Shimano has officially unveiled its Q’Auto system for battery-free automatic shifting on non-electric bikes, meaning that manual shifting is no longer required.
We first reported on Shimano Q’Auto last year, although we didn’t have a launch date at the time. Shimano has now gone public with its latest innovation.
Obvious question: what does Q-Auto do?
Essentially, the idea is that Q’Auto independently puts you into the right gear without you needing to think about it – or do anything.
Next obvious question: what’s the benefit?
Shimano says, “Until now, fully automatic shifting was only possible with advanced e-bikes. Shimano’s newest shifting technology takes that concept and turns it on its head and combines the joy and simplicity of riding a mechanical bike, with electronic shifting. Q’Auto is an innovative technology designed to make cycling more enjoyable and accessible for riders of every skill level.”
Okay, shifting is hardly the most arduous task, but we can see that some people would prefer not to have to think about it.
What’s to say Q-Auto will work to your preferences, though? We all ride at different cadences, and a gear that’s perfect for one rider might be way too hard for a less fit friend. Shimano has thought of that.
“Its battery-free design and adaptive learning software allow for an entirely new type of bike that keeps riders in the right gear and adapts to your riding style, allowing the rider to focus solely on the road ahead,” it says.
“Adaptive learning”? Shimano says that the Q’Auto system works to your personal preferences.
“With the Di2 shift switch, riders can provide immediate feedback, so as not to disrupt their riding flow,” says Shimano. “By tapping the switch to adjust to a different gear, the system will select that gear and remember this setting for similar situations.
“With over 6,500 possible algorithmic patterns to choose from, Q’Auto will adapt to each riding style and any challenge it encounters.
“Over time, the bike becomes uniquely yours—shifting for you when you prefer—from (almost) the very first pedal strokes. The more you ride, the more in-tune the rider and their bike become.”
In short, Q’Auto is designed to remember your individual shifting patterns and learn to behave accordingly.
What about charging? There’s none to worry about. Shimano Q’Auto is a battery-free system. It will debut with Shimano’s Cues FH-U6060 freehub, which is designed specifically for automatic shifting. It has a dynamo function that generates power as you ride.
“Inside the freehub, there are three sensors to track speed, cadence and slope, allowing the intelligent Q’Auto to collect power while riding and storing the electricity needed for performing shifts,” says Shimano.
> What is Shimano CUES? Everything we know so far about Shimano’s new entry-level component range
Shimano says that the Li-ion capacitor can store power for over a year.
As well as the freehub, the system uses a Cues RD-U8050-SGS/GS rear derailleur and SW-EN605-R wireless shift switch.
The rear derailleur is compatible with all of Shimano’s wireless Di2 switches and shifters – flat handlebar and drop handlebar.
Here are details of the products:
Shimano FH-U6060 automatic shifting dynamo freehub
- Compatible with Shimano Linkglide 10-speed or 11-speed cassettes
- Li-ion capacitor can store power for over a year
- 142x12mm E-thru axle
- 28, 32 and 36-hole compatible
RD-U8050-SGS/GS Linkglide wireless communication Di2 rear derailleur
- Q’Auto compatible
- LED indicator
- Function button toggles between three preset modes.
- Compatible with Linkglide cassettes: 11-speed 11-50T, 11-45T; 10-speed 11-48T (RD-U8050-SGS); 10-speed 11-43T (RD-U8050-GS)
SW-EN605-R wireless communication shifting switch
- Three-button shifting switch
- LED indicator to check battery life
- Requires two CR1632 coin cell batteries
- Customisable via e-Tube Project Cyclist app (Version 5.2 or newer)
- 22.2mm clamp band
34 thoughts on “Is Shimano about to make shifting your bike’s gears a thing of the past? Q’Auto Di2 automatic shifting launches for mechanical gravel, urban and trekking bikes”
The sad thing is that this
I like the tech in this. The shifters are interesting too – they’ve been on the compatability charts for a year and currently show up as STEPS compatable which would bring wireless shifting to ebikes for the first time.
The sad thing, though, is that this will probably be priced far too highly to be found on the utility bikes who will have the users who could really benefit from it.
Seems a brilliant idea and
Seems a brilliant idea and one I wouldn’t mind trying on my errand and commuter bikes but odds on it will be so costly that the people whom it would most benefit won’t use it – doubt it will make its way onto anything below £2k which is above the average commuter/shopper budget.
ETA was commenting on an unrefreshed page, now I have posted I see SS has made the same point! Great minds and all that…
If I’d invested £2k in a
If I’d invested £2k in a shopping bike I’d be afraid to leave it outside the shops, ideally the shopping bike should be like a shopping bag, worth less than the shopping you carry home with it!
Amen. A since getting a new
Amen. A since getting a new bike a while back I am a bit more twitchy than I would like to be about leaving it places (locked obvs.!) while running errands.
(I decided to treat myself to a new Cube Travel Exc as a rather plush “easy-use low maintenance about-town bike”. It feels a lot nicer than my previous hack in this role and I can even do some day trips on it… but it was a significant fraction of that 2k you mention. It didn’t help that it got nicked from “secure” storage shortly after getting it – though I did eventually get it back).
Glad you got it back.
Glad you got it back.
Me too … a long story (but
Me too … a long story (but very short version – having good relationships with local bike shops can have multiple benefits).
