What have the developers in Osaka cooked up this time to take their top groupset to a new level? When Shimano, the market leader from Japan, lifted the veil on the latest generation of the Dura-Ace R9100 the attention was primarily focused on the spectacular innovations such as the hydraulic disc brakes or the crank with integrated power meter. However, technology fans will have to be patient until February 2017 before these gadgets are available. The mechanical version of the groupset, which is due to be delivered this autumn and is likely to be the best-selling version of the road bike groupset, at least in the medium term, despite the trend towards disc brakes, was somewhat overshadowed by the interest.
On the fringes of Eurobike, we had the opportunity to gather our first practical impressions of the mechanical Dura-Ace in a ride test. Shimano importer Paul Lange had set up several Dogma F8 frames from Pinarello with the new groupset, which could be tested on a circuit at the exhibition centre. Of course, a real test looks different. But the one-hour ride revealed the biggest differences between the Dura-Ace R9100 and its predecessor.
The Dura-Ace disc brakes impress with their power
A noticeable improvement can be seen in the brakes, which appear even stiffer than before and are correspondingly powerful. Visually, the new callipers with the sharp edge in the front brake arm appear more striking. Although the tried and tested dual pivot design with two joints has been retained, the callipers have been made slightly wider than before to create more space for the increasingly popular 28 mm tyres. The fact that the brake arms now have virtually no flex is also remarkable because the Dogma frame was fitted with the standard version of the brakes. The standard brakes of the replaced Dura-Ace generation were slightly less stiff than the direct mount version offered in parallel, which requires special mounts on the frame and fork. After the test ride, it is hard to imagine that the direct mount brakes of the Dura-Ace R9100 are any stiffer. A small change also affects the eccentric lever, which can be used to open the brakes when changing wheels. When closed, the lever is now flush with the brake arm and only has two positions. In the old version, it was pointing downwards and had a micro-locking mechanism.
Dura-Ace rim brakes: More space for wide tyres
The main difference between the shift brake levers is the texture on the rubber grips, which was previously only available on the Di2 levers. This is hardly noticeable when riding with gloves, but without gloves the covers are slightly more grippy. The shift levers below the brake levers are wider at the ends and slightly easier to reach from all grip positions. The grip width can be adjusted over an even wider range than before. The operating forces are low as usual, and shifting at the front seems to be even a little easier than before. The role played by the new mechanism in the front derailleur would have to be clarified in a laboratory test. The protruding lever arm of the predecessor has been replaced by a more compact design of the front derailleur with a new cable linkage. One reason for the change was that the new design leaves more space for wider tyres. For some road cyclists, the new rear derailleur in Shadow design might take some getting used to. The new suspension, adopted from mountain bike derailleurs, reduces the risk of damage to the derailleur hanger in the event of a fall or during transport. In addition, the tight bend of the derailleur cable has been eliminated, which reduces friction in the cable.
The new crank does what it is supposed to do: It works perfectly. The fact that the small chainring has been moved slightly inwards and the distance between the chainrings slightly increased is not noticeable when riding. However, this is important for frame manufacturers. Due to the changed chain line, the rear stays can be five millimetres shorter than before, which allows a more compact design, especially for disc models.
Dura-Ace R9100: Real progress?
None of these changes are spectacular. Anyone who rides the Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 in comparison with its predecessor will miss the really big advances. Whether it's worth replacing the old groupset with the new one is something everyone has to decide for themselves; the fact that there are hardly any technical reasons to do so is the logical consequence of the impressively high standard already achieved by the Dura-Ace 9000. Ultimately, this also explains why the manufacturers of road bike groupsets are now putting most of their energy into electric shifting systems and disc brakes. Today, mechanical groupsets have reached a level that can hardly be improved upon. However, it goes without saying that engineers cannot accept that progress is no longer possible.
