Shimano’s somewhat mysterious electronic Dura-Ace group made another appearance on the bike of Gerolsteiner rider Ronny Scholz. The individual components were still very clearly one-off prototypes, but those hand-made bits were distinctly different from the ones spotted at last year’s Paris-Nice. Shimano may still be mum on the group’s future, but the development phase is obviously still in progress.
The previous lever’s single toggle switch behind the brake lever has been replaced by two individual paddles analogous to the standard STI Dual Control setup (the brake lever is fixed like Ergopower). Shift lever throw, however, is hugely reduced relative to the mechanical version; merely nudging either lever about 2mm is enough to initiate a shift. As before, small LCD screens located on the top of each lever indicate the current gear selection and battery condition. Interestingly, the Scholz’s prototype rear derailleur actually looks less like a finished product than what we saw last year, but the front derailleur is looking decidedly more polished. In addition, Shimano has also moved the (now larger) battery to a small down tube-mounted pack.
