Shimano Groupsets | All You Need To Know | Cycling Weekly 

1:29 Claris R2000 4:12 Sora R3000 5:53 Tiagra R4700 8:55 105 R7000 15:58 Ultegra R8000 21:36 Dura-Ace R9100

It has to be the best and the most comprehensive video on the topic that I have ever seen. Thank you so much for this!

After 3 years of cycling, I think it's finally time to upgrade from Tourney to Claris.

Shimano range is really confusing. Even finding the right combo of parts to a series i.e. Ultegra is a research project. Shimano should make a virtual "workshop" where you can put various part numbers together on a frame geometry of your choice - so your options are blocked if they cannot work together. Other companies have this (PC parts springs to mind), but the bicycle industry does not seem to have catched up to this fairly simple way of guiding customers towards the correct parts. Lots of cyclists end up with incompatible parts sooner or later.

I put a tourney front and back derailleur on an old bike from the 80s and I upgraded the freewheel from 5 to 7 speed. I also got the tourney frame-mounted indexed shifters. Works absolutely perfect. And It cost me less than 30 bucks. 2x7 is absolutely fine for a $30 investment.

Thank you, that was very well explained. Reading some of the comments it is very obvious to me that there are a lot of people who don't know the difference between road bike gear sets and mountain bike gear sets. Maybe you could do a similar video on the differences on the Shimano range of Mountain bike gear sets, if you haven't already done so. That was the best explanation I have seen, Thanks.

This brings back memory from my internship at shimano. Entering the dura ace production line is my favorite memory bcs it’s the quietest, the cleanest, the least crowded. To enter there needs special permission, so whenever i got the chance to go there for maintenance, i always felt special. Neat little things. Always wish that i can buy dura ace some day lol

You explained the different tiered systems perfectly. That was enjoyable and informative. Thank You 🚲👍

I had Claris on a 1000€ Gravel Bike, equipped with fenders and light etc. When setup correctly it shifted well, but the front derailleur required quite a lot of force and the rear derailleur required indexing every other ride. It came with mechanical disc brakes which were quite disappointing. I don't mind working on my bike regularly but this was a bit annoying, so I upgraded to GRX 400 (Tiagra equivalent), and shifting is both easier, quicker and more reliable right out of the box. After 300 km I didn't have to adjust anything yet. Super happy with the upgrade! I learned a lot about working on my bike on the entry level system, but I'm happy I have to use that knowledge less know ;)

First class video. I've found a new interest in cycling and have been enjoying watching videos that breakdown the parts that make up a functioning bike. 👍

Thorough and clear understanding of the groupsets. Well done!

Thank you thank you thank you so much ... I was looking for this information recently... not every bike shop even can explain things properly... great video for a newbies... well done

Very informative, probably the best video I have seen, thank you. My wife's current bike has a combination of Ultegra with 105 levers and the new bike is available with either total 105 or total Ultegra for a $400 difference. I think from what I have learned, there won't be much functional difference and only 175g weight.

Understood everything in 30 mins! Lifesaver. Thanks.

The 105 group set is bulletproof!

I know it’s entry level, the lowest road groupset Shimano has, but by goodness Claris shifts like a dream! From department store Tourney, to bike shop Tourney and Acera on my hybrid, to this groupset on my road bike, the shifting performance is vastly improved! I’m excited to one day move up to 105

The Claris grounder works very well on my bike and I am very happy with it. The build quality and the shifting performance really is amazing.

Nicely done Thank You! I own a bike shop and have this conversation at least weekly. I will now share your video as a supplement.

Planning on buying my first road bike, this video is exceptional

Absolutely superb explanation of the various shimano group sets here. Such useful info. Really great job here guys. 👏👏

Loving my Claris R2000. A lot better than many previous versions & actually quite smooth operating it on training & minor races.

Thanks for the highly detailed video! Ready for my quiz 🙌🏽

Thank you so much for the video ! Very well explained, the best I've seen, love it ! I learned a lot!

As a complete novice (well 12 weeks ago I bought a 2nd hand bike) This video has explained everything perfectly, and seemingly I've got a lot of bike for my money! Alas - I fear the bike is let down by it's owner at the moment! Cracking video!

