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Your gear development – how far your bike moves with each pedal stroke – is typically described in gear inches, i.e. how many inches your bike will roll forward with each full rotation of your cranks. Dura-Ace is also popular with affluent recreational riders, and there are features clearly aimed at those users too. Increased brake pad clearance will help keep bikes quiet that don't get a pro mechanic once-over after every ride, and the larger shift button offset makes it easier to use the controls while wearing winter gloves.

All that is worth remembering is that like with most things, you cannot have your cake and eat it too, and if you are going for a high speed or DMR style setup you will have to compromise on either FPSor rate of fire, though specialised motors can help alleviate this. If you’re riding up a hill or into the wind, your perceived effort will increase, so it makes sense to shift to a lower gear to account for that. Shimano's 12-speed 105 R7100 groupset is the brand's first 12-speed mechanical road groupset, introduced after the above Di2 (electronic) version. This mid-level mechanical 12-speed option is intended to bridge a gap in Shimano's range and offers an alternative for those who prefer reliable, cable-actuated shifting. As explained in the full article above, CUES (which stands for Creating Unique Experiences) will see Shimano amalgamate its mid and budget-range city, touring and mountain bike groupsets (everything with flat bars essentially) into one family of interchangeable 9-speed (U4000), 10-speed (U6000) and 11-speed (U6000 and U8000) components. This means that parts can be mixed and matched, which should make sourcing and fitting replacements much simpler. There are no rim brakes in the range, just hydraulic disc brakes, and you can either have a single chainring or a 2x set-up, leaving no room for the almost extinct triple chainset. Unlike Dura-Ace and Ultegra there are no rim brakes at the 105 Di2 level, so it's disc brake only if you're going for this groupset.By moving to a 12-speed cassette, Shimano says it has managed to provide both the high and low gearing that riders want, along with an intelligent progression of gear steps in between. Your energy input in each case is roughly the same. The work done is equal to the force times the distance – so if you halve the force input required, you’ll be pedalling twice as fast. The rear derailleur has a longer cage than on the more expensive models to cope with the larger range of cassettes, and just like on those models, this is where the brains of the system are housed. It’s also here that you will find the battery charging point as well as the wireless connection to Shimano’s STI shifters and other third-party devices. The working principles of planetary gears are based on the interaction and motion of the sun gear, planet gears, and the ring gear. The sun gear serves as the input, transmitting power from the engine, while the ring gear acts as the output, delivering power to the wheels. The planet gears, arranged around the sun gear and meshing with both the sun gear and the ring gear, serve as intermediary gears. Installing high torque gears will reduce your rate of fire when using the same motor, but will allow a standard motor to pull stronger springs without being overstressed.

Planetary gears, also known as epicyclic gears, are a type of gear system employed in automatic transmissions. Unlike traditional gear systems, planetary gears consist of multiple gears that work together to achieve a wide range of gear ratios. The fundamental structure of a planetary gear set consists of three primary components: the sun gear, the planet gears, and the ring gear. Each of these elements plays a critical role in the overall functionality of the gear system.The main mission of this generation of 105 was excellent performance at a sensible price. It’s a very good-looking groupset too and while it's a bit heavier than Dura-Ace and Ultegra, the performance runs both very close, with good shifting and braking. It’s heavier than Ultegra, but you have to be a weight weenie to worry about that. The more expensive groupsets tend to be lighter, offer smoother gear shifting and superior braking, and often come with a higher number of gears as well. At the top end of the range is 12-speed Dura-Ace, while at the entry level there is 8-speed Claris (soon to be replaced by Shimano CUES). Imagine trying to pedal up a steep hill in a high gear. You would have to push incredibly hard on the pedals and grind your way up the hill. Although the 12-speed mechanical 105 groupset is now here, there is still healthy availability of 105 R7000 and our reviewers have always had high praise for it, so we're keeping it in our guide until it goes extinct.