TECH & BIKES 2023
What new bikes and innovative kit does the bike industry have in store for us this year? We take a look into our crystal crankset to find out
Over the next eight pages. we dust off the crystal ball – the one that was on the blink last year and missed 105 Di2 – and try to interpret the shifting (14-speed?) silhouettes of what we can expect from the road bike and components manufacturers for 2023.
In 2022 the pace of innovation started to pick up again after the pandemic and we’re expecting big things for 2023.
Groupsets are undergoing something of an electronic revolution at the moment and we expect that development to continue in 2023, but where does that leave mechanical?
As for frame design, the scrapping of the UCI’s 3:1 rule has meant we’re seeing wilder-looking shapes and innovative new ways to build in comfort and aerodynamics while keeping weight down.
And we have it on good authority that tyres for road bikes will not be getting much wider than 28mm or 30mm – as long as road surfaces don’t get any worse. Which of course can’t be guaranteed after that icy December…
Electronic groupsets trickle down to the fourth tier, and a new SR AM Red gruppo at the top
SRAM has been spearheading the electrification of its groupsets, with the top three – Red, Force and Rival – all coming in wireless eTap AXS versions.
Shimano has only just launched 105 Di2, the electronic version of its third-tier groupset, but patents recently discovered suggest SR AM is about to launch an electronic, wireless version of Apex, its entry-level road groupset.
Meanwhile, new shifters spotted at pro team training camps appear to be signalling the arrival of a new flagship groupset for SR AM.
Evolution of Shimano mechanical groupsets
We don’t believe Shimano will completely leave its less-well-off mechanical-loving customers in the lurch and we wouldn’t be surprised if Shimano introduced a lightweight, sophisticated mechanical groupset aimed at hard-up amateur racers.
Dura-Ace, Ultegra and 105 electronic groupsets are 12-speed – so what about a 12-speed mechanical 105 groupset? And maybe an 11-speed Tiagra?
It also seems likely that Shimano will simplify the lower, non-series groupset for better clarity on compatibility. We expect a refinement, perhaps based on how many speeds drivetrain components are designed for – Shimano 7, Shimano 9 rather than Tourney, Claris and Sora, for example.
Road tyres stop getting wider
We’ve been seeing wider road tyres made possible by the move to disc brakes, but how wide is too wide? Well, wheel brand Parcours’s Dov Tate said he thought there was no need for a tyre wider than 30mm as long as roads don’t get any r
