electric
Whether you’re a convert or not, Eurobike 2025 provided a clear indicator of where drivetrain technology is headed: the future’s electric – and it’ll have more brands vying for your attention, even if they’re following SRAM and Shimano’s lead.
Of course, upstarts taking on big-name brands is nothing new. But it will be interesting to see if these manufacturers become known for offering their own unique solutions.
Microshift’s presence at the lower end of the market is proof that can happen. But the likes of Magene, Wheeltop and L-Twoo might have a harder time convincing those who ride higher-spec groupsets to convert from the Shimano and SRAM duopoly. If they do, we can only expect their presence at Eurobike to grow and the hearts of our bikes to change.
