On the eve of the Tour de France in 2022, the long-awaited Japanese transmission brand giant Shimano officially released the third-level 105 R7100 electronic transmission kit. This is a 12-speed group set launched by Shimano after the 12-speed Dura-Ace and Ultegra, officially bringing the 105 series into the Di2 electronic shifting era.

Although Shimano’s innovation and upgrading lag behind other competitors, he still occupies a dominant position in the world and even in the top Tour de France. Take this year’s 22 Tour de France teams as an example, with 17 Tour de France teams using Shimano Brand group sets, the remaining 5 use SRAM and Campagnolo respectively.

Closer to home, the Shimano 105 R7100 electronic shifting is the brand’s highly anticipated third-level product. How would you choose compared to the competing brands’ third-level SRAM Rival AXS electronic shifting and Campagnolo Chorus mechanical shifting?

The Shimano 105 Di2 is designed with a hybrid system where the wireless control area is paired with a single seat tube battery and front and rear derailleurs via a wired connection for high reliability in all conditions. Similar to the DURA-ACE and ULTEGRA, the Shimano 105 Di2 system is highly customizable on a smartphone via the easy-to-use E-TUBE PROJECT app.

The total weight of the Shimano 105 Di2 12-speed group set is about 3067 grams.

In April 2021, SRAM finally launched the new Rival AXS, which is also the brand’s third-level road bike kit, which finally ushered in wireless electronics. With the release of Rival AXS, the threshold for electronic shifting has been greatly lowered. Rival AXS brings the technology required by modern riders to ride, with intuitive wireless shifting, innovative gear ratio matching, integrated power detection, AXS wireless interconnection and excellent hydraulic disc brakes.

The overall weight of the SRAM Rival AXS 12-speed group set is 3250 grams, and the 2× double disc.

In April 2019, Campagnolo pioneered the all-new 12-speed Chorus mechanical group set, which Campagnolo brought 12-speed technology to their third-level group set. Although the 12-speed Chorus group set is not available in EPS versions, the Chorus DNA comes from the Super Record of the Campagnolo family, and he also represents the performance, quality and detail of Campagnolo. The Chorus 12-speed mechanical group set shares the same exterior design as the Super Record and Record, and the material differences allow Campagnolo to put the Chorus at a lower price point.

Campagnolo used a lot of carbon fiber on the Chorus group set, including the shifters, derailleurs and cranks. And it also uses a locking center shaft and a carbon fiber hollow crank, which makes the whole more lightweight, and also ensures super rigidity and super long service life.

The Campagnolo Chorus 12-speed mechanical group set is undoubtedly the lightest of the three, with the rim brake version weighing in at 2333 grams and the disc brake version at 2631 grams.