Shimano’s road group set names always confuse me. I sort of get Dura-Ace (the internet suggests it’s a combination of ‘Duraumin alloy + Ace’) and Ultegra (likewise, forums say ‘Ultimate Integrity’), but I can’t really get my head around 105. 105 is Shimano’s third-tier workhorse road bike group set. Specked on many entry-level road bikes, it’s all the group set most riders will ever need.
The performance isn’t up for debate, but the product name is, sitting as a seemingly meaningless three-digit outlier in a sea of Shimano’s ‘proper’ component family names. So where did the 105 name come from?
According to a Shimano spokesperson, the 105 name dates back to 1982, when the group set
Shimano says that, at the time, numerical naming was common across a wide range of sporting products: “For a product to gain recognition and become a success in the market, its name must exist within the broader trends of society.”
Shimano had also previously used numbers to indicate price tiers, with higher numbers representing more expensive products.
However, the name 105 was chosen specifically to break away from that system.
“The name 105 was selected because it aligned with social naming trends, conveyed a sporty image, and – most importantly – stood as an independent identity that did not suggest a clear hierarchical ranking,” Shimano explains.
But why 105 specifically? Shimano was not forthcoming on this point.
became the first product developed by Shimano’s newly formed sales planning department.
“The product planning for 105 was the first at Shimano to be fully visualized and developed through formal presentations and written proposals that clearly outlined the product strategy,” Shimano explains.
Unlike Dura-Ace which was positioned firmly as a race-focused group set, Shimano says 105 was designed for recreational road cyclists – positioning it has maintained to this day.