[Cugel]

Anyone managed to find, buy and use a component from this new Shimano range of supposedly more resilient yet less expensive transmission stuff? So far I can only find Deore Cues MTB things, with only the chain being of interest to road cyclists perhaps:

The CN-LG500 Link Glide HG-X chain with quick link, 9/10/11-speed, 138 links can be got for just under £30 yet is advertised as being approximately 3X as wear resistant as the better quality HG chains such as those of the Ultegra, XT and Dura Ace  groupsets (which typically cost a bit more).

Anyone using this chain for a significant mileage?

I has a fancy for attempting to get a chain + lube that’ll last for the legendary 30,000 kilometres before “stretching” to the 0.5% starts-to-wear-your-sprockets length.

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A related question: anyone tried the Wipperman chainring and sprocket wear tester?

https://www.connexchain.com/en/maintenance-tools/detail/chain-ring-wear-indicator

I have a Rohloff tool that supposedly measures wear of sprockets and chainrings but it’s not easy to use or read.

 

Topic

[Matthew Acton-Varian]

The main difference between

The main difference between the systems is the shifting technology and ramp profiles on the chainrings, cassette and chain. CUES uses LinkGlide whilst the road systems use HyperGlide (12sp Ultegra and Dura-Ace use HyperGlide+ which is a direct evolution of HG). Whilst a mixed drivetrain should essentially function, providing the chain width is the same, the shifting will not be as precise and meshed and LinkGlide prioritizes durability over shifting speed and HG focuses slightly more on the opposite. Also no tests have really been done to test the durability of cross-matching HG and LG components

Generally speaking, if you want to maintain the best performance over the lifespan of your drivetrain, you need to use a single complete system and replace the chain before it reaches excessive wear. Cheaper (105) road chains and cassettes will be built with exactly the same profiles as their more expensive counterparts which are often swapped in on Ultegra builds on new bikes as a cost cutting measure anyway. They might not last quite as long but a well maintained drivetrain should last a decent amount of time anyway.

A good quality wax based lubricant will reduce the wear rate compared to traditional lubes quite significantly. That is also something to bear in mind when looking for longevity. Zero Friction Cycling have done indepenedent tests on lubricants and found a lot of popular oil based lubes (Finish Line, Muc-Off et al) are significantly worse for both friction losses and wear compared to even the worst waxes.

Road specific CUES components are due for release some time next year which will be focussed on the durability aspect, again likely using the LinkGlide system. The current CUES components are designed for entry level MTB, urban, trekking and hybrid bikes. How integrated with the existing system CUES Road will be is anyone’s guess. Shimano gave no indication of how or what was in the pipeline, only that there would be a 7 year phase-out of the entry level groupsets such as Alivio, Altus and Acera on urban and MTB, and Claris, Sora and Tiagra on road.

The only thing that is certain that the Dura-Ace to 105 will be the performance road series, whilst CUES will focus on the budget friendly side of the market.

I have yet to see a complete bike specced with CUES but I have seen components readily available in online retailers.

 

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