I just tested the bike and I love it and was on the verge of buying it. But someone mentioned that Shimano Cues, which is what the bike has, sounded like "commuter components", and that is code for cheap gearing
Does anyone have any opinions?
https://www.salsacycles.com/products/2025-journeyer-cues-10-700c?_pos=1&_sid=48f9f48c7&_ss=r
by Hellion70
4 Comments
Cues is actually pretty great, especially with the new drop bar levers and hydraulic brakes—it might be lower down Shimano’s hierarchy, but it’s super high performance nonetheless. Cues excels at shifts under load and drivetrain lifetime. I’d say go for it.
It’s fine. It’s what Shimano is replacing everything below 105 with. It’s not high end but it’ll shift gears reliably and you won’t notice.
I think you can get something better for that price. Last September I got a similar bike with sram axs electronic shifting for the same money
I’ve been saying this in all the budget bike threads that pop up:
If you are not going to get into Dura Ace, Ultegra, 105, GRX, Red, Force, or Rival, you *need* to be getting into CUES.
CUES is the future of budget friendly bikes. Like, the *only* future.
The bike you’ve linked is amazing value and 100% future proof. You are getting all the bells and whistles (sans electronic shifting) of the nicer stuff, but with literally just a fraction of the maintenance cost. The only real price you are paying is in grams, and that is totally chill.
Seriously, CUES is the future.