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Shimano launches new Ultegra R8000 groupset

Second level components benefit from Dura-Ace technology

Shimano has announced a new version of its second tier Ultegra groupset with features that have trickled down from top-level Dura-Ace and a slight reduction in weight (as long as you include wheels in the calculation). 

Here are the key features:

• Hydraulic disc brakes included within the Ultegra groupset for the first time (although previously there were ‘Ultegra-level’ hydraulic disc brakes).

• Lower profile Shadow rear derailleurs.

• Synchro Shift, which moves the front and rear derailleurs of a Di2 system with the push of just one button – which was recently added to existing Di2 groupsets.  

• The lightest Ultegra R8000 set-up is 4,071g (Di2, rim brakes, including wheels), a saving of 84.5g over Ultegra 6800. If you take wheels out of the equation, there’s hardly any weight difference between the two (in fact, a mechanical shift and rim brake set up, minus the wheels, has actually gone up in weight very slightly).

Shimano Ultegra R8000 mechanical & disc  - 2.jpg

We’ll run through the individual components in turn. We’ve not used Ultegra R8000 yet so we can’t tell you how it performs. 

All weights quoted here are Shimano’s own and, as ever, the prices are RRPs.

Chainset

£249.99 
Weight 674g (50-34T)

Shimano Ultegra R8000 chainset - 1.jpg

Shimano has updated the asymmetric crank arms to be meatier-looking than before, bringing them more into line with the Dura-Ace 9100 design. 

The outer chainring features Shimano’s Hollowglide technology – it’s beefed up towards the outer edge, and (not surprisingly) that section is hollow, the idea being to improve strength for more precise front shifting while keeping the weight down. Speaking of weight, the chainset is a little lighter than before… and we really are talking about a little! 2g, to be precise, according to Shimano’s own figures.

Chainset options are a standard 53-39T (53-tooth outer chainring, 39-tooth inner chainring), mid-compact 52-36T and compact 50-34T, along with a cyclocross-specific 46-36T.

Cassette

£74.99 (£84.99 for 11-34T)
Weight 232g (11-25-tooth)

Shimano Ultegra R8000 cassette.jpg

The 11-speed cassette is available in 11-25T, 11-28T, 11-30T, 11-32T, 12-25T and 14-28T versions. You can also use an existing wide-range 11-34T (CS-HG800) cassette with a hub body designed to fit both road bikes (with spacer) and mountain bikes. 

Pedals

£149.99
Weight
248g

Shimano Ultegra R8000 pedal - 1.jpg


Shimano has reduced the stack height (distance from the centre of the axle to the top of the platform) of the carbon SPD-SL pedals, but by just 0.7mm, and brought the weight down by 12g. There are versions available with a standard axle and with a 4mm longer axle for a little more crank clearance. 

Shifters

£319.99 (mechanical/rim brake)
£459.99 (mechanical/disc brake)
£649.99 (mechanical/disc brakes, including R8070 flat mount callipers, hoses and gear cables) 
£299.99 (Di2/rim brake)
£459.98 (Di2/disc brake)
£649.99 (Di2/disc brakes, including R8070 flat mount callipers, hoses, without cables)

Weight 438g (R8000 mechanical), 550g (R8020 mechanical/disc brake), 295g (R8050 Di2), 360g (R8070 Di2/disc brake).

Shimano Ultegra R8000 shifter - 1

Shimano says that all of the new Ultegra shifters are nearly identical to one another in terms of their shape and ergonomics. 

The new Di2 levers – which now have a clickier click for more feedback when you’re wearing gloves – can operate with Shimano’s recently released full or semi Synchro Shift function (with the BT-BN110 battery). This allows you to pre-select the next chainset/ cassette combination the chain will move to when you press the button to upshift or downshift, even if that means moving both derailleurs.

Find out all about Synchro Shift here. 

The Di2 levers include hidden top-of-the-hoods buttons which can be programmed to shift gear or to control additional devices like compatible computers or lights.

You can customise all Di2 shift lever/button functions in Shimano’s E-Tube app for phones, tablets and PCs. You could, for example, set both left shifters to move up through the drivetrain and both right shifters to move down through the drivetrain. 

All shift levers or buttons can operate multi-shift, moving you through multiple gears when you hold them in. The speed and the extent of multi-shift is customisable though the E-Tube app. You can also use the app to access the latest firmware and to run error checks.

