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Shimano 79000 gossip, i.e. Shimano stepping it up.

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Shimano 79000 gossip, i.e. Shimano stepping it up.

Old 03-18-08, 08:55 AM
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cslone
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Shimano 79000 gossip, i.e. Shimano stepping it up.

Sound like ShimaNO is forced into finally stepping it up. Sounds pretty cool if this all makes it into production.

From competitivecyclist.com email

2009 Shimano Dura Ace 7900. New & improved gossip.

Most of the press we've seen in the last few months about the new-for-2009 Shimano Dura Ace has focused on the electronic version of DA. Stefan Schumacher medaled on eDA at last year's World Championship Road Race, and he and his Gerolsteiner team mates have served as guinea pigs for eDA ever since. While the pure novelty of electronic shifting tantalizes, we got our own medals (for bravery) for fighting at the Battle of Zap and Battle of Mektronic. While we're intrigued by the alleged telepathic shift quality of eDA, it's hard to shed our concerns for its weight, its durability, and its reliability.

The excitement over eDA has been noisy, and it's obscured an underappreciated fact: Along with eDA, Shimano is also releasing a new version of non-electronic DA. It'll be known as Dura Ace 7900, and we've finally seen our first confirmed technical details about 7900. The purpose of this What's New posting is to shed some light on what you'll be seeing in the new-for-2009 non-electronic Dura Ace.

Here's what we DON'T know about Dura Ace 7900: Weight and cost. As soon as we get this info, we'll pass it along. But, for now, all we have is basic technical info. And, sorry, we don't have photos either.

Here's what we DO know, on a component-by-component basis:

STI Levers -
Say farewell to exposed shifter housing. Shimano is making the change to under-the-bar-tape cable routing They refer to it as "integral shift cables". We wonder if Shimano-sponsored pros will find digging deep on the front a but tougher without shift cables to grab on for stability…
"Better access to the lever from upper side with closer pivot." Our interpretation of this means that the shape of the brake hood will be different. We've never enjoyed the deep hook of DA brake hoods, and to our ears it sounds like Shimano is modifying the shape to make it more SRAM/Campy-like. In other words, no more plunging hook, and instead you'll see a flatter hood. Beyond the ergonomic improvement, Shimano also claims this leads to smoother braking.
You get a reach adjustment mechanism. This is a nice feature of SRAM Red, as well. Folks with small hands should be very pleased.
20% shorter stroke to achieve shift engagement on the right lever.
Weight savings thanks to the use of a carbon brake lever and a titanium fixing band & bolt.

Rear Derailleur -
Carbon! The pulley plate will be made from carbon fiber. Shimano is a company built on their commitment to the forging of alloys, so any sort of branching out into composites is a big, big deal.
Increased chain wrap capacity. In other words, you can use a wide range of gears (e.g. a 50/34 & an 11/28) without having to resort to a "Triple" rear derailleur.
You get an "enhanced pulling cable method" with an audible click when the shift is complete. But the price of superior shifting is this: Dura Ace 7900 STI Levers and the 7900 Rear Derailleur will not be compatible with current 7800-series Dura Ace.

Front Derailleur -
Shimano claims that your days of trimming the front derailleur are over. No trimming will be required. This is a pretty big coup when you compare it to SRAM, since one big upside of Red (in comparison to their Force and Rival gruppos) was its inclusion of FD trim.
The FD spring tension has been re-tooled to achieve "featherlight downshifting".

Crankset -
Put aside your sugar-plum visions of a DA Carbon crankset. Rather, Shimano has forged their 7900-series aluminum crank with even thinner walls to make it lighter than any production carbon crankset in the marketplace.
When you use the 7900-series crankset with the new 7900-series chain, you'll get no front derailleur rub thanks to its new chainring/spider design. This also allegedly provides improved power transfer, thanks to the superior mating of chain and chainring.
More weight savings comes from its new aluminum/carbon composite BB axle.
Shimano will also introduce a 7950 version of the crankset, with 50/34 chainrings. This will be the first-ever Dura Ace compact crank (a full, what, 7 years since FSA introduced theirs?)

Chain -
The 7900 chain is known as the "Super Narrow" chain. The redesigned outer plate resists chain suck, and the new design of both the inner & outer plate mesh with the chainrings with such precision that Shimano claims it reduces mechanical friction by 0.6%. We're a bit unsure how to parse what that 0.6% converts to…Does that mean an extra 2.4w when you're making a 400w effort? We're unsure, and we're eager for a fuller explanation. Perhaps more important is the fact that Shimano also says it's a quieter chain.
The 7900-series chain has hollow pins and perforated plates to further reduce weight.
Shimano will introduce a "Quick Link" for its 10-speed chains. Our impression is that this means tool-free installation.

