The move to 12-speed on 105 and GRX opened up a question that Shimano hadn't really answered until this cassette showed up: what do you do if you want the wider gearing of a modern gravel setup but you're running an existing 11-speed road wheelset? The CS-HG710 12-speed cassette is Shimano's fix, mounting on standard road 11-speed HG freehub bodies as well as the newer HG L2 12-speed bodies. That freehub flexibility means you can add a 36-tooth bail-out gear to a bike you already own without buying new wheels or swapping freehub hardware.

Gearing runs 11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-36, a 327% range that Shimano built with a specific philosophy in mind. The first eight cogs step up one tooth at a time to keep cadence changes tight through the range you actually spend most of your time in — rolling roads, flat efforts, group ride pace. The final four cogs spread wider to cover climbing duty, and the four-tooth jump from 32 to 36 lets you keep pedaling when the grade gets steep enough that finding a perfect cadence stops being the priority.

This cassette pairs with Shimano's 12-speed road drivetrains, both mechanical and Di2, including 105 R7100, Ultegra R8100, Dura-Ace R9200, and the GRX RX820 gravel groupset. Use it with an HG 12-speed chain like the CN-M7100. It's a natural fit for gravel builds, adventure road bikes, and anyone running a compact crankset who wants climbing gears that don't require dropping to a sub-compact.