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Ah nice, finally! Considering that bikes here in Sweden are 5000 euros with 105 Di2, this will be welcomed 
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Fantastic.
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In Canada a cervelo soloist 105 mech costs $4500. The 105 Di2 version costs $7000. Low quality wheels on both. The price difference is huge.
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I don’t going to spoil it or introduce bias, so I’ll just suggest you click the link.
Added a link to Shane’s video (just released) in the OP, and here for quick access.
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Both, since it’s normal road group (2x).
12-speed. I am pretty sure @GPLama counted the cogs before posting. Otherwise, it’d be the third generation of 11-speed 105 and I reckon it’ll be an advantage for Shimano since it ups the volume of many shared 105 (Di2 vs. mechanical) components such as the cassette, cranks, brakes and so forth.
But I do have to say the STI levers have a lot of bumps and lumps … perhaps they are in places where most people won’t notice them, but I still think that might cause discomfort in at least some riders.
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This is great and all but why not a 12 speed mechanical Ultegra?
My guess is Shimano has realized there is limited appetite for mechanical at higher price points….it will mostly be a niche segment now.
There is still enough volume potential at the 105 level to make it worthwhile, especially from an OEM level. In fact, it may well have been OEM requests that fueled this launch.
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Or, alternatively, Shimano knows it can make more money by upselling existing customers. Kinda like how cars have grown over the years in size and moved upmarket.
No way customers would have accepted a 105-level groupset on a $4k bike.
Given how bike prices have exploded over the last few years, I’d say that 105 already does occupy the same or an even higher price point than Ultegra not too many years ago. However, the fact that 105 = cheapest acceptable groupset has been seared into our collective brains …
Plus, I am not sure whether it is worth it to develop mechanical Ultegra and DuraAce groupsets.
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Manufacturers are not supposed to pre-announce new groupsets via spec lists, so I’d probably wait until it is official.
Because - and I am somebody whose mtb and road bikes all have Shimano mechanical shifting - unfortunately there’s probably about three dozen people worldwide who’d buy it. And no product managers would spec it.
Canada bike prices and parts are just insane since the pandemic, I just buy parts and pick them across the border.
Same text, different font…the reality is the same - a limited market for mechanical groups at those market segments.
I think this is a somehwta meaningless comparison…the only thing that matters now is where it will fall in the category today…not how it compares against groups from 3-5 years ago. The whole market has been upended since then.
Im just picturing a marketing team from any other sport sitting in a meeting saying “why arent our athletes as gullible and deep pocketed as cyclists?!”
We really are a silly bunch…
What are the chances Shimano will release this groupset with a rim brake option?
My supersix evo 2 is hanging out for a new groupset!
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I’ve been hopeful that a rim brake option will come - It should be as easy as repurposing the existing 105 11 speed shifters, with a few updated internal bits.
But on seeing Shimano’s recently released lacklustre sales data (demand is down over 40%), I think even a company as big as that is going to cut back on their SKU’s and focus on things with higher demand.
If it were me running that company, I’d be very concerned about getting a competitor to SRAM Apex/Rival and Eagle - and wireless eKar, which will surely come - out to market ASA-Fing-P.
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I’d say slim.
I think this is the right way to look at it.
Ask yourself this: how many new bikes are sold with rim brakes that aren’t either bargain basement road bikes or road bikes aimed at people with money who prefer rim brakes? IMHO very few. Even cheaper bikes often tend to come with mechanical disc brakes.
How big is the upgrade market? IMHO very small, very, very few people upgrade their complete groupsets (as opposed to part upgrades when something breaks).
Of this upgrade market, how many would opt for 105 mechanical rather than Ultegra and up? IMHO a minority.
Putting all together, I don’t see a big enough market. If Shimano had hydraulic rim brakes, it’d be rather easy to offer rim brake versions, but for some reason, they never even tried. (Hydraulic rim brakes exit and they are in my experience a marked improvement over cable-actuated rim brakes.)
This.
Shimano has been complacent in quite a few key areas, and this strategy tax has come due.
- E. g. I think their reluctance to get on the wireless train has bitten them in the rear end on the MTB side.
- Their reluctance to offer 1x options to people with drop bars is a problem, and in part connected to the previous problem. I guess less of an issue to the general market is the lack of good and (at the lower end) affordable power meter options. (I don’t want to start a 1x vs. 2x argument, I’m just saying that at least on the gravel side there is a sizable market for 1x. Just give athletes the option to get what they prefer.)
- For gravel/groad bikes 12-speed Apex (mechanical or AXS) are very compelling options.
- Shimano does not seem to come up with ideas like UDH, which are a marked improvement over frame-specific derailleur hangers. Road bikes should IMHO also adopt a form of UDH. It happens less often, but it’d be nice if you could just go to your LBS and pick up a RD hanger from the shelf rather than having to special-order one.
- On the mountain bike side and for their gravel cranks Shimano does not offer any power meter.
Shimano constantly seems to be playing catch-up and lagging behind.
PS I run Force eTap AXS and XTR M9000 1x11 mechanical on my bikes. So please don’t pigeonhole me as a SRAM fanboi/Shimano hater. My XTR drivetrain is great, it is just missing a 12th gear and a power meter. 
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