Shimano is rolling out a trademark new drivetrain group but, unlike its usual releases, it’s not a new top-level group. The new Cues group unquestionably occupies the opposite end of the Shimano range. While that might not seem as heady as fancy race bits, this is unquestionably a very interesting release from the global component giant.
The vital idea overdue Cues is that Shimano wants your velocipede to work better, last longer, forfeit less and be easier to work on. All of which are good things. The Cues group covers 9-, 10-, and 11-speed drivetrains for mountain biking, eMTB/e-bikes and passenger bikes. Shimano moreover said that, just as Cues works wideness mtb and commuters, the new ecosystem is designed for remoter expansion in the future.
For mountain bikers, it finally brings Shimano’s 1x drivetrain to a sub-Deore price point. While the cycling industry tends to have a myopic focus on the latest and greatest (i.e. 12-speed), there are still a huge number of riders out there on 11-speeds or less. It’s good to see Shimano taking those riders seriously with a reliable, functional wide-range groupset designed for that purpose.
How much less does Cues cost? The group starts out as little as USD 151.00 for a 9-speed Cues cassette, rear derailleur shifter and chain. Which is substantially less than for a cassette vacated on many 12-speed drivetrains. It will be interesting to see what effect this new group has on the pricing for entry-level mountain bikes.
Cues brings 1x tech, like clutch rear derailleurs and durable parts, to 9-,10-, and 11-speed shifting
Shimano moreover sees Cues bringing reliable wid-range 1x shifting to passenger and municipality bikes where the tautness is key
Yes, Cues shifting has e-bikes in mind
But there's a wider range of uses, from urban bikes to eMTB
What is Shimano Cues? The concept
The Cues group and Linkglide tech are, in a sense, an inversion of Shimano’s traditional product minutiae process. Well-known groups like XTR, XT and Deore started in racing. As new technologies were ripened for the top end, older ones trickled lanugo to the lower price points. This is a formula that’s worked well for Shimano for decades, so why transpiration now?
Well, Cues and Linkglide start from the idea that what racers want might not be the weightier for all riders. The group of “non-racers” Shimano has in mind is diverse. New riders, budget-conscious riders and electric velocipede riders are all roped in there, as are the shop employees that have to work on those bikes.
Different aspects of the new line are designed to work for this variety of riders in variegated ways. But, to sum up the difference in approach, HyperGlide-Plus (HG ), which remains Shimano’s performance-focused group, aims for lighter weights and faster shifting. The tradeoff is durability. In contrast, Cues focuses on smooth shifting under heavy loads (it was originally ripened for e-bikes) and durability. Shimano claims its Linkglide cassette lasts virtually three times longer than HG in similar conditions. The tradeoff is, as you might expect, heavier parts.
Ok, so what is Shimano Cues? The products
Shimano divides Cues into three tiers. The top two, U8000 and U6000, resemble current 10- and 11-speed Deore components. In fact, Cues will replace those components, as well as Alivio, Acera and Altus groups. U4000 is increasingly price-conscious and offers increasingly simplified construction. Here in North America, we will mostly see bikes with U6000 and U4000, so we’ll focus on those two here today.
One uniting to rule them all
Cues will be misogynist in 9-speed, 10-speed and 11-speed configurations. What makes this new line stand out is that the parts are, to an impressive extent, cross-compatible between tiers and between speeds, and types of riding. Cues is mostly mountain bike, eMTB and commuter-focused right now. But the new Cues parts use the same standards as Shimano’s earlier XT Linkglide and XT Di2 LG and Cues Di2 releases. Shimano says that the Cues ecosystem is designed to unbend remoter expansion vastitude mtb and commuters, too. If it does that would significantly simplify the brand’s mid-range product line.
All Cues systems use a single 11-speed chain. This uniting is interchangeable with current 11-speed HG chains. This significantly reduces the number of villenage shops need to stock and consumers need to segregate from when replacing parts.
To get a bit technical, Shimano accomplishes this by switching all shifters to a linear subscription pull ratio and a standard cog spacing for all Cues cassettes, no matter how many speeds. That does midpoint Cues will not be wrong-side-up uniform with the outgoing 9- or 10- speed components stuff phased out, due to that cog spacing and derailleur subscription pull ratio, But Shimano will protract supporting legacy service parts for what they undeniability the reasonable lifetime of those components.
