Shimano 2013 New Products and Upgrades

Shimano let loose this past week unveiling plans for some really cool new products, and product upgrades, for the 2013 season. The big suprise came with the newest version of their Di2 Alfine internal hub.

Shimano's Di2 technology has been out for a few years now on their high end road groups, and as far as performance and reliablitity is concerned, it has been well received. Moving their electronic technology over to an internal hub isn't entirely new. Shimano has offered a Cyber Nexus Di2 8spd electronic internal hub option in parts of Asia, however, the Alfine Di2 drivetrain looks to be much more refined throughout.

The Alfine Di2 internal hub will have a lot of options to choose from. There will be both an 8spd and 11spd option to accommodate different price points, a rim or disc brake group, both flat or drop bars shifters, and various battery mount options. There will also be a bar mount digital screen, which will tell you what gear you're in and let you know how much battery life you have remaining.

As far as long distance riding is concerned, there is going to be a break-in period as far as trusting the hub's durability and ability to be serviced on the fly. For every day riding, I really like the idea of eliminating mechanical cables for smoother shifting in inclimate weather. The Di2 battery can last 600 to1500 miles between charges so in a best case scenario you could cross the country and only charge the battery twice.

I mentioned that there will be a disc brake option for the Alfine hub, and this brings us to Shimano's development of some new road specific disc brakes. With quite a few touring and cyclocross bikes now offering disc brakes, these will be a nice addition. There is also talk of road bikes moving to disc brakes, in addition to a 135mm rear hub spacing to accommodate an 11spd (and eventually 12spd) cassette.

Last up is Shimano's Sora group. The Sora drivetrain is down at the bottom of Shimano's road offerings, and usually found on a lot of budget-oriented bikes, but some revamped features will make this a lot more appealing than it has been in the past. For starters, the STI shift levers will look and function more like the rest of their STI shift/brake levers as the thumb lever has been replaced with a paddle shifter behind the brake lever. The gear range will also improve and will now accommodate up to a 30 tooth cassette. For improved durability, the Sora hubs will be better sealed and beefed up to handle more load.

All of this is set to release for the 2013 season. I haven't seen price estimates yet, but it's exciting stuff to keep tabs on. In the meantime, check out road.cc for some photos of these products.

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TOURING GEAR AND TIPS is written by Joshua Tack of Adventure Cycling's member services department. It appears weekly, highlighting technical aspects of bicycle touring and advice to help better prepare you for the journey ahead.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/03/shimano-2013-new-products-and-upgrades.html

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