Shimano has been refining and redefining shifting performance for more than 70 years. What began with basic external shifting has evolved into some of the most precise and reliable component groupsets in cycling. Today, Shimano’s road and gravel components rely on a suite of integrated technologies designed to deliver consistent, confident shifts every time you press a lever.
Understanding how these technologies work together helps explain why Shimano drivetrains are trusted by everyone from everyday riders to WorldTour professionals.
STI Shift Levers
To understand the design and function of modern Shimano road and gravel groupsets, it’s essential to start with one of our most influential innovations: SHIMANO Total Integration, better known as STI.
SHIMANO Total Integration fundamentally changed how riders interact with their bikes by combining shifting and braking controls into a single, intuitive interface at the handlebars. Before STI, gear changes were controlled by shifters mounted on the downtube, while braking was handled separately by levers on the bars. This setup required riders to remove a hand from the bars to shift, which was especially problematic in fast or technical riding situations.
STI Shift Levers
To understand the design and function of modern Shimano road and gravel groupsets, it’s essential to start with one of our most influential innovations: SHIMANO Total Integration, better known as STI.
DUAL CONTROL LEVER
Building on the foundation of STI, Shimano developed the DUAL CONTROL LEVER technology (DCL), which represents the next evolution of integrated control for drop-bar bicycles.
SHIMANO Di2
Di2 is short for Digital Integrated Intelligence and is Shimano’s pinnacle electronic shifting technology. Introduced in 2009, Di2 redefined expectations for precision, speed, and reliability in drop-bar shifting systems and helped establish electronic shifting as the gold standard in performance cycling.
Anatomy of a Di2 Groupset
Every Di2 system is built around a set of electronic components that communicate seamlessly to deliver flawless shifting performance.
HYPERGLIDE+
While STI and Di2 technologies translate rider input into action, HYPERGLIDE+ is where that action happens, inside the drivetrain itself. HYPERGLIDE+ is an advanced shifting technology engineered into Shimano chains, cassettes, and chainrings.