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Shimano’s New PRO Tharsis XTR Di2 Integrated Bar, Stem Spotted in the Wild

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Shimano Tharsis di2 integrated bar stem giger (2)

A while back we reported on the new PRO Tharsis bar and stem that Shimano had released just after letting the XTR Di2 cat out of the bag. The bar and stem combo is designed to eliminate as many visible wires as possible while also providing optional stash points for the new battery. All mounted up to Fabian Giger’s Giant XtC Advanced SL 29er, this is the first time we’ve seen the bar and stem combo mounted up with the XTR Di2 group. Running a single shifter and the SC-M9050 display unit, it looks like the wire for the display must still be run externally. The stem design allows for the battery to be stored inside the steerer tube, but as far as we know all setups will require one external wire since they can’t pass through the fork’s steerer tube into the frame.

Check out the bars from another angle, next…

Shimano Tharsis di2 integrated bar stem giger (1)

Even with the exposed wire, for a modern mountain bike cockpit it’s pretty clean. No word on whether Giger is running the battery in the steerer tube, seatpost, or frame – but it’s definitely not on the outside of the frame. Anyone care to guess how long it will be until we see a bar/stem combo with the display unit built in? You know, because future.

pro-bikegear.com

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Al Boneta
Al Boneta
9 years ago

Why can’t they build a 1×11 system that competes with SRAM. They already have better brakes. DI2 for my mountain bike is cool and all, but not on my list of top priorities.

McFly
McFly
9 years ago
Will Hilgenberg
9 years ago

I’m more interested in the remote lockout on the bar there. . .

Ad
Ad
9 years ago

Will, it’s big, ugly and fits on a DT Swiss fork. What else did you need to know?

jon jon
jon jon
9 years ago

why do people love the 1X system so much? I don’t get it. I ran 1X before, nothing too special, you’re just short 1 FD, shfter, and your loose 1 ring at the front but gain 1 in the back…

Equine Master
Equine Master
9 years ago

@jon jon

Because it’s better. That’s all.

Drew Diller
9 years ago

jon jon – the point is to reduce shifting complexity down to a single human interface rather than two. This is analogous to moving from an 18 speed semi-truck transmission (which is operated by a professional driver) to a passenger car manual transmission.

You also get fewer moving parts and an overall quieter drivetrain. Yes the rub is slightly lower range in the tall end of the gearing.

Did you try a clutch type derailleur and ditching the chainring retention? Dead simple.

shafty
shafty
9 years ago

Their system DOES compete with SRAM. If only in the way that they’re top-endtop-end. As far as revenue goes, they don’t need to. It would also have meant a complete redesign of their freehub. Fitting cup and cone bearings into a freehub compatible with a 10t sprocket AND through axle systems, is nigh impossible without reducing durability.

If everyone made the same things in the same way, why would you ever choose one over the other? Price, and that’s a game no one wants to play in the open.

If it’s too expensive for you, I get it, but 1x systems aren’t a cure-all for drivetrain woes. SRAM made one first because they can’t make a well-shifting front derailleur to save their lives.

CXisfun
CXisfun
9 years ago

“SRAM made one first because they can’t make a well-shifting front derailleur to save their lives.”

^ This.

herrow prease
herrow prease
9 years ago

CXisfun – 08/01/14 – 3:50pm
“SRAM made one first because they can’t make a well-shifting front derailleur to save their lives.”
^ This.
^^ This and add hydraulic brakes to that too.

Limba
Limba
9 years ago

I have XX1 on my mtn. and Ultegra Di2 on my cross bike. If you can live with the slightly limited range of one chain ring, XX1 is awesome. If you need the full range, all the high and low, then you want two chain rings and Di2 is the way to go. The front shifting of Di2 is incredible, it works perfectly every single time in every condition.

Also, I bet Shimano will be more durable, a lot more durable.

Either way get Shimano brakes.

CJ
CJ
9 years ago

A few of you guys hit the nail on the head, SRAM’s front shifting sucks and still does. So they “improved” it by getting rid of it. True marketing brilliance. XX1 riders neglect the stupid cassette design/hub designed needed to make this work. IMO Shimano deserves credit for a 11 speed MTB cassette that is a standard design and works on current wheels.

That begin said I have used XX1 and it is the best shifting SRAM group I have ever ridden. I liked the simplicity of it. But the reality is there just are not as many gear options, the range is great, but the jumps are much larger, especially on the low end of gear. I found when I have ridden it I do not shift nearly as much, so I am forced to accept lessor gear options.

