Test Shimano Cue's Q'Auto: The new automatic gear system for non-motorized bikes is adaptive and works entirely without a battery. With a little practice, you'll never have to worry about changing gears again. Velomotion tested the innovative gear system at Eurobike 2025.
E-bikes with electronic gear shifting systems are already familiar, and automatic gear shifting is no longer a thing of the future. Especially since with an electric bike, it's not important to always ride in exactly the right gear (i.e., at exactly the right cadence): The motor assistance ensures that the "speed range" is wider when cycling. It's different with a "bio-bike": Pedaling too slowly is energy-sapping, and pedaling too fast will soon leave you out of breath. An automatic gear shift therefore has to hit exactly the right cadence and also change gears at the right moment. But how is it supposed to know what individual preferences are?
Electronic circuit without battery
Curtain up for the Shimano Cue Q'Auto – arguably the industry's first adaptive shifting system. The Japanese company brings artificial intelligence to the bike and equips it with its own power source. There's also a button block on the handlebar that communicates wirelessly with the shifting system.
Velomotion tested out what the Shimano Cues Q'Auto can do at Eurobike. The basic idea is simple: The gear system measures cadence and torque – thus determining how fast and how hard you're pedaling – as well as your speed. These parameters are used to determine the optimal gear ratio and the right time to change gears. A ride on the new Rose Sneak 3 EQ, which is equipped with the new system, shows what it feels like: First, you have to roll for a few meters so that the extremely smooth-running dynamo in the rear wheel hub stores enough power in the capacitor to start the system. One press of the small activation button on the handlebar switch, and the Shimano Cues Q'Auto is ready to go.
Smooth shifting, still a little too early
I set off in an easy gear, and after a few meters on the stiff, easy-to-handle aluminum bike, my speed is so high that the gearshift engages for the first time. The gear change takes so long until I reduce the pressure on the pedal a bit – shifting doesn't always work optimally under full load. Then the chain runs smoothly and fairly quietly to the next smaller sprocket. If you let it roll (for example, before a bend) and brake, nothing happens at first, because of course you don't shift while pedaling. When you turn the cranks slowly, the chain quickly moves to the easy gears, so that you can accelerate from a comfortable gear ratio again after the bend. But I quickly notice: The automatic transmission shifts up too quickly for my liking – I would like a longer acceleration phase with a higher frequency.
Shimano Cues Q'Auto: The adaptive shifting system
This is where the keypad and the aforementioned AI come into play: Of course, you always have the option to operate the system manually. It's precisely through these interventions that the gearshift learns about its user and eventually knows when the perfect moment to change gears is. This also means that you should actively train the system during the first few kilometers; you can also adjust various parameters via the app. The shift lever also allows you to choose between three modes with different cadence ranges.
According to Shimano, the gear learning process is quite quick, which couldn't be verified on the test bike at the trade fair - there were simply too many different riders on the Rose.
Is the Shimano Cues Q'Auto a good idea? Absolutely, because there are still plenty of people out there who aren't comfortable shifting, putting a strain on themselves (and their gears) by laboriously shifting high gears and not even using the full range of their gears. With the Sneak 3 EQ, Rose is targeting sporty everyday riders who should be trusted to shift consciously. The system is certainly interesting and forward-looking, yet not overly expensive: The test bike costs €2.399, €400 more than the identical Rose Sneak 2 EQ with Shimano Cues 2×11.