Shimano says that the R8070 Di2/hydraulic levers have greater reach and free-stroke adjustment than the previous non-series R785 levers. 

The mechanical shifting levers are available as hydraulic (ST-R8020) or rim brake designs (ST-R8000) and they use polymer coated cables for a light actions. The design does away with the in-line barrel cable tension adjuster and instead uses hex key adjustment for cable tension setting.

Di2 ancillary shifters

£TBA
Weight 10g (sprint shifter), 10g (climbing shifter), 95g (TT shifter), 138g (TT shifter with brake lever)

Shimano Ultegra R8000  - 1.jpg

If you’re a time triallist/triathlete using a Di2 system, a pair of dual control Ultegra ST-R8060 levers plugs into the ends of bar extensions to offer braking and shifting control. There’s just one button on each unit rather than the two found on the previous ST-6871 design, the idea being to make them smaller, shorter and more aerodynamic. There’s also a small (4g) weight saving.

Riders will use full Synchro Shift mode here, the button on one lever moving up through the entire drivetrain, and the button on the other lever moving down through the entire drivetrain.

If that doesn’t appeal to you, you can still get two buttons per unit on the non-series SW-R671 time trial shifters.

Front derailleur

£49.99 (mechanical, braze on)
£52.99 (mechanical, band on)
£209.99 (Di2)

Weight 92g (mechanical, braze-on), 106g (mechanical, band-on), 132g (Di2)

Shimano Ultegra R8000 Di2 front mech - 1.jpg

Shimano says that the front derailleur has been redesigned, along with the chainset, so it can accommodate wider tyres as well as a wider gear pitch without sacrificing shifting performance.

The mechanical front derailleurs are actually a little heavier than previously (2-3g) while the Di2 front derailleur is 6.5g lighter than before.

Rear derailleur

£84.99 (mechanical, short cage)
£89.99 (mechanical, medium cage)
£244.99 (Di2, short cage)
£249.99 (Di2, medium cage)

Weight 200g (mechanical, short cage), 242g (Di2, short cage), 249g (Di2, medium cage)

Shimano Ultegra R8000 Di2 rear mech - 1.jpg

Both the mechanical and Di2 rear derailleurs take on the low-profile Shadow design from Dura-Ace to sit fully under the cassette, the idea being to provide greater protection from damage.

The rear derailleurs come in a short cage designs to cover 11-25T to 11-30T and longer cage designs to cover 11-28T to 11-34T. 

[We don’t have a weight for the mechanical, medium cage rear derailleur]

Brakes

£139.98 (dual-pivot, pair)
£159.98 (direct mount, pair)
£129.98 (flat mount disc brake callipers, pair)
£99.98 (Ice Tech Freeza rotors (140mm or 160mm, pair)

Weight 360g (rim brake callipers, pair), 280g (rear brake callipers, pair), 212g (140mm rotors, pair)

Shimano Ultegra R8000 disc brake calliper - 1.jpg

The Ultegra groupset now includes hydraulic disc brakes for the first time (previous disc brakes were Ultegra-level rather than a constituent part of the groupset). 

Shimano Ultegra R8000 disc rotor - 1.jpg

The rotors feature enclosed disc fins, the large surface area designed to improve heat dissipation. 

Shimano Ultegra R8000 dual pivot brake

If you want rim brakes, they’re available in dual-pivot and direct-mount versions. Both are compatible with tyres up to 28mm wide. The dual-pivot design features a stabiliser between the arms to reduce deformation and improve braking efficiency. 

Shimano Ultegra R8000 direct mount rim brake - 1.jpg

Wheels

£749.98 (rim brake, pair)
£799.98 (disc brake, pair)

Weight 1,568g (625g f, 943g r, rim brake), 1,639g (735g f, 904g r, disc brake)

Shimano Ultegra WH-RS700-C30-TL-rear.jpg

Shimano is offering two new wheelsets, the carbon-laminate WH-RS700 rim brake wheels (above) and the WH-RS770 disc brake wheels (below) with road e-thru axles. Both are tubeless.

 Shimano Ultegra WH-RS770-C30-TL-R1.jpg

A pair of new hubs have a weight saving of almost 60g compared to Ultegra 6800 hubs, while the rims use a lighter carbon lay-up. The rim brake wheelset is 80g lighter than its predecessor.

