Setting up a TT or triathlon cockpit with Di2 has always meant piecing together a specific combination of parts, and the ST-R9160 is the piece that lives at the ends of your base bar. Shimano built these as the Dura-Ace Di2 shift-brake levers for 2x11-speed time trial and triathlon rigs running rim brakes, giving you a mechanical brake pull paired with an electronic shift button on each lever body. They're the natural companion to the SW-R9160 bar-end sprint shifters mounted in your aero extensions—those handle shifting while you're tucked, and the R9160s handle braking and backup shifting when you sit up out of the bars.

Each lever gets one button, which sounds limited until you remember that Synchronized Shift is doing the front derailleur work automatically based on your rear shifts. You can also program the buttons through E-Tube to behave however you want—right lever upshift, left lever downshift, or any combination that matches how your brain works under race pressure. Multi-Shift is available too, so holding the button down runs the rear derailleur across the cassette until you release it. That's the one you'll want dialed in before a hard climb or a technical exit where you need to dump gears in a hurry.

The mechanical brake side is standard short-pull road caliper compatible, matching Shimano's Super SLR system. The set ships with brake cables and housing so the braking side of the installation is ready to go out of the box. Di2 wires are ordered separately, since lengths depend on your frame's internal routing and where you're mounting the junction box and battery.... Read More