Bikerumor reveals every last detail of Shimano’s 12-speed MTB groups

November 12, 2020

From design to materials to specs, here's all their secrets!

Greensboro, NC – Bikerumor, the world’s largest cycling tech blog, has published the reference technical comparison of Shimano’s latest 12-speed mountain bike groups.

“We knew our readers were wondering what the key differences were between each group, but there wasn’t a good overview available anywhere,” said Bikerumor founder Tyler Benedict.

“So, we made one.”

What started out as a quick project to show the different specs ended up becoming a weeks-long research project. The resulting video comparison extended to 29 minutes, with a feature length article accompanying it.

“It’s amazing how many little design details, materials differences, and specifications Shimano never even mentions,” Benedict says. “Some of it is so subtle, but when you see why Shimano does it, it’s very intentional, and quite fascinating!”

“I was at the launch events for XTR, XT and SLX, and there was still a ton that I learned putting this story together. Honestly, I think even some of Shimano’s folks learned a few things as they helped me research all of the tech that goes into every component.”

Nick Murdick, Shimano’s North American Mountain Bike Product Manager, adds: “It was very satisfying to be able to dive into the details on this project. There is a ton of information we have to leave out of the promotional materials and simply post to the product info specs site instead.

“That level of reference information is distracting when trying to get people excited about a new group, but it’s immensely helpful when deciding where to put your upgrade dollars. It’s a big job to turn those technical differences into an interesting article so I’m pretty impressed. Taking each component individually and describing how the minute technical details translate into real differences on the trail was brilliant. I’m glad we could work together to pull the curtain back a bit and dig into the kinds of details we talk about when developing new product.”

The project, which was purely editorial and not a paid partnership, has generated big traffic numbers on Bikerumor.

Benedict says it’s a great example of the type of deep technical content they can produce on their own and in partnership with brands.

“Often times, a press release barely scratches the surface, but usually the extent of what we see published,” Benedict says. “When you have an important launch or technology story, it’s worth diving deeper and taking advantage of the massive audience a site like Bikerumor has to tell that story.”

View the article and video here:

https://bikerumor.com/2020/10/16/shimano-12-speed-mountain-bike-groups-complete-tech-comparison/

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CONTACT:

Tyler Benedict
tyler@bikerumor.com
336-303-8863