With the 2022 season in full swing, a number of technology-related topics have surfaced. One of these is that many WorldTour teams are still using Shimano's Dura-Ace 11-speed groupset, despite Shimano's announcement of a new 12-speed model last August. According to many team mechanics, the reason for this is the unavailability of the new groupset.

The same reason is cited by teams using a mismatch of old and new, with the new 12-speed groupset paired with the old 11-speed chainset. This is something that almost every team did at some point during the first two months of the season.

And now, as the Classic season reaches its peak, a trend perhaps related to it has become known: chain dropouts.

Of course, chain dropouts are nothing new in the pro cycling world, especially in the classics. It is a problem that has stopped at some point for all riders, regardless of whether they are using Shimano, SRAM, or Campagnolo, but in recent weeks, it has become more frequent, and World Tour mechanics from three separate Shimano-equipped teams have complained to a Cycling News reporter So much so that. [For example, on the 25km section of the Ghent-Wevelgem, five people were caught on television cameras falling off their chains, including Marco Haller and Ryan Mullen of Bora-Hansgrohe, Lars Thorgstad of Uno-X, Timo Roosen of Jumbo-Visma, and Andre Carvalho of Cofidis. The cameras showed five people falling off the chain, including Lars Thorgstad of X, Timo Roosen of Jumbo Visma, and Andre Carvalho of Cofidis. Three of them (Haller, Mullen, and Roosen) were running mismatched 11- and 12-speed Shimanos.

In the Tour of Flanders, Kasper Asgreen (Desseuninck-Quick Step) became the most famous victim of this problem when his chain rode up on a big chainring in Koppenberg with just over 40 km to go. But the fact remains that this problem derailed his race at a crucial moment. He, too, was using a mismatched groupset.

At the start of the Dwar door Hlaanderen, the mechanics of the teams lamented this problem. Mechanics seldom speak publicly about their equipment, so not surprisingly, all the mechanics we spoke with were keen to remain anonymous.

One mechanic was particularly candid in his assessment of using a 12-speed groupset with an 11-speed chainring. He claimed that the alignment was all wrong and was even worse on the big ring, causing the chain to drop off regularly.

Others were a bit less candid, but nonetheless expressed similar sentiments. One admitted to a problem, but was unsure as to its cause, questioning whether it was a component mismatch or simply the quality of the new 12-speed groupset as a whole; a third was unsure if the mismatch was due to the thinner chain used on the 12-speed, although he seemed certain that it was due to a mismatch, He wanted to hear from other teams that have used the entire 12-speed groupset.

The only team running a full 12-speed set-up that was available for comment was Groupama FDJ, which had no problems.

Two potential reasons offered by the mechanics were poor alignment and narrow chain width.

Focusing on alignment, poor alignment can occur on many fronts, but the two most likely to affect chain drop are the alignment of the chainset to the rear cassette and the alignment of the front derailleur to the chainrings. Given that the new 12-speed cassette can be mounted on the same Shimano freehub as the previous model, the distance between the inner and outer cassette sprockets is unlikely to be different enough to cause alignment problems on this plane. Alignment of the front derailleur remains, but this is also unlikely to be a problem, as it can be easily overcome by adjusting the derailleur itself.

This brings us to consider narrow chains. In order to fit a 12-speed sprocket into the same space as an 11-speed sprocket, the sprockets would have to be narrower to reduce the spacing. Combining this narrower chain with chainrings designed for the previous wider chain, even if only slightly or invisibly, could cause incompatibility. In such a situation, the feeling of shifting should not be a problem until the load is applied.

Incidentally, even before the new 12-speed Dura-Ace groupset was introduced, countless consumers have experimented and continue to experiment with 12-speed XTR chains on 11-speed components.WeightWeenies (open in new tab) has a 19-page thread discussing the pros and disadvantages, a 19-page thread exists, and many posters report that the thinner chain has more space in the cassette, making the entire system quieter. However, many also report problems with the front derailleur, such as poor shifting performance, incompatibility with certain chainrings, and increased chain dropouts.

Our friends at Cycling News who have tested this theory explain that problems occur more commonly when trying to shift under load. It is not hard to imagine that under the power of a pro rider or on cobblestone surfaces, this problem would be even more exaggerated.

Cycling News contacted Shimano to clarify two points When asked why teams are using 11-speed chainsets with 12-speed group sets, Shimano's Road Cycling Category Marketing Manager, Eric van Kooten, explained that it "simply has to do with product availability. The sponsor teams were delivered mainly only 172.5mm 12s power meters. Teams are making do with the products available"

. [Officially, 12s and 11s are not interchangeable; we do not recommend using 11s cranksets with 12s components."

We were initially curious if teams were actually intentionally choosing older cranks. Depending on the size of the chainrings, the new cranks weigh 50-70 grams more than the previous model, and while many would argue that this is negligible, the teams preferred mountain bike disc rotors for the 2020 Tour de France because of the 19 gram Recall that they vehemently claimed it was for weight savings.

However, given the related complaints from mechanics, it is safe to conclude that teams will replace them with new 12-speed chainsets as soon as Shimano is able to supply them.

The solution is black and white: don't mix 11-speed and 12-speed group sets. But that may be easier said than done for World Tour mechanics who have to supply two, three, or even four bikes to the riders.

Shimano claims that the teams are aware of the 11- and 12-speed incompatibility issue, but given the inability to supply more chainsets, mechanics are forced to improvise. Reverting to a full 11-speed setup may not be possible due to component availability, but running a mismatch of old and new may be the only solution.