Shimano GRX Carbon Wheels

Shimano's new GRX Carbon Wheels are in for review

 Note: Standard Disclaimer Applicable

I got an opportunity extended to me recently to review the new Shimano GRX Carbon wheels and I took them up on it. So, here they are in all their 'glory'. I will be writing up the review proper on RidingGravel.com, so go there for the details. 

In this post I wanted to share my thoughts on how Shimano has finally progressed to a more modern standard on one hand and yet doggedly sticks to its guns in terms of another standard. It is an interesting dichotomy and I think this encapsulates the "Shimano Philosophy" in a nutshell. At least for me this wheel set does illustrate that. We'll see if you agree...

Shimano is often seen as 'not very innovative' or as a company that is 'slow to respond' to other company's moves, in particular, SRAM's offerings. If you feel this way, I would submit that you are making an error in judgement. Shimano doesn't jump on trends, and their company ethos is one that abhors failure, values solid research, and will not rush development to assuage popular opinions until those opinions are vetted out. 

Shimano is conservative in its approach. Note the stickers.

I've seen this in nearly 30 years of dealing with Shimano and other companies. Shimano rarely has recalls, failures are not taken lightly when they do happen, and their record of successes is outstanding amongst component manufacturers at any level. Now add in that Shimano has been the largest component manufacturer of bicycle parts for decades and that track record becomes something pretty amazing to consider.

So, I find criticisms of Shimano's approach to innovations somewhat lacking in perspective. That doesn't mean that I am not sometimes baffled and frustrated with how they do things. For an example, I was a bit deflated when back in the early 2010's Shimano released a new XT 29"er wheel set with an inner rim width of 23mm. This at the time when wider rims for mountain bikes were all the rage. Even XC racing rims were wider than this back then. But Shimano stuck to its guns and put out a robust, strong, durable wheel for XC racing that was, honestly, not where the riding populace was at that time. 

This wheel set was an excuse to use the awesome Hutchinson tires again.

That was a head-scratcher for sure. However; Shimano generally ends up coming around and I feel that this new GRX Carbon wheel set is on-point for today's gravel rider. The inner rim width? 25mm.

So, that's a relief and nice to see. But there are things that Shimano doesn't compromise on, and one of them is their complete and total devotion to angular contact, adjustable ball bearings. 

Sealed bearings are a given with any high-end offering from other companies in terms of hubs, but not with Shimano. Now one might be inclined to think that is just a dogmatic devotion to a tradition, but I would counter that with Shimano's vast experience with forging, metal, and bearing technology which goes back to the very roots of the company. Their first product for bicycles was a single speed free wheel, so bearing technology is Shimano's business, and in my opinion, they know what they are about. 

A well designed, high-end ball bearing race, cup and cone arrangement, and hub shell are hard to beat when it comes to longevity of service life, serviceability, and rolling performance. I find most folks that criticize Shimano's angular contact, loose ball bearing idea are thinking about their lower end product. Shimano makes really low end stuff all the way up to high end components, so you have to compare "apples to apples" and many folks forget that detail when criticizing angular contact ball bearings in hubs.

So, Shimano's philosophy on design and execution of design trumps marketing, in terms of what we see. They stick with what works and innovate only where it makes sense and isn't prone to fail, (some recent road crank sets are an exception here) Other companies? (Don't ask me about SRAM brakes, for one thing)

More on the wheels soon.....