Shimano offers new road, offroad groups, big-wheel options

IRVINE, CA (BRAIN) — Shimano on Thursday released some details of its new product changes for the first part of this year, including a new mountain bike group with trickle-down technology, some new 11-speed road wheels, gearing options for 650b and 29er bikes and an 8-speed entry-level road group.

Deore M610 group

The new Deore 610 group gets several features from higher-end groups, including the Shadow+ rear derailleur, disc brakes that are compatible with IceTech pads and Direct Mount front and rear derailleur options. The group will be available with 2x10 or 3x10 gearing.

Gearing for big wheels

The Deore 610, Deore XT and SLX groups will be available with 40-30-22 Dyan-Sys triple cranksets for larger wheels, two teeth smaller than the gearing sets intended for 26-inchers. Two new front derailleurs will be offered to complement the chainsets, in the Deore XT and SLX lines.

… And, big wheels

Shimano also has two new 650b wheels at the Deore XT level. Another new wheel model, the WH-MT15, is available in 26-inch and 29-inch sizes.

Tougher chains

The XT and SLX group chains get a new surface treatment said to make them longer lasting and quieter.

11-speed wheels

Shimano has several new road wheel offerings that are, of course, 11-speed compatible. The new wheels include a composite Dura-Ace C24-TU tubular wheel set, three all-new composite/aluminum rim WH-RS81 wheel sets in 50-, 25- and 24-millimeter rim heights and two new replacement-quality wheelsets, the WH-RS31 and WH-RS11.

New road group: Claris

Claris is a new 8-speed road group "for casual riding, touring or performance road riding." It's available with Dual Control drop handlebar shifters or flat handlebar shifters.

Carbon 105 pedal

New SPD-SL road pedals include a new 105 series carbon fiber body road pedal and a new 
resin body, wide platform pedal.