{"id":530276,"date":"2026-04-14T12:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T12:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/530276\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T12:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T12:37:12","slug":"where-did-the-shimano-105-name-come-from-and-what-does-it-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/530276\/","title":{"rendered":"Where did the Shimano 105 name come from and what does it mean?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our Tech Q&A series, we tackle readers\u2019 cycling questions \u2013 from\u00a0component\u00a0upgrades to riding after injury \u2013 with help from the\u00a0BikeRadar\u00a0team and trusted industry experts. This time, a reader asks where Shimano’s 105 groupset gets its name.<\/p>\n

Shimano\u2019s road\u00a0groupset\u00a0names always confuse me. I\u00a0sort of get\u00a0Dura-Ace (the internet suggests\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a combination of \u2018Duraumin\u00a0alloy + Ace\u2019) and Ultegra (likewise, forums say \u2018Ultimate Integrity\u2019), but I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0really get my head around 105.\u00a0Can you ask Shimano what it means and where it came from?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maxim Anderson\u00a0<\/p>\n

105 is Shimano\u2019s third-tier workhorse road bike\u00a0groupset<\/a>.\u00a0Specced\u00a0on many entry-level road bikes,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0all the\u00a0groupset\u00a0most riders will ever need.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The performance\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0up for debate, but the product name is, sitting as a\u00a0seemingly meaningless\u00a0three-digit outlier in a sea of Shimano\u2019s \u2018proper\u2019\u00a0component\u00a0family names.\u00a0So where did the\u00a0105 name\u00a0come from?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to a Shimano spokesperson, the 105 name dates back to 1982, when the\u00a0groupset\u00a0became the first product developed by Shimano\u2019s newly formed sales planning department.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d Shimano explains.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike Dura-Ace<\/a>, which was positioned firmly as a race-focused\u00a0groupset, Shimano says 105 was designed for\u00a0recreational\u00a0road cyclists \u2013 positioning it has\u00a0maintained\u00a0to this day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal was to create a name that stood apart from the existing line-up of racing components, while still fitting naturally into the broader category of sporty consumer products,\u201d the spokesperson says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TempleShimano 105 offers a 12-speed mechanical shifting option for road bikes. Scott Windsor \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

With this in mind, the\u00a0use of numbers was deliberate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shimano says that, at the time, numerical naming was common across a wide range of sporting products: \u201cFor a product to gain recognition and become a success in the market, its name must exist within the broader trends of society.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shimano had also previously used numbers to indicate price tiers, with higher numbers representing more expensive products.<\/p>\n

However, the name 105 was chosen specifically to break away from that system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe name 105 was selected because it aligned with social naming trends, conveyed a sporty image, and \u2013 most importantly \u2013 stood as an independent identity that did not suggest a clear hierarchical ranking,\u201d Shimano explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But\u00a0why\u00a0105 specifically? Shimano was not forthcoming\u00a0on\u00a0this point.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conjecture from the internet includes several wild theories \u2013 our\u00a0favourite\u00a0is\u00a0a Stack Exchange post<\/a>\u00a0that suggests\u00a0\u201c105 is the reverse of 501, which came from Levi’s Jeans, popular in the late 80s in Japan and matching the workhorse reliable nature of the 105.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, there is no definitive theory, so this particular question remains a case of \u2018it is what\u00a0it\u00a0is\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In our Tech Q&A series, we tackle readers\u2019 cycling questions \u2013 from\u00a0component\u00a0upgrades to riding after injury \u2013 with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530277,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[59,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-530276","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-technology","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}