By now you’re probably familiar with Shimano STEPS e-city and e-MTB systems. They’re powerful, reliable, and offer different levels of assistance to take you on the adventure of your choosing.
Inspired by cobble, gravel and uneven roads, Shimano engineers have taken the STEPS system to a new level to now offer combined Shimano Di2 and road technologies enabling STEPS to be used for road and gravel disciplines.
What does this mean exactly? Not only are bike manufacturers now able to use different drive unit grades to create bikes with a wider range of performance characteristics, it also means you as a consumer are now able to keep your hands on the handlebars to change modes, therefore constantly remaining in control of your bike. This added benefit allows you to ride gravel, uneven roads and other rough terrain with confidence. It also means riders can use drop handlebars without a mountain bike style e-bike switch, making for a cleaner looking set up.
This new e-road and e-gravel drop bar functionality is compatible with Shimano STEPS e8000, e7000, e6100 and e5000 drive units and works with downtube or integrated batteries with e6100 or e7000 displays. The Ultegra Di2 shifters in combination with Shimano STEPS drive units are compatible with Ultegra, Ultegra RX and even XT or XTR derailleurs; with the shifting function customizable via the E-TUBE project application.
Start planning your summer gravel and road expeditions with Shimano STEPS, dedicated e-road and e-gravel bikes will hit the market in the coming season.