One-by Shimano drivetrain with XTR Di2 rear derailleur spotted on Joshua Tarling's Pinarello Dogma F ahead of Paris-Roubaix
Several Ineos Grenadiers riders will be trialing some creative tech to negotiate the extreme cobble sectors of the bumpiest and most brutal Monument on the WorldTour calendar
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From an Instagram reel posted by @_fenomeno_ml, you can clearly see the Paris-Roubaix bikes of Ineos Grenadiers riders Joshua Tarling, Artem Shmidt, and Ben Turner all fitted with Shimano XTR Di2 M9250 rear derailleurs.
As a fully wireless operation, with the BT-DN320 battery housed inside its parallelogram, this model requires no wired battery, so there are fewer moving parts and no chance of anything coming loose over the cobbles or getting snagged during a crash.
Like SRAM, Shimano's ecosystem is cross-compatible, so XTR Di2 plays nicely with the current 12-speed Dura-Ace R9200 shifters and cassette. The longer derailleur cage also means the option to eschew the regular 11-30T for a larger 11-34T cassette, as well as a bigger chainring, too - presumably a 56 or 58T.
Article continues belowShimano doesn't make a narrow-wide chainring, so it would have to be an aftermarket affair - from the photo, it looks to be a chainring from Drag2Zero. Shimano-sponsored UAE Team Emirates-XRG uses Carbon-Ti components to counter this issue and also employs its two-by chainrings for better shifting performance. Team rider Tim Wellens has been known to employ a one-by Shimano arrangement on his Classics setup - something we saw at this year's Omloop Nieuwsblad.
The new Shimano XTR Di2 M9250 rear derailleur - unlike the mechanically-actuated previous-gen M9000 series that utilised a friction clutch - uses a double-spring design for improved chain retention over rough terrain. The system is claimed to offer roughly 70% better chain tension than before, although it is non-adjustable. It also requires no maintenance and is a more durable option in the event of crashes, which makes sense for a race such as Paris-Roubaix.
One-by road groupsets are nothing new and have been widely used for the past few years. SRAM-sponsored teams have the option to use X-Sync E1 Aero Direct Mount chainrings paired to either an XPLR Red AXS rear assembly (offering a massive range of 10-46T) or a Red AXS derailleur with a regular 10-33 or 10-36T cassette.
We'll update this article with more information as we receive it.
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Aaron is Cycling Weekly's tech writer. As the former editor of off.roadcc, tech editor of Cyclingnews and Bike Perfect, digital editor of Bicycling magazine and associate editor of TopCar, he's travelled the world writing about bikes and anything with wheels for the past 20 years. As a racer, he's completed stage races such as the Cape Epic, Berg and Bush, W2W, and Gravel Burn. On the road, he’s completed the Haute Route Alps, represented South Africa at the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships Road Race and Time Trial and is an accomplished eSports racer, too - having captained South Africa at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 UCI Cycling eSports World Championships.
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