new Shimano 12-speed for MTB and electric setups

There were a slew of announcements today from Shimano including many components as well as more powerful batteries for e-bikes.

Yet there will be little of interest to those of us with high-end road setups. Nevertheless, the most interesting announcement to me was that of a wider adoption of 12-speed technoilogy. I was expecting 12-speed to make its way to the Dura-Ace or Ultegra road brands but instead, we’ve seen it extended from Shimano’s top-end MTB ranges to just about everywhere else instead! Notably here are the new 12-speed introductions

• XTR FC-M9130-1 is a 1×12 lightweight, direct mount Hollowtech II crankset
• A new 12-speed double (2×12, 36-26T) Deore crankset to come later in 2020
• The E-bike crankset SM-CRE80-12-SB chainring comes in 34T or 36T (1×12)

All told, that gives fourteen 1×12 cranksets (three each from XTR, DEORE XT, SLX and DEORE, plus two non-series options) and ten 2×12 cranksets (two each from XTR to SLX and again two non-series options). I’ll offer odds on anyone that wants them for Shimano NOT bringing 12 speed to Dura-Ace and Ultegra, it’s a question of “WHEN?” rather than “IF?”

2020 Speculation | Shimano Dura-Ace R9200p | Wireless Di2