Back in April, Shimano launched a number of new products aimed at gravel and all-road riders. While not quite as exciting as the arrival of a new groupset or new wheels, the updates offer a much greater choice of set-up to riders, which can only be a good thing. Read on to find out the details.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on trends within professional cycling, the last few years have seen a shift in attitude of riders when it came to crank length. For decades, the perceived wisdom was that the taller you were, the longer the cranks you should be running. The default option for many riders was 175mm - long considered to be the Goldilocks balance between decent ground clearance (to avoid pedal strikes) and efficient torque generation. That seemed to all change a couple of years ago, though, with some of the world’s top riders trying out shorter crank lengths. Partly this was driven by a switch from riders pushing a big gear at a low cadence to twiddling a smaller gear at a much higher pedalling rate. As an example, watch a televised race from ten years ago and you will see many top riders climbing out of the saddle. In contrast, now riders such as Demi Vollering or Tadej Pogačar try to climb in a seated position as frequently as possible.
Where our road cousins go, gravel riders are sure to follow and the trend for shorter cranks and 1x drivetrains is ever-more dominant in away-from-the-road racing too. Obviously, only a tiny number of riders are racing at the top level, so are there benefits for ‘normal’ riders choosing to use shorter cranks too? Shimano obviously think so, as earlier this month, they launched two new crank length options for their GRX810/820 lineup. They now offer cranks in 160mm, 165mm, 170mm, 172.5mm and 175mm lengths. They say that “shorter crank arms can help riders achieve a more efficient pedalling motion, support higher cadences and reduce joint strain, particularly during long, sustained gravel efforts.”
It’s not just shorter crank lengths on offer though – at the same time as launching the shorter cranks, Shimano also launched two now chainring size options for riders running a 1x GRX chainset. Whereas previously you were limited to 40 or 42 teeth only, now you can also buy a 44T and 46T chainrings. Shimano say “Larger chainrings allow riders to maintain higher speeds more efficiently, while reducing chain articulation and friction.” They go onto say that “The new chainrings are fully compatible with existing GRX cranksets” and “ The latest GRX options are designed to help riders optimize their setups based on terrain, riding style and individual fit preferences, all without compromise.”
Finally on the list of new Shimano products for April is the snappily named RD-U6040 Rear Derailleur. This rear mech is aimed at riders using Shimano’s CUES groupset and is not compatible with riders running a GRX drivetrain. Shimano describe CUES as “ offering an all-road 2x11 mechanical experience at a more accessible level.” They describe the new rear mech as “A compact, road-optimised 2x11-speed rear derailleur designed specifically for CUES” and go on to say “Its streamlined construction delivers a 100-gram weight reduction compared to standard CUES models, offering lighter, sleeker performance for road, all-road, and gravel bikes.”
You can find all the details of Shimano‘s GRX and CUES groupsets over on their website.