Cues 10-speed 11-39t gives closer gearing, while a 46t option is moreover available
A new wide range 9-speed 11-46t cassette covers a huge gear ratio with just a few cogs
Cues 9-speed 11-36t
Cues and Linkglide bring tautness and performance
Shimano is positioning Cues not as a step lanugo in performance, but a lateral step to write variegated performance demands. Instead of wool speed, the Linkglide cassettes are designed to shift reliably, in both directions, under load. So, while it might not shift as fast as HG , it will unchangingly shift reliably. That includes auto-shift on an eMTB or e-cargo bike, eMTB race situations or just newer riders that aren’t used to timing their shifts.
The Cues cassettes are designed to last longer, so you don’t have to replace them nearly as often. Taller and thicker teeth provide spare surface zone for largest uniting retention and to distribute forces evenly to slow lanugo wear.
Cues cassettes come in an variety of variegated configurations, including a wide-range 11-46t 9-speed option, giving far increasingly riders wangle to functional 1x drivetrains.
Both U8000 and U6000 rear derailleurs have a clutch mechanism for improved uniting retention
Cues U4000 shifter is the only one without a clutch mechanism, but Shimano says the uniting retention is significantly improved
U4000 shifters come with or without optical exhibit
Cues U6000 has the option of push-pull shifting, like higher-end Shimano parts
There are moreover Cues front derailleurs
Wide range without the cost
While the key technical component of Cues resides in the Linkglide cassettes, the three levels of Cues derailleurs pack solid value as well. The top two tiers retain the Shadow diamond just in a simpler package. this includes clutch mechanism, enabling reliable 1x shifting for mountain bikes and e-bikes. There are moreover 2x options for riders that don’t want to requite up the second chainring. Shifters are misogynist with or without optical gear exhibit and in various configurations to match the number of gears. All Cues shifters and derailleurs use the same subscription pull ratio, so you can use a U6000 shifter with a U8000 rear derailleur, or the opposite. They are not, though, uniform with HG drivetrains. Cues will only work with other Cues components.
Shimano is offering a modular non-series hub that works with a wide range of standards.
Freehub, trestle spacing and and speeds are all unsteadfast with, for the most part, the same hub shell. (U4000 is not as universal)
Even QR axles are supported
Same with front hubs .
QR and through-axle options well-nigh
Shimano’s new near-universal hubs
In the same vein as Cues cross-compatibility, Shimano is introducing a new, non-series hub. The mid-range hub is designed to be modular and versatile. The trestle can be reverted from quick release to through axle, and variegated through-axle widths. The freehub is hands reverted from HG to microspline, and can plane be converted from 11-speed to 12-speed Deore for riders that want to upgrade without waffly all the components on their velocipede at once.
Why is this a big deal?
Shimano’s new group ripened specifically as an entry-level and durable groupset, not cobbled together out of old racing tech. It’s simple, it is widely cross-compatible with other parts, and it is designed to work unceasingly for a long time. That makes it affordable for riders and easy for shops. Pick your number of speeds, level of components and, as long as its Cues, you can be confident the parts will work well together.
For mountain bikers (and e-bikers and commuters) it really opens up the possibility of affordable wide-range, 1x shifting. Deore was a start, but still pricey. Cues should help create well-constructed bikes, and eMTB, that are increasingly reasonably priced and have comparable performance on trails.
Shimano Cues: pricing and availability
There isn’t a full list of Cues pricing yet, but there are some starting points. Cues top tier (U8000) 11-speed group starts at USD 452.00 for a shifter, rear derailleur, 11-50t cassette, chain, marrow subclass and crankset. The same group is USD 289.00 if you waif the BB and crankset.
From U8000, Cues only gets increasingly reasonable. Cues U6000 1×11-speed is USD 214.00, U6000 1×10-speed is USD 187.00 while U4000 1×9-speed drops to just USD 151.00 (all prices w/o zombie or BB). For comparison, Shimano’s 1×11-speed XT Linkglide (not HG ) is USD 362.00 for the same configuration.
Shimano expects to see Cues on shelves in late May or early June, though some bikes from some brands might show up sporting the new drivetrain plane earlier.
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