Cassette -
Like the chain and the crankset, the cassette sprockets get fine-tuned to optimize shifting, and the cog carrier is a lighter-than-ever aluminum.
You'll see a wider array of cassette ratio options. In addition to all of the options you get in 7800, you'll also see an 11/25, 11/27, and an 11/28. Before you laugh at the 11/28, keep in mind that this is SRAM's #1 selling cassette ratio! All the ratios made in the 7800 will be produced as 7900-series models as well.

Brake Calipers -
Dig this: "Enhanced brake arch proportion." We think this means that you get quicker caliper response when you hit your brake lever, and perhaps better stiffness under heavy braking. We suspect that this is a photo of the new brake. Interestingly, the boys over at the Weight Weenies forum pointed out that this poor rider appears to have his brake shoes on the wrong side…
Lower profile outer cable stop. This improves cable routing, which decreases drag and improves the snappiness of the lever. If you've ever installed a set of Zero Gravity brakes, you know that fine-tuned brake cable routing is something you should never take for granted.
The brake pad compound changes. Shimano claims that the improvement will be most noticeable in the wet, where stopping power improves 210%. In the dry, you should expect a 120% improvement in stopping power.
Add'l titanium hardware saves overall weight.

Flight Deck Computer -
It's still integrated into the STI levers, but the functionality gets much broader -- It includes a heart rate monitor, altimeter, and an inclinometer. It's a full-on 2.4GHz wireless system, and you can even download data wirelessly onto your PC.

A final note on our understanding about backwards compatibility:
Rear Drivetain -- The 7900 system is only compatible with other 7900 components. The 7900 rear derailleur is compatible with 7800-series cassettes, but that's it. There is no other cross-compatibility. This also means that 7800-series components cannot be used in piecemeal with 7900 if your plan is to upgrade one component at a time. More or less, you'll need to upgrade to 7900 STI, rear derailleur, cassette, and chain in one fell swoop.
Front Drivetrain -- Same story. There's an Iron Curtain between 7900 and 7800. The only kinda, sorta compatibility is between the 7900 front derailleur and the 7800 crankset. Shimano states "slower shifting may occur depending on frame dimension" if you choose to mix things like this. We're not sure if "dimension" means frame size or geometry or what. But we can't imagine someone running a full 7800 bike with the exception of a 7900 front derailleur, so it's not something we're terribly worried about.

Brake Systems -- The 7900 STI Levers are compatible with 7800-series brake calipers.
We're looking at a best-case scenario of a late September 2008 delivery timeline. We're sure it'll be all over the '08 Tour de France, and in full force at the Eurobike tradeshow shortly thereafter. But in terms of delivery, if it's before Halloween, we'll be stoked.
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Old 03-18-08, 09:00 AM
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I got the same email from Competitive Cyclist. I'm looking forward to seeing the new shifters.
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Old 03-18-08, 09:28 AM
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I finally standardized every bike I have to Shimano 10sp... And now the 7900 DA is not going to be compatible with them... Lovely.

I race on 7800 DA, but train on 6600 Ultegra or 5600 105 cassettes. I like being able to swap race and training wheels between my 7800 DA bike, my 6600 Ultegra bike, and my 5600 105 bike. Looks like Shimano doesn't want me to do this anymore.

After my 7800 DA stuff wears out, looks like I be making the leap to SRAM.

Last edited by bitterken; 03-18-08 at 10:40 AM.
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Old 03-18-08, 09:53 AM
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Ya know, you just can't please everyone. But I hear you bitterken. Shimano is probably more interested in a head-to-head competition with SRAM by doing this. SRAM (the group, that is) hasn't been around for that long. My guess is they are not going to obsolete the 7800 or below groups, so compatibility should not be an issue for 7800 and lower groups.
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Old 03-18-08, 10:02 AM
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I just tried the link from my email and shimano had them pull the page. So I am guessing this is a pretty good read on the new dura-ace. sounds intriguing. They are obviously feeling the pain brought on by Sram.
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Old 03-18-08, 10:03 AM
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New mechanical DA levers
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Old 03-18-08, 10:23 AM
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Woah!

mrbubbles, those look very campy esque.

That's the thing I noticed first when I built up my 2nd bike with centaur and different bars, the reach to the hoods was actually comfortable...
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Old 03-18-08, 10:26 AM
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OP. This was a very good read that killed a good 15 minutes of valable work time.... thanks for posting!
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Old 03-18-08, 10:30 AM
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I too will express some concern about having a non-compatible groupset. What a pain - - not a big deal if buying it all in one go, but trying to check if that RD on EBay is 7900 or not? Bah.

