The new Shimano Cues for road bikes will arrive in 2025

Shimano began last year to unify its entry-level groups under the name Shimano Cues in a similar way to how GRX encompasses gravel groups. A consolidation of references that will also reach Claris, Sora, and Tiagra road groups, which will also be part of the Cues ecosystem with the upcoming release of the road handlebar version at some point in 2025.

Shimano strengthens its position in the entry-level range by adding road and gravel options to the Cues group

The variety of groups, with few variations between them, that populate Shimano's offering for budget bikes seems to be coming to an end. The Japanese giant decided to start unifying that range of products with the launch of the Cues group, with changes for flat handlebars, hydraulic brakes, options for double and single chainrings, and 10 or 11 sprockets.

Now, a year later, everything points to the addition of options for road and gravel with the incorporation of handlebars for road bikes, at least that was hinted at after Cube mistakenly leaked a gravel model from its 2025 range equipped with the Shimano Cues group. Obviously, Cube quickly removed this model from its website until the official launch of this new Shimano Cues option is confirmed, although not quickly enough for forums and some specialized media to pick up on this slip.

With this new option of its Cues group, Shimano advances in the consolidation of all its entry-level groups under the same name, a group designed to cover practically all market segments at that bike level: city, mountain, road, gravel... and which, in the case of road bikes, will mean the elimination of the Claris, Tiagra, and Sora groups.

A group that, serving such a specific segment of the market, would be mainly focused on OEM assemblies of brands, with the next step being the mechanical Shimano 105. In addition, a more affordable option is offered for gravel assemblies, which, from what little could be seen in the leaked Cube, will have an 11-speed version with a wide 11-50 cassette in addition to handlebar ergonomics similar to the rest of the groups in its catalog.

In any case, Shimano has not commented on these new options for the Cues, so we will have to wait for the official presentation, which should take place in the last part of this year or early 2025.