Example groupset weight

This is how an Ultegra R8000 groupset with mechanical shifting and rim brakes weighs up.

Shifters                                             438g
Brakes (dual-pivot)                     360g
Rear derailleur (short cage)    200g
Front derailleur (braze on)        92g
Chainset (50-34T)                       674g
Cassette                                          232g
Wheels                                         1,569g
Pedals                                             248g
Bottom bracket                             63g
Chain (114 links)                         257g

Total                                             4,133g

The lightest configuration is Di2 shifting with rim brakes.  That comes out as this:

Shifters                                             295g
Brakes (dual-pivot)                     360g
Rear derailleur (short cage)    242g
Front derailleur (braze on)      132g
​Chainset (50-34T)                        674g
Cassette                                           232g
Wheels                                          1,569g
Pedals                                               248g
Bottom bracket                                63g
Chain (114 links)                           257g

Total                                              4,072g

Shimano's official lightest complete Ultegra groupset weight is 4,071g, but let's not get too stressed about a gram or two either way (it's probably just because the individual component weights quoted have been rounded to the nearest gram)!

Availability

New Shimano Ultegra mechanical components will be available in the UK from July while it’s September for Di2.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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23 comments

Avatar
othello | 5 years ago
0 likes

R8000 follow-up post...

While they R8000 cranks might sport 4 bolt asymetric rings that look to be the same as the 8000 (and other) models, they aren't. Nope. A subtly different shape to the rings, which means any after market 4 bolt ring will not fit. 

 

Unless you get the file out and adjust the shape, which I had to do!

Avatar
grmtylr | 6 years ago
0 likes

Hopefully there's going to be some discounts on the 6800 Di2 Ultregra so I can upgrade to it on my Bokeh  1

 

The prices seem pretty expensive for the new R8000 kit but I'd imagine that it'll be getting sold with a hefty discount from the online places from the outset.

Avatar
MamilMan | 6 years ago
0 likes

I just updated my 6800 rear mech to a 9100 so that I could use a miche 12-30 rear cassette on my climbing wheels. 

Could have saved myself a few quid here  2

 

 

Avatar
Vejnemojnen replied to MamilMan | 6 years ago
0 likes

MamilMan wrote:

I just updated my 6800 rear mech to a 9100 so that I could use a miche 12-30 rear cassette on my climbing wheels. 

Could have saved myself a few quid here  2

 

 

 

it was pretty much common knowledge, that ultegra will be updated soon  1

 

oh, and a 4700 tiagra dereailleur would have just worked fine, it has the same actuation  ratio as 11speed mechs. works flawless on 11speed cassette with 11speed derailleurs..

Avatar
therevokid | 6 years ago
1 like

do like the look of the new di2 hydro levers .... worlds better than the R785's  1

Avatar
Shamblesuk | 6 years ago
0 likes

Pleased that they've needed to remove the inline adjuster for the ftont mech. I have internal routing and the clearances of the mech were so tight that I had to install in inline adjuster to make occasional adjustments.

 

Another comment - what's the interest in quoting the full groupo including wheels and pedals? I suspect people will buy one or the other, and concentrate on the weight of solo groupo/wheels/pedals.

 

New di2 front mech looks neat....rear mech looks like Wall-E....

Avatar
gmrza | 6 years ago
0 likes

While I assume it will be compatible, it would be useful to have a clearer understanding of how well the new Ultegra will work together with 6800 series components.

Avatar
StewartM | 6 years ago
0 likes

The terminology used in regard to the shifters is poor. It shouldn't say "rim brake or disc brake". Whether the brakes are operated by cable or hydraulics is mutally exclusive to the braking method. There's a stong market of cable-operated disc brakes and - if you want to be offbeat - hydraullically operated rim brakes. When identifying the shifter, it matters not whether it's rim or disc, moreso the method of transmission. Therefore, it should read "cable-operated or hydraulic".

Avatar
Carton replied to StewartM | 6 years ago
0 likes

StewartM wrote:

The terminology used in regard to the shifters is poor. It shouldn't say "rim brake or disc brake". Whether the brakes are operated by cable or hydraulics is mutally exclusive to the braking method. There's a stong market of cable-operated disc brakes and - if you want to be offbeat - hydraullically operated rim brakes. When identifying the shifter, it matters not whether it's rim or disc, moreso the method of transmission. Therefore, it should read "cable-operated or hydraulic".