Excellent video, just what I was looking for. Thanks👍

Great info. I’m brand new to biking and this info was very helpful.

Thank you for the knowledge Nigel Thornberry!!

I have tiagra and 105. Tiagra is highly underrated. 10 speed is fine.

Very, very well done, thanks. Shhh...I'm a Campy guy. I noticed the 105 cog tooth range made a significant jump in the middle and similar to my Campy Chorus 34. Lower set for flats and rolling terrain and the larger set for climbing. The 105 is definitely race worthy.

Excellent video on Shimano Group sets.. got full clarity!!

Glad to watch this video! I am happy to have built a great 30 speed Ultegra/105 mixed group set on my De Bernardi Italian Columbus Aluminum 7005 series bike.

Very good work! Very informative! Thanks!

i want to upgrade my road bike to Claris R2000 and this video helps me alot..Thanks for a good explanation in every groupset Sheamus

The best video on Shimano group sets! Thanks

Informative and easy to understand. Thank you!

I mixed Dura ace with Claris. I gotta say, it's great. 8 speed 12-23 Dura ace cassette, Claris brifters, Dura ace brakes, Claris Derailleurs, Dura ace 7700 crankset and a Dura ace 11 speed 901 chain. This combination works perfect for me and it was relatively cheap to gather.

great run down , nice detailed easy to follow info, thanks.

Simple, informative and straightforward

Great video. Very useful and important information. Thanks.

Tiagara and lower have flatbar shifters too, good for hybrids

What an incredibly helpful video!!!!

Excellent and comprehensive discussion on the Shimano group sets. I wonder if it makes sense to upgrade an entry to mid level carbon bike to a higher end group-set?

I am interested to see how good the new 12 speed dura ace is going to be when it comes out (and eventually 12 speed Ultegra and 105). I recently got to demo ride a MTB with the 12 speed XTR groupset and that is the smoothest shifting bike I've ever ridden even compared to road bikes, makes the SRAM GX eagle on my bike feel downright plebian.

have specialized with 105 no complaints love it.Got old 1978 Raleigh Team Record and upgraded to 8speed with trigger shifters both shimano and love it.One think I noticed that extra gears 10-11 I did not miss on 8speed.I find 8gears more then enough for my needs.

Very detailed and informative thanks.

Great video, good job breaking everything down

Very nicely explained thanks😊

I know so little about bikes...love this channel...

You left out the best feature of the Dura Ace 9100 mech. It still shifts like a dream, but if you’re stuck in Podunk, Colorado with a broken derailleur or shift lever you can substitute almost any 105 or Ultegra part from literally any bike shop for around $50, and replace it with Dura Ace later when you get home. This can save you from hitching to the hotel and waiting two days for a new and expensive electronic derailleur, or ending your ride and vacay altogether if you run out of time. You can also put a giant pie plate cassette on and a large cage derailleur too if you need to climb that 30 degree hill, and convert it back in about 15 minutes without replacing the shift levers. You can also fix almost anything on a Dura Ace mech system by just carrying a long shift cable, a long brake cable, and a very handy Leatherman Squirt model PS4 (with pliers, 56g). For my type of riding which does not include a team repair van or complex tools, it trumps di2’s complexity, charging, battery that goes bad occasionally, and lack of availability at smaller shops that don’t carry expensive parts ($190 for ultegra di2 RD, and no one has batteries). You sacrifice a little performance with mech- I missed a single shift once before I reached 15,000 miles with 9100, and you have to trim it yourself so if you race crits or do hill climb races for money, get di2. Contador and Nibali forced Shimano to let them ride mechanical until 2016 because they liked the feedback better than di2. I’m no Contador, so I guess it’ll be good until they force me too.

A very comprehensive comparison, thanks.

Been running claris r2400 and r2000 with disc brakes. It's a very durable group set. I'm an experienced rider and I still ride 8 speed on my gravel bike.

Yes, great job explaining the shimano gear sets...

Very informative, a wealth of information.

Fantastically helpful. Thank you.

Excellent video. Really interesting.

