You basically can’t buy anything until Grx 12s comes out?
Apparently all the Canyon racers where on these. Looks to have lots of tire clearance for the mud. 
apparently it’s out since yesterday:
Next-gen Shimano GRX gravel groupset goes 12-speed and offers a proper mullet - Escape Collective
If I can get my hands on a Kaius frame. I’ll get it on the spot.
I wouldn’t say it is “out”….no official release notes, plenty of questions still abound, noting on Di2, etc.
Definitely imminent, but not “out” yet.
Interesting that the first 12spd GRX sightings were mechanical, however.
Ok, then the release is imminent. According to a comment on the article Di2 12spd GRX is coming in 2024. I hope for Shimano and all of us that’s not true… That’d be way too late and Campi would’ve probably moved to wireless 13spd Ekar at this point. I don’t know what the holdup is at Shimano. They have a 12spd Di2 XT groupsets. Can’t be that hard to make that derailleur compatible with their road shifters and slap a new logo on it, can it? I guess nobodys using Di2 MTB groupsets anyway. SRAMs solution is so much sleaker in comparison.
Yeah. Really curious to know exactly what this is and when it’s coming out.
I’m trying to wrap my head around these companies showing up at the biggest gravel event of the year and just flying new product under the radar with no specifics.
Last weekend was IT, in terms of PR and media exposure. You’ll never get that much attention for simply showing up…you practically don’t have to do anything to get your details put on full blast to the cycling industry.
Shimano, Canyon, and others all showed up with new stuff under their best riders and none of them are talking about it. I would get it if it was an early season race like BWR AZ or something…but this was the Super Bowl of gravel.
Compare and contrast to new products at the TdF…we usually see the new stuff at the Criterium (or sometimes even the Giro) with no official announcement, but once July comes, everyone has their details ready for release to the press.
Just odd communication strategy, IMO…
It’s the SOG……?
A bike race that isn’t a bike race it the best place to make a new bike debut that isn’t a new bike debut 
Seriously though, seeing unreleased bikes at big events (road & MTB to name the places I see it most) is pretty common. Might be considered a miss to do this at the most notable event of the season rather than smaller ones before (like seeing these in road events prior to stuff like Roubaix for “endurance” bikes or TdF for “aero race” bikes), but it’s not unheard of that’s for sure. We saw much the same last year with Trek and the prelude to the updated Checkpoints as the most notable I remember, but I’d bet there were more then too.
For e-bikes, but not for regular MTBs.
Ben Delaney, compares my two favorites. Basically, the Kaius is better in the rear compliance while he prefers the cockpit customization options of the Factor.
Not out yet, but looks like it will be a step in the right direction for Shimano. They are speculating that it will support a mullet setup, but I didn’t see any reports on anyone running it that way at Unbound. I don’t know what the actual numbers are, but there were a bunch of folks at the pointy end running SRAM mullet setups at unbound and I’ve seen a big percentage in local races this year as well. I ran it at Unbound and it was perfect gearing for me on that course running a 42t ring and 10/50. Great shifting all day despite using peanut butter mud as chain lube for the the first ~80 miles of the race.
I still think for shimano GRX is just some side project that they don’t focus on that much. For my next Gravel bike If I get a new one I would probably go with a Mullet setup since we have a lot of Steep stuff to ride here and that would just fit well with it. I would not be opposed to have a Shimano drivetrain since I get along well with them, but if they don’t improve their 1by offerings I will have to switch to SRAM.
I don’t think this is likely….they see the numbers and can read a spreadsheet. They know gravel is driving what growth is in the industry now.
What you are likely seeing is a combination of two things:
- Shimano’s inherent conservatism (amazing for a company that has been so innovative, but it is very conservative in market approach)
- Shimano’s NIH approach (Not Invented Here)
Shimano is reluctant to follow trends set by other companies, or feel that their product direction is being dictated to them by trends. In the past, they have begrudgingly finally relented to trends that they missed, but only after a lot of complaints from their customers (and not necessarily consumers, but their OE customers)
Shimano likely inherently believes a 2x system is the superior solution, so that is where they focus.
Does anybody have personal experience of Crux vs Checkpoint? I am thinking of a new bike for the rest of the season and these are my top 2 contenders because I will be able to ride them locally before I buy them. I do love me some isospeed, but I am willing to sacrifice a little comfort for speed by going with the Crux.
Haven’t ridden them, but they are going to be quite different. The crux will handle pretty sharply, and the checkpoint will be more stable. I picked something in between them but it comes down to what you want the handling to be like and how you plan on using it. Care to elaborate?
Hard to compare these two bikes. One is compliant, boring, long. The other is lively, light, nimble. I would say it depends on your riding:
- Lots of climbing, go for the crux
- Lots of flats, gravel…maybe the Checkpoint.
- Dual road/gravel, go for the crux
As others had said, very different bikes. I went the more nimble/shorter wheelbase route racing a Domane for a couple years and then switched to a checkpoint late last year. Yep, it’s more compliant, stable, confidence inspiring, etc. Especially if you are riding challenging terrain. I won’t even disagree with the “boring” description above, but I’ll take boring over drama when racing all day long. I find the dynamics of running a big/long gravel bike similar to running 35’s vs. 42’s on chunky terrain. The 35’s will be really exciting and feel faster/frantic, but the 42’w will be boring and significantly faster. The biggest factor for me would be the terrain you are racing on. If it’s always hero gravel, no chunk or fast technical descents, etc., either bike will be fine. If you are doing courses with any technical aspects, I’ve found a long stable bike to be faster with really no downside on the smoother courses. My checkpoint has become my go-to on fast group rides on the road as well, I just prefer the comfort and bigger tires on our local chip seal. I’ll pull my road race bike out every once and a while if I want to remember what a twitchy race bike feel like, but the novelty wears off pretty quick. The only thing that I really don’t like about the checkpoint is the complete lack of aerodynamic efficiency. It’s a pig through the air.
I ran a 2021 Domane 56 with 303 Zip FC/38 GK SS+ at Unbound and it held up great. I am looking for a “better” gravel bike, lighter, more responsive, better climbing, a bit more stable, with more clearance for fast gravel and 1x setup. Do not care about bike packing at all or super chunky gravel.
Note I don’t actually have any real gravel near me in TX so all my training is on the road (it’s hilly near me and I can easily do 4000ft of climbing over 4hrs). Looking at the geometries, the Crux is pretty similar to the Domane while the Checkpoint looks like a boat. I do love the isospeed of the Domane and would consider the Checkpoint based on this alone.
I would think the Checkpoint would have an aero advantage over the Crux? I do run full aerobars when allowed so maybe an aero frame doesn’t matter as much.
In any case, I can’t find a Crux to test ride so not sure I want to go that route.