Group Sets

nigeve

Guys, this might sound a bit tedious but would really help me out… In the old days when I rode mountain bikes you had…
Shimano LX,
DX
and XT (correct me if I’m wrong).
That was the order of bestness (made up word). Having just returned to cycling I was wondering what the new hierarchy for group sets was..? This would help me when choosing my next bike. In my dream world I buy a frame and group set separately and wouldn’t buy Shimano, but it’s a useful benchmark (and I don’t live in my dream world…lol)
And I'll be buying a road bike...
Many thanks

Jamey

Look here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimano

Road bicycle groupsets

For 2009, road bicycle groupsets include:

* Dura-Ace 7900 (10 speed)
* Dura-Ace Track
* Ultegra SL (10 speed)
* Ultegra (10 speed)
* 105 (10 speed)
* Tiagra (9 speed)
* Sora (9 speed)
* 2200 (8 speed)

[edit] Mountain bike groupsets

Current mountain bike groupsets include:

Cross country component

* XTR (9 speed) - Top of the range for cross-country mountain bikes
* Deore XT (9 speed)
* SLX (9 speed) New in 2008, replaces Hone and LX
* Deore (9 speed) Entry level cross-country mountain bikes

Downhill/Freeride component

* Saint (9 speed) - Top of the range for downhill and freeride bikes, and many components are based on the XT groupset
* Hone (9 speed) - discontinued in 2008, replaced with SLX

Recreational mountain bikes component

* Alivio (8 speed)
* Acera (8 speed)
* Altus (8 speed)
* Tourney (7 speed) - Includes several different levels of quality, and can be found on department-store bicycles

[edit] Other groupsets

Other current groupsets include:

* Capreo - This is a groupset designed for small wheeled bikes such as folders and features a cassette with a 9-tooth sprocket
* Nexave - This consists of several sub-groupsets designed for comfort and commuting bikes some of which feature internal hub gears and roller brakes.
* DXR - Performance BMX racing component
* STX - Mountain bike groupset - between Deore and Altus/Acera/Alivio groups. For a limited time mid 1990s.
* Deore LX, formerly MTB groupset, now is designed for cross country and trekking.

Pokerface

Rooad Bike Groupsets - in order of 'bestness', from Shimano (worstest to bestest):

2200
Sora
Tiagra
105
Ultegra 6700
Ultegra SL
Dura Ace
Dura Ace Di2 (electronic shifting).


Sram:

Rival
Force
Red


Campag:

Veloce
Centaur
Chorus
Record
Super Record


A lot of bikes will mix and match a few bits from different groupsets (e.g. You might get some Ultegra bits and 105 bits on the same bike), but a top-end groupset (Dura Ace) is usually ALL Dura Ace.

As for which is best between the different manufacturers - that's a personal preference and a long-standing debate between all roadies.

nigeve

Jamey, that was an impressively quick and thorough answer… Much appreciated…
When it says Dura-Ace 7900 (10 speed) am I right in thinking it has 10 cogs then you fit one or two rings on your front crank set to give you 10 or 20 gear choices…?

nigeve

Pokerface, thanks for your quick and equally thorough answer as well

always_tyred

nigeve wrote:

Jamey, that was an impressively quick and thorough answer… Much appreciated…
When it says Dura-Ace 7900 (10 speed) am I right in thinking it has 10 cogs then you fit one or two rings on your front crank set to give you 10 or 20 gear choices…?

Correct.

Pokerface

nigeve wrote:

Jamey, that was an impressively quick and thorough answer… Much appreciated…
When it says Dura-Ace 7900 (10 speed) am I right in thinking it has 10 cogs then you fit one or two rings on your front crank set to give you 10 or 20 gear choices…?

In theory you can fit ONE ring on the front - but standard choice is 2 or 3 rings on the front. For standard road bikes - it is 2 rings on the front. Then you have a choice of regular (or double) gearing, and compact. Compact usually is 50-34 for the 2 rings and a regular double is 53-39.

The compact gearing will make it easier going up hills. Big hills.


And Campagnolo even do an 11-speed (Super Record) set, effectively giving you 22 speeds!

greg66_tri_v2.0

22? 20, really, just as a 20 speed gives you 18 in reality.

Running the chain crossed - on the small rings at the front and back, or the large rings front and back - will increase chain and chainset wear a lot, and is not recommended.

prawny

Greg66 wrote:

22? 20, really, just as a 20 speed gives you 18 in reality.

Running the chain crossed - on the small rings at the front and back, or the large rings front and back - will increase chain and chainset wear a lot, and is not recommended.

yeah but it makes a pretty noise

gb155

prawny wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

22? 20, really, just as a 20 speed gives you 18 in reality.

Running the chain crossed - on the small rings at the front and back, or the large rings front and back - will increase chain and chainset wear a lot, and is not recommended.

yeah but it makes a pretty noise

Like a motorbike