Technically, true.  But given that, in all likelihood, over 99% of the Ultegra market is either cable-caliper and hydro-disc, refering to the differing modalities as "disc" and "rim" is likely to lead to less confusion for potential upgraders, as braking method is almost always a restriction to such designs while method of transmission is rarely, if ever, so limiting. And so the key fact is more prominently put forth by what is,  fortuitously or not, a simpler and more commonplace semantic choice. 

Also, and of far more import, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Avatar
part_robot | 6 years ago
1 like

It is now adjusted at the derailleur. None of that inline nonsense.

Avatar
1961BikiE | 6 years ago
1 like

Well got the rear mech and cassette I want, just sad they haven't given us (me) a sub compact chainset. Looks like it's still going to be a Praxis.

Avatar
ChrisB200SX replied to 1961BikiE | 6 years ago
1 like

1961BikiE wrote:

Well got the rear mech and cassette I want, just sad they haven't given us (me) a sub compact chainset. Looks like it's still going to be a Praxis.

I genuinely believe the mass-market should be sold with 46-32, or maybe 46-30. CX versions of Shimano chainset are already halfway there.

Avatar
Markopic | 6 years ago
2 likes

Still no 1x version? How can cable tension be adjusted during ride when there is no more barrel adjuster?

What is actually improved from 6800?

 

 

Avatar
Weiman replied to Markopic | 6 years ago
0 likes

Markopic wrote:

Still no 1x version? How can cable tension be adjusted during ride when there is no more barrel adjuster?

What is actually improved from 6800?

They haven't removed anything because as far as I know the inline adjuster was never a part of the groupset. And there's nothing stopping you from installing one yourself.

I actually removed the inline adjusters when I rewired my 6700 mechs recently, because I basically never used them. The front mech was a bit of a pain to setup though so adjustment inside the shifter would have been a plus.

Avatar
cdamian | 6 years ago
0 likes

I do like these silver rotors compared to the black Dura-Ace ones.

I bet we will now see a lot of announcements​ for 2018 bikes using this groupset.

Avatar
Canyon48 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Hrm, I wonder what this means for Canyon...

Have been looking at a Canyon Ultimate CF Disc SL 9.0 Aero with the Ultegra groupset and RS685 shifters, kind of prefer that groupset to this new one, certainly if the price is cheaper!

Avatar
Stef Marazzi | 6 years ago
0 likes

Good job they dropped the weight a bit on the wheels. They must have been losing out to Mavic Ksyriums and Campag Zondas / Fulcrum 3s quite a bit.

Avatar
part_robot | 6 years ago
0 likes

"July". Sure, Shimano, sure.... What year? Is this going to be like the 9100 (announced almost exactly one year ago) was "September 2016".

Time to start justifying having bought R685+BR805s literally an hour ago.  The hydraulic callipers are almost identical to BR805 except a little bit less meat around the logo area. Total weight for callipers, shifters, cables and hoses is the same. The shifters look almost identical to Dura Ace R9120 which is nice (RS685 are a bit chunky up top) which does make me feel a bit itchy about waiting for these... Then again the BR685s are £400 currently at PlanetX which is a bargain, as ashliejay suggests.

Nah, I think I'll stick and keep using my R9100 front and rear derailleurs.

Justification over.

Avatar
macrophotofly | 6 years ago
0 likes

I suspect with the Ultegra wheels finally dropping under 1600g they might start getting more popular ....once the discounting kicks in. The old wheelset were fairly bomb proof but hardly ever recommended due to their weight and styling. If people went Shimano it was the RS51 or swallow the jump up to C24's.

Avatar
ashliejay | 6 years ago
1 like

now to wait for 105 Di2, and at least i can now get some significant discounts on 6800.

Avatar
skwarczek replied to ashliejay | 6 years ago
0 likes

ashliejay wrote:

now to wait for 105 Di2, and at least i can now get some significant discounts on 6800.

 

Great minds think a like. Was just about to pull the trigger on a Canyon with 105. Will hold out abit longer to see what, if any reductions come about. Waited long enough to buy the bike, another month or 2 wont hurt me.

Avatar
Weiman replied to skwarczek | 6 years ago
0 likes

Edit: Nevermind.

Avatar
japes | 6 years ago
1 like

those crank arms look wonky 

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