Not that this is likely to effect me down in the plebian Tiagra-Ultegra spread of kit on my bikes...

The chain and brake pad info sound nice though. But I wonder if they'll be any better than Wipperman or Kool-Stop or other after-market upgrades... (Or the same but cheaper? Probably not.)
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Old 03-18-08, 11:18 AM
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one shift lever does it all for the new mechanical Dura Ace? Is it like double tap or am I looking at it wrong?
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Old 03-18-08, 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Treefox
I too will express some concern about having a non-compatible groupset. What a pain - - not a big deal if buying it all in one go, but trying to check if that RD on EBay is 7900 or not? Bah.

Not that this is likely to effect me down in the plebian Tiagra-Ultegra spread of kit on my bikes...

The chain and brake pad info sound nice though. But I wonder if they'll be any better than Wipperman or Kool-Stop or other after-market upgrades... (Or the same but cheaper? Probably not.)
the new RD has carbon bits. I'm sure you can figure that one out on ebay. Shiney bits? NO 7900.
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Old 03-18-08, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Rutnick
one shift lever does it all for the new mechanical Dura Ace? Is it like double tap or am I looking at it wrong?

Sounds to me like the shifting mech will stay the same as previous.
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Old 03-18-08, 11:34 AM
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Long awaited improvements. Seems it's now been removed from their site. I guess shimano doesn't want this announced yet.
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Old 03-18-08, 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Rutnick
one shift lever does it all for the new mechanical Dura Ace? Is it like double tap or am I looking at it wrong?
You're not seeing the clear plastic shift lever.
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Old 03-18-08, 12:02 PM
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Originally Posted by idcruiserman
You're not seeing the clear plastic shift lever.



wait...I see the plastic lever. Does the brake lever look like it pivots like previous generations? It almost looks fixed. Is it just me?
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Old 03-18-08, 12:51 PM
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Thanks OP for the post. Competitive Cyclist got told to take the info down from their website before I got a chance to read it!
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Old 03-18-08, 09:09 PM
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I expected to see this more discussed after reading it this morning. Especially a hit from Pcad?! Anyway it sounds like some good things to come with the new group but the lack of compatibility really is a a drawback. Plus I can only imagine what pricing will be. Guess I'll be making the leap also...
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Old 03-18-08, 09:18 PM
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As long as the old cassettes are compatible with the new 7900, it shouldn't be a problem for me. I've sort of been waiting on Shimano to make this major upgrade before considering an all new road bike. I'll wait until I see it in person and get some real world feedback. I may have a new road bike in a year or so, but I'm in no particular rush either. I'm glad they did away with the exposed cables, that's very cool.
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Old 03-18-08, 11:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Rutnick



wait...I see the plastic lever. Does the brake lever look like it pivots like previous generations? It almost looks fixed. Is it just me?
yea same here. I keep hearing that they kept the STI shifting design but from the picture, I can't imagine how the brake lever could shift in. I wish the picture showed the inside of the left brifter.
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Old 03-19-08, 02:12 AM
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damn i want this. i hope it's affordable!
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Old 03-19-08, 02:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Zinn-X
damn i want this. i hope it's affordable!
The chances of this are Zipp.
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Old 03-19-08, 02:40 AM
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Originally Posted by ridethecliche
Woah!

mrbubbles, those look very campy esque.

That's the thing I noticed first when I built up my 2nd bike with centaur and different bars, the reach to the hoods was actually comfortable...
Really. To me, the seem a bit more reflective of Sram. Campy's are more rounded at the top. Either way, I bet it'll turn out to be a refreshing look.
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Old 03-19-08, 06:44 AM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by patentcad
As long as the old cassettes are compatible with the new 7900, it shouldn't be a problem for me. I've sort of been waiting on Shimano to make this major upgrade before considering an all new road bike. I'll wait until I see it in person and get some real world feedback. I may have a new road bike in a year or so, but I'm in no particular rush either. I'm glad they did away with the exposed cables, that's very cool.
Read above:
"The 7900 rear derailleur is compatible with 7800-series cassettes, but that's it. "
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Old 03-19-08, 07:23 AM
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Originally Posted by iansir
Read above:
"The 7900 rear derailleur is compatible with 7800-series cassettes, but that's it. "
Looks like the spacing of the cassettes are the same, but the pull ratio of the shifters are not. Didn't this prove to be disastrous for Campy when they made 2000+ 9spd? And If I recall, the big S had a few dura ace models in the past that had Dura Ace only cable pull ratios
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Old 03-19-08, 07:34 AM
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Grain of salt, boys, grain of salt.

Misdirection and misinformation.

Shimano is at it again.
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