Maybe it’s a natural progression. Maybe it’s a response to competitive pressures from the newest player in the road market. Either way, consumers will likely be the ones to benefit as Shimano narrows the gap between its 10-speed Ultegra and Dura-Ace groups.

The new Ultegra SL, sporting a new "Ice Grey" color scheme, drops close to a quarter of a pound from standard Ultegra. The new group likely comes in response to the increased competition within the mid-level road market, a direct effect of SRAM entering the fray with its economical Rival components. While the new color is striking, Shimano invested the majority of its efforts into functional changes in an effort to make up ground on Dura-Ace.

“Other than the color you wouldn’t see a lot of cosmetic change,” said Devin Walton, Shimano’s PR Manager. “But some of the small design stuff has helped save a lot of weight.”

In addition to the new color, Ultegra SL provides another unique feature — it marks the first time Shimano will offer three distinct crank options for one component group. Ultegra SL will feature a standard double, triple and an Ultegra SL-branded compact crank. Each of the three new Hollowtech II cranks shares a new steel bottom-bracket spindle, alloy bolts and lighter cups. All three come in four lengths: 165mm, 170mm, 172.5mm and 175mm. Shimano claims the weight of the standard double to be 788 grams with a bottom bracket. The shifters have gone on the biggest diet, so to speak, shedding more than 43 grams through the use of more aluminum in the internals of the mechanism. The rest of the components remain relatively unchanged, including a new Ultegra SL-branded pedal ($140), which is in the same shape as the new Dura-Ace offering. The whole group is on average 10 percent pricier than the standard Ultegra group. “Dura-Ace is primarily aftermarket stuff,” said Walton. “Ultegra gets a ton of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and one of the issues that OEMs are running into is that Dura-Ace is out of reach, so they needed something to bridge the gap. That’s why this isn’t just the new Ultegra. It’s more about creating another step in their [OEMs’] lines. The reality is that the volume of it [Ultegra SL] will be in OEM stuff.”

The standard Ultegra group will remain in production.

Shimano Ultegra SL vs. SRAM Rival – How do they stack up
What does Ultegra SL mean to Shimano’s big picture? Well, to answer that we might look to SRAM.

When SRAM delivered its Rival group at the same time as its top-of-the-line Force road group, it took the unusual step of offering virtually indistinguishable shifting performance in the two groups, since both depend on the exact same mechanisms, right down to the materials. Add to the equation that SRAM dropped the MSRP of Rival components (as well as Force) in anticipation of the new ultra-high-end Red group due out later this year.

With all of this competition swirling around the road scene we see Ultegra SL as Shimano’s attempt to offer up something in response to new product from a new competitor. Indeed, Ultegra SL is much more of an equal to SRAM’s Rival than is the standard Ultegra group.

The shifter upgrade and weight loss helps, but only riding it will truly tell. We plan to.

Offroad - Shimano XTR Shadow rear derailleur
Last month Shimano unveiled a redesigned Deore XT group. Among the things that caught our eye is the new Shadow low-profile rear derailleur.

Now, Shimano is adding the Shadow technology to its XTR line of components. The new XTR Shadow rear derailleur has a profile that’s 13mm narrower than the standard M970 or M971 rear derailleurs. Like XT, it’s traditionally sprung (high-normal) and meant to be paired with Shimano’s SL-M970 Rapid Fire shifters. The low-profile design is specifically for riders in looking for more clearance in technical terrain. It also remedies chainstay knock associated with Shimano derailleurs and four-bar suspension bikes.

The new XTR rear derailleur has something else going for it — Shimano’s first carbon-fiber pulley cage. The cage is made entirely from carbon fiber, not a composite plastic, and saves upwards of 22 grams over an aluminum XTR SGS (long cage) model. The XTR Shadow SGS derailleur weighs 182 grams. A GS (mid-cage) version is also available and weighs 180 grams. The new derailleur will be available in September.