vinuneuro

Best cycling news of the year.

https://cyclingtips.com/2018/04/shim...with-a-clutch/

Marcus_Ti

I was about to call April Fool....but I'll be. What I don't get, is the delayed announcement. WTF is with waiting until now to tell anyone about it.




*Sidenote: negative kudos to Trek for continuing to not support Shimano's direct-mount RD.

john.b

Search the web for “Ultegra RX” and note how the only two stories/videos about this are from CyclingTips and their friends from BikeRadar, who both just happen to be in Belgium for De Ronde.

Then notice how the rear derailleur in the pictures or videos is somehow never in the slack position (small cogs)?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

TimothyH

I'm glad I didn't go with the 8070 yet.

This is something I'm very interested in.

DrIsotope

I want this for my 2x11 Cervelo, no joke. When descending our glassy-smooth (read: they are not glassy smooth) roads 'round here in 52/12 or 52/11, the chain flails around like an angry snake. I would love a clutch. I would also love a cassette with a climbing gear bigger than a 25T, so this helps with both things.

vinuneuro

I really hope they release a short-cage version of this.

TimothyH

Yep.

Descending a -15% grade with 1 or 2 inch aggregate and the derailleur flails about. It has simply bounced the chain off the front ring.

This is my main concern.

Genubah

I tend to agree.

Marcus_Ti

Tell me about it...OTOH if they only announced it now, who knows when general availability will be. Shimano's delayed announcement really bones the 2018 model year of bikes....so maybe this will be available to consumers sooner, as OEMs don't need all the product first.

redlude97

only handles up to a 34t so not super helpful for those that want to go 1x but good for a 2x gravel bike since sram 1x clutched RDs don't work with 2x

TimothyH

Shimano only supports it with a 34 tooth cassette.

Whether it will handle a larger cassette is an different matter.

I'm using a 6870 GS derailleur with a 36 tooth cassette and it shifts fine including cross chaining.

Many will push this new derailleur past its rated capacity.


-Tim-

redlude97

Sure, but sram 1x goes to 42/44 which makes more sense for 1x gravel. Might get it to work with a roadlink but I'd rather run a tanpan at that point

carlton

I agree good news. Now maybe they will come out with sub compact crank set like praxis and fsa. And hopefully they will come out with an XD driver hub while there at it.

john.b

Shimano announced the new 105 R7000 group today, but still don't have a subcompact chain set. If not now, I don't know when.

vinuneuro

Whether 1x is optimal for gravel is itself debatable.

Whether you favor 1x or 2x, gravel riders pretty much have all we need now between Sram and Shimano drivetrain, and the sub-compact cranksets.

redlude97

Agreed, I run 2x for gravel, and 1x for cross racing. All I was pointing out was that I think this is more useful for 2x riders, which is really what shimano is marketing this towards since they don't make a 1x road setup still.

carlton

I read that other thread and watched the video. I was fully expecting to see a sub compact crankset on it. But not yet. We are waiting shimano! Hurry up! At least they are catching up with the new derailleur.

TimothyH

Thinking out loud here...

Piece together some of the new R7000 components including hydro brakes and 34 tooth cassette with this RX clutch derailleur and it would be a pretty good setup for gravel.

Throw it on one of those $1250 Niner RLT steel frames or similar and it would be a sweet riding commuter/light touring bike and nearly bombproof.

Put it on something lighter with wide tires and go gravel racing.

It will be a while before parts are available for this but I'd like to have a commuter with this type of setup.


-Tim-

HTupolev

Any news on what the wrap is? I wonder if it would ease the situation with pairing Shimano 11-speed road with super-wide front range...

mstateglfr 

1x gravel...a trend to shake one's head it id ever there was one.
I would love to know what % of gravel road riders are coming across conditions so terrible that they cant shift a 2x drivetrain. Its a commonly argued point, but it just seems like a rarity. I see DK200 riders and other sloppy events with 2x bikes, but somehow enthusiasts are so hardcore they need 1x to ensure a smooth shifting drivetrain.

Trends.


That rant wasnt directed at you, i just tagged onto your comment since you mentioned 1x.

redlude97

Hey I run 2x for gravel so I don't really get 1x with a huge cassette either, but I come from the road side of things. I do run 1x for cross with a much smaller cassette because the gearing range required is much smaller and you run when things get too steep and sloppy. Depending on pricing I'd consider moving my cross bike back to Shimano not that there is a clutch because its totally necessary in cross