Still cost me a chunk of cash to replace piranha’d bits / bits bust by thief or the people they flogged it to – but a lot cheaper than buying again. And I’ve learned the bike store is “security theatre” so there’s that.
i always thought having some
i always thought having some small magnets on the crank spindle and coils embedded in a BB sleeve (+rectifier, smoothing cap etc) would make an excellent di2 trickle-charger.
the infamous grouse wrote:
I would guess that a small solar panel would work as well and have the advantage of working even when the bike isn’t being ridden.
hawkinspeter wrote:
perovskite solar paint for frames? genius.
Quote:
I know this is not the market this product is aiming at, but if these built-in sensors could be persuaded to share this data with your bike computer that would be cool.
Quote “combines the joy and
Quote “combines the joy and simplicity of riding a mechanical bike, with . . .” ? !
Good weather, friends, nice
Good weather, friends, nice views, a lower heart rate, etc..
ChrisA wrote:
“Combines the joy and simplicity of riding a mechanical bike, with the manufacturer profit margins of electronic gadgets – and occasionally that feeling you get when your device you’ve got used to for a year or so suddenly bricks and you realise you’ve no clue how to revive it”?
Looks harder to jerry-rig it with the usual fixes that involve manually pulling the cable and then tightening it – but still just possible?
ChrisA wrote:
…the annoyance of it trying to second guess you.
Why’re Shimano rear
Why’re Shimano rear derailleurs ugly as the proverbial
why do people care so much
why do people care so much what a Mech looks like. If it offends you get a hub gear.
I cover my rather nice 8
I cover my rather nice 8 speed XT on my Getting to Work bike with a Grunge Guard. Keeps the filth out.
And the 9 speed on my Good Bike is good looking.
My Rohloff (very soon to be used again, thankfully) is an incredible device but more in its functionality rather than aesthetically. It’s definitely not as nice as a classic campag.
And then there’s Paul’s Rasta…
ktache wrote:
I’ve filled the 8×3 XT shifters on my commuter with Finish line grease in the hope they keep shifting as sweetly for years to come. The LX mechs can just fend for themselves though.
My 3×7 XT rh shifter just
My 3×7 XT rh shifter just pinged it’s return spring, I use Finish Lines dry PTFE spray to get a little more life out of them, helps on the brake lever bushes too, doesn’t attract the grinding filth.
I’ll have to take a look at
I’ll have to take a look at that dry PTFE spray. I love the quality of 90’s Shimano high end MTB stuff, especially as I couldn’t afford it at the time.
Have you seen the guy on Youtube who rebuilds old shifters etc, I found him when I took one apart and realised I had no idea how to reassemble it.
Ok I get the going electric
Ok I get the going electric madness at the moment but the pure joy of a bike is its mechanical and powered by your own efforts.. all these products do is rely on charging, batteries and a whooping price tag to buy and when they go wrong.. whats wrong with a cable??? worked for decades without issue!!! Please please never get rid of cable operated…
Thereis already at least one
Thereis already at least one two speed automatic shift hub that needs no electronics…
Try reading the article
Try reading the article properly.
Why the artifcial difference between converting biological energy to mechanical energy but not biological energy to electrical?
Do you hate dynamos too?
This doesnt have a battery that requires charging.
It requires batteries for the
It requires batteries for the switch though.
What if the cohort this
What if the cohort this product is targeting is the same as the cohort which ride bikes with a broken gear cable, stuck in the hardest gear, with a rusty and squeaky chain, and an almost flat rear tyre?
Seems pretty unlikely
Seems pretty unlikely
Two good reasons why this may
Two good reasons why this may not catch on:
First, it not only decides which gear to shift to, it decides when. So how can it tell when I’m coasting, but about to slam all my paltry torque through the pedals and shifting would be a dreadful idea?
Second, the user is locked into the proprietary hub (obv not literally, it’s chunky but too small for incarceration). If the rear wheel or free hub breaks, how long do you need to wait for a replacement and what choice do you have? Not great for touring, when you may need to make do with whatever the nearest bike shop has, and not great for commuting if the lead time is weeks.
That’s not the big deal it
That’s not the big deal it sounds.
The same shifting system works fine on my eMTB and you still have manual shifting at all times to override it. It becomes second nature and no big deal.
Not sure why you think this would be used for touring?
Maybe because the headline
Maybe because the headline suggests it’ll be used on trekking bikes?
Two good reasons why this may
.
Two good reasons why this may
I am fairly inept when it
I am fairly inept when it comes to fixing stuff that goes wrong on my bikes so I prefer to keep them simple for that reason. And I will never want a load of stuff added so the bike will learn which gear I like to use. If I want to change gear I make a little movement with a finger on a lever. It isn’t hard. And yes on a 250 mile bike ride I will change gear a lot in the Westcountry hills but it gives me something to do! This stuff will add expense. I like good simple tech and definitely no AI.
or, it is it for us to make
or, it is it for us to make shimano a thing of the past? the level of crapness has reached new heights. Above all that, as new tech is always welcome, everything is hyper expensive and hyper low quality. crap steel everywhere they can, cheap mechanics, alivio level on deore components, deore level on xt components. thats it..
Good! I don’t have to think
Good! I don’t have to think about it- I’m staying with 9 until one day in the far future I might go for a 12 electric