New compact chainset in common with Ultegra

Steel axle uses Dura-Ace type aluminium crank end cap

Brake calipers have poorly-positioned logo

STI levers shave 36g

No uncertainty here

Rear mech just 5g lighter

Shimano’s latest road groupset is Ultegra SL, which has been introduced to fill the gap between Ultegra and Dura-Ace on both weight and performance while retaining the affordability that made the standard Ultegra group such a success. Ultegra continues unchanged.

The entire groupset, including the dedicated wheelset, is finished in an ‘Ice Grey’ tone that clearly differentiates it from its fellows. However, the SL group still bears the Ultegra name, with no distinguishing ‘SL’ label as part of the logo. Taken as a whole, the group shaves just under 100g from the weight of the base Ultegra group, although savings have not been made on the front mech or pedals.

The rear mech loses 5g and the brake callipers 12g per pair, while the STI levers lose 36g thanks to the substitution of aluminium for steel in some parts of the shift mechanism. The levers are supplied with black brake and gear outer casing.

The biggest weight saving is seen in the crankset, which goes to aluminium chainring nuts instead of steel and a steel bottom bracket axle in place of the aluminium axle on Ultegra. The greater strength and stiffness of high-grade steel allows the use of thinner tube walls for the axle, which is shared with Dura-Ace. Shared with Ultegra, the cassette and chain show no weight saving.

One interesting feature of Ultegra SL is the introduction for the first time by Shimano of a dedicated compact crankset. This is shared with Ultegra, the only difference being the finish; both are priced at £120.00. Crank lengths for compact, double and triple are 165mm, 170mm, 172.5mm and 175mm.

Individual component prices are: