Need to know
Shimano’s venerable 105 groupset has been the powerhouse of performance road cycling for well over a decade, offering Dura-Ace and Ultegra trickledown tech for less. Here’s the latest on the ‘people’s groupset’
SHIMANO’S 105 GROUPSET HAS A
well-earned reputation for value for money and is arguably the most popular performance groupset available today. However, while the 105 R7170 Di2 – the brand’s first electronic, 12-speed groupset at the 105 level – had an update in 2022, controversially it didn’t update the 105 mechanical groupset.
01 Steadfast performer
Shimano 105 R7000 benefits from Shimano’s trickle-down approach to development in the area, with technology that debuts on Dura-Ace making its way to Ultegra, and then onwards to this third-tier offering.
Sure, you have to wait a while to get the latest shifting and braking tech from the more expensive groupsets, but when it arrives, history shows that 105 includes practically all of the good stuff and leaves out the stuff you don’t really need – predominately at the cost of weight.
02 Consigned to the history books?
With the launch of Shimano 105 R7170 Di2, the Japanese brand catered for the growing demand to see electronic shifting at the 105 level… but that has seemingly come at the cost of its mechanical
105 groupset, which has remained unchanged. Perhaps 2023 might yield an updated mechanical-shifting 105 groupset, maybe with 12 speeds to match its new Di2 stablemate. But for now, mechanical 105 is only available with 11 speeds (just like mechanical Ultegra, which itself has yet to see an update), but we feel this is ample.
03 Will mechanical 105 die?
We don’t think so. Shimano’s mechanical 105 is a well-proven, reliable, good-value groupset. With plenty of demand driving brands to build bikes with the groupset, we doubt that this is the last time we’ll be talking about it.
Currently, the smart money is on mechanical 105 eventually getting a 12-speed upgrade, with the current 11-speed 105 groupset being rebadged as Tiagra (bringing 11-speed to the fourth tier for the first time), or Shimano could simply continue to sell mechanical 105 as a bridging gap between an upgraded Tiagra and 105 Di2. Either way, we think mechanical 105 is likely to live on.
04 Should I buy a mechanical Shimano 105 bike now?
Yes. If a bike meets your needs and budget, and that budget allows for mechanical 105, then the groupset will not disappoint you, as testified by our four test bikes here.
As was the case with Dura-Ace and Ultegra, we would reasonably expect any cassette update to remain compatible with 11-speed freehubs, even if mechanical 105 does shift to 12 speeds. In short, mechanical 105 remains an excellent groupset, and has plenty of mileage left in it yet, so you shouldn’t be disappointed if you choose it!