- New Shimano Ultegra looks great,
has all the functionality of Dura-Ace on paper
but how does it ride?
(upbeat music)
As I said in the first look video
to me, one of the most significant changes
to this new Ultegra groupset was in the ergonomics
particularly of the hydralic levers.
You can, of course, get used to anything
but these new ones have a smaller diameter
and a shorter reach.
Aesthetically, it's better
but actually, most importantly,
the way it feels in your hand
is also a big step forward.
Particularly, the fact that the hydraulic options
now feel pretty much the same
as the rim brake version.
Because there's still a lot of people out there
that need to be converted to disc brakes
and actually the lever feel has been
one of the biggest stumbling blocks.
But now, you can get the same racy feel
but with improved braking performance.
(upbeat music)
Now one of the functions that carries over
from Dura-Ace DI2 to Ultegra DI2
is the synchro and semi-synchro shift functions.
So, you can turn them on and off
simply by double clicking on the button
on the function box.
Handily located on this BMC right at the top
of the downtube.
And when you switch synchro shift on
what you're effectively doing is handing over
the control of your front derailleur
to your DI2
a job which it does admirably well, as we said.
Now a common misconception,
is that it turns our gears
into a sequential sequence.
So in order to do so,
it would then have to change gear
in the front all the time.
So fortunately, it doesn't do that
and what it does instead
is it will change your chainring
at an intuitive point
when you shift up or down the rear cassette.
So effectively, it will change gear less.
And in semi-synchro is when you have control
over your shifting at your front
but then when you do change chainrings
it will make a compensation shift
up or down in the back
so, therefore, lessening the difference
between your gear change
and it's a job that most experienced riders
would do intuitively
but in this case you wouldn't have to.
So, one less job to think about
or just really good for less experienced riders.
(upbeat music)
Now one of the other super cool functions
that is new to the Ultegra DI2
is the inclusion of hidden buttons
on your shifters.
Now, they're not terribly well hidden exactly,
nor are they very secret.
They're located right at the top of the shifter
just up here.
Now, the reason they are called hidden buttons
is because they were actually launched
with the previous Dura-Ace DI2 version.
And when they were launched
they didn't actually do anything.
It was future proofing because now
you can connect your DI2 by Bluetooth
to your phone.
And on your phone, you can have
the Shimano E-TUBE app.
That means you're going to customise
the functionality of your Dura-Ace.
So you can do all sorts of different things.
Personally, I'd leave the function of all the buttons alone
except for these two at the top.
Now currently, I've got mine set up
to shift up or down gears on the cassette
up with my left thumb and down with my right thumb.
But, things get really exciting, when you know
that you can connect third party devices.
So you could set those buttons up
to scroll through screens on your headunit
which is pretty cool.
Or indeed, you can switch certain lights on or off.
That is smart technology that I can get behind.
I like that.
Well, you are free to see, I'm sure,
that I have stopped riding up that hill
and I have managed to get my breath back
in my first HD climb.
Back to the Ultegra though,
so, we don't test products here on TCN.
Many people assume we do but we don't.
Having said that, I don't feel that I can ride this bike
with this groupset without at least trying
to describe how it feels to perform
in comparison to Dura-Ace.
So, here we go.
The functionality of the DI2 derailleurs is the same.
The functionality of the mechanical derailleurs is the same.
The chainring is the same.
The cassette is the same and also the chain is the same.
So the shifting performance is absolutely
on a par with Dura-Ace.
And I wanted to check this,
so I asked one of the engineers whether or not
there were any design differences between the two.
So, perhaps the placement of the shifting pins
and the ramps on the chainrings were different on Ultegra.
And he said no, they were absolutely identical.
The difference comes in the material that's used
which means that Dura-Ace ends up being lighter
so by about 500 grammes or so.
But the functionality of these two groupsets is the same.
And I think that is a really important point.
I finished the first loop video before I saw the new
Shimano Dura-Ace and now this new Shimano Ultegra
have implications on your bike much further and wider
than just the groupset itself.
And the reason being, is that the chainrings,
the pitch of the chainrings,
is changed by one point four millimetres.
And that has meant that Shimano
has now allowed manufacturers
to design their disc brake bikes
with chainstays that are 10 millimetres shorter.
So that's this bit here.
It doesn't sound like much
but actually that has a huge bearing
on the way your bike feels to ride.
So previously, a rim brake bike and a disc bike
felt different to ride and that change was
principally down to your chainstay links.
But now that is gone so you can design
a disc brake bike that feels as racy and nimble
as a rim brake bike.
Because, although chainstays don't move,
they're every bit as important in the way
your bike feels to ride as all the geometry
around your handlebars and steering.
So, they affect the way a bike feels
as you turn into a corner.
And, importantly for me, they affect the way the bike feels
when you get out of the saddle to ride.
So this groupset and the Dura-Ace groupset
now mean that your disc brake bike
can feel as fun as a rim brake bike.
That's pretty cool if you ask me.
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And if you want some more content,
I'm sure if you haven't seen it already,
you'll be wanting to see the first look
at Shimano Ultegra R8000.
So that one is just down there or how about
a little more about the Dura-Ace groupset
released last year.
The first look video is just down there.