Vision debuts new drivetrain at Giro d'Italia

VERONA, Italy (BRAIN) Wednesday May 9 2012 8:32 AM MT—Two teams will debut Vision's new time trial group at the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday, the company announced.

The company did not say when the group will be available to consumers or give pricing information.

Riders on Team Vacansoleil-DMC and Team Androni-Giocattoli will use the Vision Metron Groupset, which includes front and rear derailleurs, a cassette, a crank and a shifter for use on aero bars.Team Lampre also will be using a new Vision aerobar.

The 10-speed shifter is compatible with Shimano 10-speed systems. It has a trigger-style shifter that allows the rider to up-shift as many as three cogs at a time and then returns to its starting position. A small button is used for downshifts. The shifter is designed to allow the rider's hands to remain on the aero extensions at all times. The shifters are aluminum and weigh 192 grams per pair.

The Metron front derailleur has an aluminum cage and stainless steel hardware. It is designed to work with compact, standard and time trial gearing with a maximum large ring size of 56 teeth and a maximum difference of 16 teeth between the two rings. It weighs 63 grams.

The rear derailleur has a full carbon construction and has a claimed weight of 131 grams (by comparison, the claimed weight for SRAM's 2012 Red rear derailleur is 145 grams). It has an 11-tooth upper pulley and a 15-tooth lower pulley, said to reduce chain resistance. It accepts up to a 28-tooth cog.

The Metron cassette has steel cogs fitted together with steel rivets. It has an alloy body that is said to have a large con cast area with the free hub to reduce wear. Vision says the cassette weighs 165 grams (at an unspecified size). It's available in 11-21, 11-23 an 12-25 combination.

Finally, the Metron TT crank has hollow arms, carbon-and-aluminum chainrings and ceramic BB30 bearings. It will be available in five lengths from 170 to 180mm and in 53/39. 54/42 and 55/42 chainring combinations. Claimed weight is 730 grams.

Vision's new Twin Foil aerobar is a carbon monocoque design with semi-integrated adjustable extensions, available in three heights.