New Affordable Shimano ESSA, Short Reach Levers, and Cross Compatibility

Hang on a minute, cross compatibility… affordable groupset… short reach levers so everyone can ride bikes… it’s not a late April Fool, it’s a happy reality from Shimano. It’s apparently part of a move to simplify the line up, but it’s taken a bit of figuring out what the PR is actually saying. What’s also interesting is that this appears to be a focus on the entry-to-cycling market – whether that’s kids and teens, or just low cost of entry. We’ve not seen any big leaps at the high end of Shimano’s line up for a while – will we see them emerge as the Olympic hoo-ha warms up, or is better gear on a budget a focus of the current business strategy?

Shimano ESSA

Shimano ESSA is an 8-speed crank and derailleur based on the Hyperglide system, apparently ‘engineered with the transformative Essence of Active concept’ (No, we don’t know either, we have asked). It’s compatible with Hyperglide and current 8-speed flat-bar ACERA, ALTUS and TOURNEY TX systems and is billed as ‘ideal for a wide range of casual sport bikes, including MTB, fitness, and city bikes’. Mated with a Hyperglide cassette, you can get a 400% gear range, with 32T and 42T crank options. That should offer a good selection of mix and match options when trying to build a bike on a budget – or looking to replace worn parts without having to start all over again. It’s a bit of a shame the cranks are so long however – some shorter ones for budget teen builds would have been nice.

CS-HG400 8-speed cassette 11 – 45T	39.99
RD-U2000 Essa rear derailleur, GS for 45T, black	49.99
FC-U2000 Essa chainset 32T, 8-speed, black, 170mm, without chainguard	49.99
FC-U2000 Essa chainset 40T, 8-speed, black, 170mm, without chainguard	39.99
FC-U2000 Essa chainset 32T, 8-speed, black, 175mm, without chainguard	49.99
FC-U2000 Essa chainset 40T, 8-speed, black, 175mm, without chainguard	39.99
ST-EF515 EZ fire plus STI for hydraulic disc brake, right hand, 8-speed, black	27.99

Short Reach CUES

Shimano CUES is available in 9, 10 and 11 speed, launched in 2023 as a value orientated groupset. To the existing options, Shimano now adds short reach shifter and brake options. For the fact fans: thumb travel is reduced by 11%, with the shifters 10mm and 12mm closer to the rider, while the brakes are 20% closer to the handlebars. They are however a two finger brake design, so perhaps not great for teaching good mountain biking habits.

Hubs Refresh

Shimano’s non-series front hubs and freehubs get a shake up in the 11/10/9/8-speed line-up:

• The TC600, TC/QC500 series will include labyrinth and contact seal bearings – designed to ‘endure extreme torque levels for aggressive trail riding’.
• The QC400 series will feature contact seal bearings only
• The QC300 series retain the traditional cup and cone bearings.

Riders (probably on e-bikes as this is what it’s designed for) on FH600 and FH500 freehubs with Microspline will now be compatible with SHIMANO LINKGLIDE 11-speed hubs. These can also be upgraded to Hyperglide+ 12-speed.

All sort of boring but sensible? For those who spend their days fixing this stuff, it’s probably a pleasant antidote to lots of new product launches with integrated whatsits and electrified thingummies.