The new 3rd tier Shimano Road groupset is here

Words: James Raison Images: Shimano

Shimano's annual rotating groupset development cycle marches onward, and for 2018 we're excited to see the new 105 R7000 announced.

Shimano's 105 is the working class hero of their 11 speed line-up. It's a brilliant intersection of performance and value. The trickle-down technology flow means you get so many of the perks of the more expensive offerings for a lot less cash. The only drawback is the weight penalty, something we really don't mind at all.

We loved the Ultegra R8000 groupset when we reviewed it, with its smooth shifting, good looks, and stonkingly powerful brakes. It looks like all those things have dropped down to 105 R7000.

So, let's dive in and have a look at what to expect from 105 R7000.

SHIFTING

There's 3 new shifters to wrap your hot hands around:

ST-R7000: rim-brake mechanical
ST-R7020: hydraulic mechanical disc
ST-R7025: which is a variation on the ST-R7020 for smaller hands.

The stroke has been shortened compared to the 105 5800 series to make shifting a little snappier. It looks like the lever ergonomics have been updated too. The R8000 levers give you great leverage when braking on the hoods so we expect the same quality for R7000. Shimano are nailing their hydraulic shifter aesthetics with the new road groupsets. They are a massive improvement over the bulbous older generation RS685 and gopping RS505. Great work Shimano!

There's a newly designed front derailleur with a compact toggle design, and an altered shape to keep it clear from wider tyres. The cable tension adjustment port has been integrated so it doesn't need an in-cable barrel adjuster.

The rear derailleur has received the SHADOW RD profiling from the upper-tier R8000 and R9100, originally borrowed from their MTB division. So it's sexier, more aerodynamic, and less susceptible to scraping it on the cafe walls thanks to being more tucked under the chainstay. Standard cage will gobble up a 30t cassette, and the RD-R7000-GS long cage option will take 34t.

CRANKSET

Up front, there's 3 tooth variations for the cranks:

53-39t
52-36t
50-34t

There's been some clever chainring developments from Shimano. They've adjusted the position of the inner ring to reduce the effects of cross-chaining and better optimise it for disc brakes. It looks properly mean with those sharp angles and matte black. It's less glossy than the R9100 and darker than R8000.

BRAKING

Big news is 105 is getting its own BR-R7070 flat-mount calipers to go with its svelte ST-R7020 shifters. That means Ultegra and 105 both have dedicated hydraulic shifters and brakes. No more off-series numbering to confuse us!

The BR-R7070 uses Shimano's ICE TECHNOLOGIES pads and SM-RT70 rotors. It still looks like Shimano is pushing for 140 mm rotors as standard. That is shaping up to become industry standard for road bikes.

On the rim brake side, the R7000 calipers have been overhauled like the R8000 and R9100 above them. Those top-tier brake calipers are phenomenally powerful and we expect the same of the R7000. That's brilliant news for consumers because it drops that quality down to such a low price. As it stands Shimano makes the best road bike rim brakes. They're that good.

THE REST

There's scant details on the remaining parts in the 105 R7000 release with Shimano mostly talking about their shifting and braking advances. There's some new hubs, pedals, and cassette options but we don't have any information on those yet.

We haven't seen any weight numbers yet either but expect it to be similar to the 105 5800. The Dura-Ace R9100 and Ultegra R8000 weights were very similar to their previous generations so expect the same from 105 R7000.

We'll keep you posted if any more information comes out from Shimano.