A groupset or gruppo is a bicycle component manufacturer's organized collection of mechanical parts. It generally refers to all of the components that make up a bicycle excluding the bicycle frame, fork, stem, wheels, tires, and rider contact points, such as the saddle and handlebars. These parts typically include the following:
Except for special commemorative versions, manufacturers do not actually package the various components together to be sold by retailers as a complete groupset. Therefore when a modern road groupset is bought after-market, the customer can choose which parts they require, the price of the groupset is just the individual prices of the chosen parts added together. The major groupset manufacturers are Campagnolo for road bicycles and Shimano and SRAM for both road and mountain bikes. Manufacturers typically offer a range of several groupsets, each targeted at a different budget or use. For instance, Dura-Ace, Super Record and Red are the top-of-the-line road racing groupsets for Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM respectively while Claris, Veloce and Apex are their entry level road racing group sets, respectively.
Below is a list of the three largest manufacturer's groupsets for Road and MTB applications. Each manufacturer's offering is arranged in descending price/quality. The number of sprockets of the cassette in each groupset is shown in brackets. The total number of gears is determined by this number multiplied by the number of chainrings, for example a bike that has a double chainring and a 10-speed cassette has 20 gears, although some of them overlap. Please see the article on bicycle gearing for more information.
Older Campagnolo groupsets that were discontinued from 2009 are the lower-end:
Mirage
Xenon
Campagnolo also offers 3 triple chainring offerings for steep hill-climbing:
Comp Triple
Race Triple
Champ Triple
SRAM - 2010
In 2006, SRAM released two groupsets for racing bicycles, aimed at competing with Shimano and Campagnolo's offerings. SRAM currently has 7 road bike groupsets that all use the SRAM Double Tap shifting technology:
SRAM are phasing out 3 ring front chainrings in their MTB range for a 2 front chainring and single chainring, 10 or 11 sprocket rear cassette setup, commonly found on road bikes.
Specialist
There are some groupsets which are designed for a specific purpose. Some are just partial groupsets which are intended to be used with other groupsets.
Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 7970 - - electronic shifters and derailleurs intended to be used with regular Dura-Ace 7900 parts
Shimano Dura-Ace - - Track bikes
Campagnolo Pista - - Track bikes
Campagnolo Time Trial - - Time Trial components with bar-end controls, chainrings with oversized toothing and super-light brake levers in composite material.
Shimano Hone - - Based on the Deore LX M580 groupset for Enduro and Freeride applications, discontinued in favor of Zee and SLX
Shimano Zee - Freeride and Downhill - A lower-end version of Saint
Shimano Saint - - Downhill and heavy-duty applications
Shimano Capreo - - including a cassette incorporating a 9-tooth sprocket for small-wheeled bicycles
The Shimano Nexus began as an internal hub only and has slowly grown into its own groupset including a higher end internal hub, chain, shifters, cranks, brakes and calipers.