Leaked a new Shimano 105 12-speed

After the presentation last year of the new Shimano 105 Di2 12-speed, many were the voices that accused Shimano of elitism to develop the traditional groupset used by a large percentage of touring cyclists only in electronic version, making the models with this assembly more expensive and making it more difficult for the regular cyclist but with a contained budget to access the new bikes. Back in January, an untimely leak from an American website revealed that there would indeed be a mechanical version of the groupset, something that was confirmed at the last Eurobike.

New Shimano 105 mechanical 12-speed bike mounted on a bike is spotted at Eurobike

Surely it was not the way Shimano, usually very jealous with these aspects, expected its new groupset to be presented in society, but the way in which we have known the new Shimano 105 mechanical 12-speed was because it was mounted on one of the bikes of the Corratec brand exhibited at the Eurobike fair, held the last weekend of June.

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As is often the case with these things, images of the new groupset soon spread through the networks, which is a breath of tranquility for that broad spectrum of cyclists looking for a mid-range bike, as economical as possible, but with sufficient performance for intense use. These are aspects in which the Shimano 105 had always stood out, being for years the most present option in the bikes of the cyclotourists that populate our roads.

The new Shimano 105 mechanical 12-speed has a similar aesthetic, obviously, to that of its electronic counterpart. On the bike on which it was mounted, the first thing that caught the eye was the direct-mount derailleur.

We also like the cable entry which, apart from having an adjustment tensioner on the derailleur itself, enters quite vertically, which always results in a smaller curve of the casing and, therefore, less friction.

Hardly any changes in the design and ergonomics of the levers which, at first glance, the only thing that differs from the current ones is the extra sprocket. Therefore they remain quite bulky and wide. A point where there was room for improvement and where, we suppose, Shimano has decided to save investment.

As for the brake calipers and discs, as usual, they are components shared by all groupsets in the same range and, therefore, exactly the same as those already known from the Di2 version of this Shimano 105, incorporating improvements inherited from the top groupsets such as the greater distance between disc and pad without affecting the feel of the disc in order to avoid annoying friction.

We will now have to wait for the official release of the new groupset by Shimano to know the price ranges to see if Shimano 105 continues to be synonymous with the average cyclist.