(bike speeds by)
(ambient electronic music)
- This bike is equipped with the brand new
Shimano Dura Ace 9170 groupset.
That means it's got Di2 electronic gears,
and also hydraulic disc brakes.
And I have been dying to ride this groupset
for a long time.
So if you excuse me,
it's time to go for a spin.
Actually more than that.
It's time to go for a burnout.
(ambient electronic music)
We have, of course had, a Di2 compatible shifter
with hydraulic brakes for a few years now,
but this is the first time
we've got a dedicated Dura Ace level hydraulic brake.
And it definitely marks changing times,
because Dura Ace has always been the racer's group set.
Now you'll remember that it was unveiled
back in June 2016, I'm sure.
But just in case you can't recall some of the finer points,
let me run through them quickly.
The brakes are significantly different
to what's come before on Shimano.
The disc brake rotors,
well they look like something that
Batman might have in his armoury.
But even cooler than that,
those black fins actually increase the coiling of the rotor.
Shimano says by up to 30 degrees,
although they haven't said under what conditions.
But, unequivocally,
the weight of the rotor has been reduced,
and that is definitely a good thing.
And then the actual brake calliper has changed as well.
So you have more pad clearance.
Which should mean setting disc brakes up
becomes even more straightforward,
with much more room for user error.
Or going back to those races,
could mean that you can potentially
get a wheel change mid-race,
and not have any kind of brake rub.
So that should allay any kind of racer's fears.
And then while the shifting has also changed,
perhaps most notably,
Shimano added in a function called Synchro Shift,
which is basically semi-automatic gears.
We'll come onto that in a moment.
For now, though, I imagine that you might wanna know
how this feels to ride.
Well the first thing,
and still the bit that gets me the most excited,
which is a bit weird, I know,
is the lever hoods.
Shimano have managed to make
hydraulic brake levers
feel exactly the same as rim brake versions.
It is a masterpiece
in engineering and I don't know,
packing, like flat pack or packing the boot of your car.
But whatever, it makes the levers look and feel racy.
Which may not matter to you,
but it definitely matters to me.
Now I've calmed down a little bit from that,
I could also tell you that Shimano
have responded to feedback from pros and consumers alike,
and added a little bit more click to the shifters.
So when you change, it's ever so slightly more positive.
And then more about that Synchro Shift
I was talking about then.
Well, that has been the biggest revelation for me.
In that I was slightly cynical,
but actually in use,
it's surprisingly intuitive.
Or at least the way you can programme it,
is that it'll mimic your own shifting habits.
So I like spending as much time as possible
in the big chainring.
And so, here I am,
configuring three down at the back.
If I shift up one more,
I stay in the big ring,
which is good cause I like that gear.
Then I shift up one more,
instead of cross chaining,
it shifts me into the little ring,
then compensates by going two down on the cassette.
And then, when I start shifting into harder gears,
it keeps me in the little ring,
until I get somewhere down the block.
(ambient electronic music)
So what about braking performance then?
Well, what can be said about hydraulic disc brakes
that hasn't already been said?
Probably nothing.
I think people will always be sceptical
until they've ridden them.
At that point they generally become converted.
Now if you haven't been lucky enough yet
to try a bike with hydraulic disc brakes,
I will try and explain.
Basically, the braking performance
is on a par with rim brakes.
The best rim brakes you've ever used,
with brand new cables,
on aluminium rims in the dry.
And then the more conditions deteriorate,
whether that be the road surface or the weather,
then the better the braking performance
of your disc brakes become.
And before you say,
well the more power you've got,
the more your wheels will skid,
it's not quite like that.
What it is, is consistent braking performance.
So whereas you might pull on a rim brake
in wet conditions and not know exactly
what kind of braking force it's gonna exert,
with a disc brake,
you know what kind of braking force it's gonna exert.
And that means that you will not skid,
whereas with a rim brake, you do have that capacity.
So yeah you could lock a wheel up at a moment's notice,
but because you know how strong they are,
you're not likely to.
Now definitely worth mentioning,
is that this morning, we learned that Tom Boonen
has just won the first ever race
aboard a disc brake bike.
And that is something of a watershed moment.
And it's slightly ironic perhaps,
that poor old Tom doesn't have
the new Dura Ace Di2 hydraulic groupset.
I think we've got it instead.
Sorry, Tom.
Shimano's 9170 groupset,
with electronic shifting and hydraulic brakes.
It's fair to say, I think,
everything that you would expect from a Dura Ace.
There is one question still in my mind, anyway,
and that is for the racers out there.
And it's not if, but when,
is this groupset gonna win
a monument, a classic, or a grand tour?
Now I haven't actually made up my mind yet.
It's either this year or next,
but it will definitely happen.
And then for the non-racers out there,
there is, I'm afraid, a downside.
And that is that the worse the riding conditions,
the more this groupset is likely to excel.
And that just seems quite cruel
putting a bike as beautiful as this
through that kind of punishment.
Although, I suspect,
it probably would actually enjoy it.
Now, whilst your pondering that thought,
make sure that you've subscribed to GCN.
To do that just click on the globe,
it's completely free,
and it means that you will always be in the right place
for the next GCN video.
And then if you want some more content right now,
and in fact you're interested in this Shimano Dura Ace,
then why not click just up there,
and we've got a video from the launch of this very product,
or indeed our first look where we go into
a little bit more details, into the tech behind it.
That is just down there.