Personally give me a 2 ring option, that is less of a compromise, with great front shifting and I am happy. I have Di2 on my road bike, so the idea of a single Di2 shifter to run a 2/11 mountain biking system is something I would try. Yeah it is expensive, so is everything else on the high end.

I like the idea behind these bars and have figured it was only a matter of time with Shimano’s PRO parts to get bar, stem and post integration for Di2.

Jason Gregg
Jason Gregg
9 years ago

“I have XX1 on my mtn. and Ultegra Di2 on my cross bike. If you can live with the slightly limited range of one chain ring, XX1 is awesome. If you need the full range, all the high and low, then you want two chain rings and Di2 is the way to go. The front shifting of Di2 is incredible, it works perfectly every single time in every condition.
Also, I bet Shimano will be more durable, a lot more durable.
Either way get Shimano brakes.”

I totally agree. There are times when you probably need a front derailleur but it’s more fun when you can ditch it.

rgeniec
rgeniec
9 years ago

Shimano blew it because they did not want to re-do their freehub body. They really missed the boat with the 11-40 cassette. If running 1×11 you really need 10-42 gearing.
It is a huge difference on each end. They really missed the mark. No more kickstanding otb mishifts for me now that I dropped shimano for SRAM. I still love the brakes but they blew it with the “rythym shift”.

Chsad
Chsad
9 years ago

Rgeniec have you rode the new shimano yet? You seem to be bagging it like you have

Ilikeicedtea
Ilikeicedtea
9 years ago

Of course not.

[Sparta]THIS IS PINKBIKE!!![/Sparta]

anonymous
anonymous
9 years ago

Is having two chainrings really that mentally challenging for people?

I have 3.

Bielas
Bielas
9 years ago

This article is about the bar/stem combo with internal wire routing.
I think Shimano-Pro they solved nothing with this product, only add some complexity on the stem and headset adjustment and some holes in the bar (which is never good on a carbon part). Quite pointless I think

Stampers
Stampers
9 years ago

Rgeniec, why don’t you wait til you’ve actually tested both before jumping to conclusions. Posts like yours belong on mtbr.com….not this site.

MaLóL
MaLóL
9 years ago

A friend of mine made a mod already in his carbon road bike, all cables were hidden. He just drilled some small holes in the cabon parts, and no cables in the whole bike, just the brakes. All cables gone.

Shimano will work in this much deeper, just to compete against the future sram wireless…

Jesse Edwards
Jesse Edwards
9 years ago

F all this 1×11 business. Just put a bigger range on 10speed cassettes. I slapped on a 42T wolftooth ring on my cassette and I now have pretty much all the gearing I need, on a 1×10 setup for only 100 extra bucks, instead of buying a new drive train. I love the simplicty of a 1x setup. Maybe new front DRs. are better, but I’ve never used one that did have major issues with shifting under load, and that is something I’d rather not worry about. I’d use multiple rings if I rode road where shifting can be more premeditated, maybe.

FredT
FredT
9 years ago

I want that stem -just the stem!- and I’d like to know when it will be available so I can put it on my road bike.

Expander plugs work well enough to get the job done, but I’m kinda tired of them, especially after using the “Internal Thread Technology” of Easton’s EC90XD fork on my ‘cross bike (you just screw a plug into the threaded inside of the steerer tube instead of setting an expander plug).

This stem, although not flippable or angled, looks to have that same sort of simplicity of setup but with the ability to run on any fork. Also, since I wouldn’t have a star nut, expander plug, battery, or anything else in my steerer tube, I could just leave off that dust cap and stick an ice cream cone in there to lick while I ride.

Joshua Murdock
9 years ago

CJ nailed it. Exactly what I was going to say. I like to shift, so I ride Shimano. But I also like to ride up steep hills and go fast downhill… so, again, Shimano. This stuff looks rad.

Out for a Ride
Out for a Ride
9 years ago

“the point is to reduce shifting complexity down to a single human interface rather than two. This is analogous to moving from an 18 speed semi-truck transmission (which is operated by a professional driver) to a passenger car manual transmission.”

Exactly. This problem has been plaguing the amateur mountain bike scene for too long. The experience gap between learning how to shift with the right thumb and that overly complex left thumb is not one to underestimate. The pros can handle it, sure, but amateurs should not be messing with an FD unless they’re certified and have signed a waiver. I could never do it. I rode a bike with 2x once a year ago in the parking lot and couldn’t get out of the first ring so I quit cycling until the geniuses at Sram realized that low level riders want to have fun too. I just wish they didn’t make it lighter and less cluttered. No one was asking for that.

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