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A groupset or gruppo (from the Italian for "group", sometimes misspelled grouppo) is a bicycle component manufacturer's organized collection of mechanical parts. It generally refers to all of the components that make up a bicycle excluding the bicycle frame, fork, stem, wheels, tires, and rider contact points, such as the saddle and handlebars.
These parts typically include the following:
With the following forming part of some groupsets:
Except for special commemorative versions, manufacturers do not actually package the various components together to be sold by retailers as a complete groupset. Therefore when a modern road groupset is bought after-market (as an upgrade for an older bike, or for someone building their own bike), the customer can choose which parts they require, the price of the groupset is just the individual prices of the chosen parts added together.[ citation needed ]
The major groupset manufacturers are Campagnolo for road bicycles and Shimano and SRAM for both road and mountain bikes.
Manufacturers typically offer a range of several groupsets, each targeted at a different budget or use. For instance, Dura-Ace, Super Record and Red are the top-of-the-line road racing groupsets for Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM respectively while Claris, Veloce and Apex are their entry level road racing group sets, respectively.
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which makes them heavier, more complex and less efficient on smooth surfaces. These typically include a suspension fork, large knobby tires, more durable wheels, more powerful brakes, straight, extra wide handlebars to improve balance and comfort over rough terrain, and wide-ratio gearing optimised for topography and application. Rear suspension is ubiquitous in heavier-duty bikes and now common even in lighter bikes. Dropper posts can be installed to allow the rider to quickly adjust the seat height.
A derailleur is a variable-ratio bicycle gearing system consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes, and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another.
A hub gear, internal-gear hub, internally geared hub or just gear hub is a gear ratio changing system commonly used on bicycles that is implemented with planetary or epicyclic gears. The gears and lubricants are sealed within the shell of the hub gear, in contrast with derailleur gears where the gears and mechanism are exposed to the elements. Changing the gear ratio was traditionally accomplished by a shift lever connected to the hub with a Bowden cable, and twist-grip style shifters have become common.
Shimano, Inc., originally Shimano Iron Works (島野鐵工所) and later Shimano Industries, Inc. (島野工業株式会社), is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company for cycling components, fishing tackles and rowing equipment, who also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear until 2008. Named after founder Shozaburo Shimano and headquartered in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, the company has 32 consolidated and 11 unconsolidated subsidiaries, with the primary manufacturing plants based in Kunshan (China), Malaysia and Singapore.
Campagnolo is an Italian manufacturer of high-end bicycle components with headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. The components are organised as groupsets (gruppi), and are a near-complete collection of a bicycle's mechanical parts. Campagnolo's flagship components are the Super Record, Record, and Chorus groupsets with all three representing their recent shift to 12-speed drivetrains. Super Record and Record are the top groupsets, followed by Chorus, Potenza, Centaur and Veloce. Campagnolo also produces aluminum and carbon wheels, as well as other components.
A bicycle chain is a roller chain that transfers power from the pedals to the drive-wheel of a bicycle, thus propelling it. Most bicycle chains are made from plain carbon or alloy steel, but some are nickel-plated to prevent rust, or simply for aesthetics.
A racing bicycle, also known as a road bike is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by and according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
Shimano Total Integration (STI) is a gearshift system designed by Shimano for racing bicycles. It combines the braking and gear shifting controls into the same component. This allows shifting gears without having to remove a hand from the bars, unlike previous down tube shifting systems. This component is usually referred to as a "shifter" or "dual-control levers", or occasionally "brifters".
SRAM LLC is a privately owned bicycle component manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded in 1987. SRAM is an acronym comprising the names of its founders, Scott, Ray, and Sam,. The company is known for producing cycling components, including some internally developed, such as Grip Shift, EAGLE (1x12), DoubleTap, dedicated 1x11 mountain and their range of AXS drivetrains.
SR SunTour is a Taiwanese manufacturer of bicycle components, formed in 1988 when Osaka based SunTour (Maeda) went bankrupt and was purchased by Sakae Ringyo Company, a major Japanese maker of aluminum parts, particularly cranks and seat posts. SunTour reached a zenith of sales and commercial success from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s.
On a bicycle, the cassette or cluster is the set of multiple sprockets that attaches to the hub on the rear wheel. A cogset works with a rear derailleur to provide multiple gear ratios to the rider. Cassettes come in two varieties, freewheels or cassettes, of which cassettes are a newer development. Although cassettes and freewheels perform the same function and look almost the same when installed, they have important mechanical differences and are not interchangeable.
A bicycle shifter or gear control or gear levers is a component used to control the gearing mechanisms and select the desired gear ratio. Typically, they operate either a derailleur mechanism or an internal hub gear mechanism. In either case, the control is operated by moving a cable that connects the shifter to the gear mechanism.
Centurion was a brand of bicycles created in 1969 by Mitchell (Mitch) M. Weiner and Junya (Cozy) Yamakoshi, who co-founded Western States Import Co. (WSI) in Canoga Park, California to design, specify, distribute and market the bicycles. The bikes themselves were manufactured initially in Japan by companies including H. Teams Company of Kobe and later in Taiwan by companies including Merida. The Centurion brand was consolidated with WSI's mountain bike brand DiamondBack in 1990. WSI ceased operations in 2000.
An electronic gear-shifting system is a method of changing gears on a bicycle, which enables riders to shift with electronic switches instead of using conventional control levers and mechanical cables. The switches are connected by wire or wirelessly to a battery pack and to a small electric motor that drives the derailleur, switching the chain from cog to cog. An electronic system can switch gears faster and, because the system does not use Bowden cables and can calibrate itself, it may require less maintenance.
Bicycle drivetrain systems are used to transmit power on bicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, unicycles, or other human-powered vehicles from the riders to the drive wheels. Most also include some type of a mechanism to convert speed and torque via gear ratios.
A quick release skewer is a mechanism for attaching a wheel to a bicycle. It consists of a rod threaded on one end and with a lever operated cam assembly on the other. The rod is inserted into the hollow axle of the wheel, a special nut is threaded on, and the lever is closed to tighten the cam and secure the wheel to the fork. Wheels equipped with quick release mechanisms can be removed from the bicycle frame and replaced without using tools by opening and closing the cam lever, thus more quickly than wheels with solid axles and nuts. On the negative side, a quick-release hub renders a wheel more vulnerable to theft and care must be taken to ensure that the mechanism is properly tightened.
SRAM Double Tap is an integrated gearshift and brake lever system designed by SRAM Corporation for racing bicycles. It allows shifting gears without having to remove a hand from the bars, unlike previous down tube shifting systems. It was launched in late 2005 to compete with Shimano Total Integration and Campagnolo ErgoPower. It is characterized by having a single shift lever per unit that the rider moves inward a short distance for upshifts and a longer distance for downshifts. It is lighter and smaller than competitors because it has few parts.
Deore XT is a mountain and touring bike groupset first introduced by Shimano in 1983. It was Shimano's first mountain bike groupset, based on their existing Deore touring groupset, and it consisted of a triple-, double- or single chainring crankset, front and rear derailleurs, handlebar-mounted "finger" shifters, cantilever brakes, and large-flange hubs. Since then, it has become their "second-tier" offering, the list of components has expanded to include hydraulic disc brakes, a complete wheelset, a chain, and clipless pedals, and it is offered in silver or black finish.
A gravel bicycle is a type of bicycle intended for gravel cycling, including gravel racing. They are also sometimes known as "adventure bicycles", particularly ones intended for harsher off-road terrain.