This is the type of exhaustive walkthrough I was looking for. Any chance of finding the info organized in table format? The video is great, but direct comparisons can be difficult to make here.

Terrific video. Extremely informative!

Ain't nothing wrong with running Sora. Keep your bike and its components clean, properly lubed and adjusted, and you will get excellent performance from it for many years to come. Also, my Rx to all of you for flawless performance: Occasionally wipe clean the exposed cables on your bike, loosen your cable ends, and lube the inside of your cable housings with Tri-Flow with Teflon by applying it on to the un-exposed parts of your cables, and running cables back and forth in your housings before returning the cable housings to their proper positions, wipe off the excess lube, and re-adjust your derailleurs and brakes to your usual preferences. Also be sure to also lube all pivot points, such as on your brakes, brake levers, shift levers, and derailleurs, and wipe off the excess.

Great Shimano groupset review and comparison.Would have cool if you did a weight comparison for groupset parts.Many weight weenies out there including myself.Shimano 105 is probably the best value for money.Cheers.

Super useful, thanks!

You didn't mention direct mount rim brakes, which is available from 105 and up IIRC.

Just what I need as I will be buying my first road bike this year 👍

Bikes have came a long way in my years but the prices are over the moon for me.

Claris and Sora are great, except rear derailleurs. Shimano put aluminium rivets in there, for make them worn out faster. Rear derailleur from Tiagra and above has steel rivets. I use 8 speed setup with 105 Rear derailleur and it very durable and cheap. Claris cassette have 2 tooth jump between all cogs (pretty smooth) and allow use cheap KMC Z51 chain (4 USD in my region). Not great for racing, but great for everything else.

Really appreciate your effort

it is worth to watch. very informative.

Wow... well detailed. Thanks

great video. can someone explain or recommend a video that explains the differences between the millimeter options for the crank sets when buying. thank you.

Knowledge, clarity, thorough thank you.

Thank You!! Excellent job of explaining the confusing world of Groupsets! This really helps to understand the performance and reliability ranges we can expect from each level. I've been considering a Gravel Bike, one with 105 R7000 groupset, and disc brakes would be perfect for my non-racing needs...any recommendations?

Thank you for the knowledge

I was a little unsure about anything below 105. Thanks.

I loved this video...thank you!

Excellent Video..Extremely Interesting Thank You 👍

awesome job on this and even awesomer stache!

Great education video thank you

Dunno why you'd buy anything above 105 unless you are surrounded by mountains, steep hills, or have a craving for electronic shifting

The newer 105 r7000 is a great group. Just built up a frame n fork with it.

Well explained good job 👍

Love my 105 groupset.

My bike is running the tiraga set. It's great with the trim shift but not a great as 105 11sp

A superb presentation.

Very informative. ... Do you have another video of the grx gravel line? Please link.

I have Shimano 105 group on my Trek Hilo time trial bike, Shimano Ultegra on my Lemond Reno/Buenos Aires road bike and Shimano Sora on a 2012 Masi Alare road bike I just bought.

Mistake at 22:43 , cold forging does not align all of the material’s atoms together, in fact it does the opposite. Cold forging completely scatters the atomic lattice pattern of the metal, which makes it stronger for its application.

Excellent. Thank you.

Hope to see Sram Groupsets | All You Need To Know, next episode

Quite informative. May you please do something similar with sram group sets

Thank you for this video. Im new to cycling and really confused with all this groupset jargon. It hinder me from upgrading my bike as im afraid it will not compatible. So i just use my bike as-is

Can you please do one of these for mountain bike levels.

Isn't dura ace less durable than 105 though?

Planning on upgrading my Sora shifters. What else should I change? Casette, chain, rear derailleur and maybe hubs?

Pls make a video addition for GRX groupset, thank you

Great job!!!!

Very good video explaining the Shimano range of group sets. But good lord show me the back of the crank!! he tells us all about the different material used but we get just a glimpse of them.

Thank you very much!

I love u man. Thanks for this info

I have nothing l ess than 105. The work horse of the group and great value

I run Shimano Alivio baby on my shopping bike

Awesome - cool video