Under bar tape cable routing

thescouselander

So I'm thinking about upgrading my gears but I have a few questions. I was thinking about getting 105 but every bike I've ridden with under bar tape cable routing seems to suffer from a spongy feel to the gears that you don't seem to get on more conventional setups. Is it possible to get the under tape setup feeling as free as a conventional setup or should I just go with Tiagra and save a few quid in the process?

chaymck

Gore 'ride on' cables help alot

Bozman

I've got one with and one without and the Ultegra 6700 isn't a patch on the old Dura-ace 7800 or even the old 6600 that it replaced, so much so that i've been thinking about swapping out the 6700 for a secondhand 7800.
I'm not the first who's said this and i've read of folk swapping out 7900 for the older 7800 Dura-ace.
Lets just hope the next gen is a little better mecanically and asthetically

night_porter

As changing to 10 speed won't make your bike any faster then you must be "upgrading" to a more expensive set of gears for aesthetics. If this is the case then not getting the 105's is only half hearted.

You should sacrifice yourself, put up with the sponginess and get the bling; Shimano will love you for it!

thescouselander

night_porter wrote:

As changing to 10 speed won't make your bike any faster then you must be "upgrading" to a more expensive set of gears for aesthetics. If this is the case then not getting the 105's is only half hearted.

You should sacrifice yourself, put up with the sponginess and get the bling; Shimano will love you for it!

No, I want an extra gear because I want a bigger (27 or 28) gear at the back for steep hills and I want to minimise the impact in the middle of the range. I also want to be able to change easier from the drops compared to my current sora setup so Tiagra appears to hit the mark. Upgrading further to 105 would be a purely aesthetic choice.

unixnerd

Ultegra 6700 isn't a patch on the old Dura-ace 7800

I have both and totally agree. My 9 speed 105 shifts better than 6700. My carbon bike has internal cable routing though and that doesn't help. I think 7800 looks far nicer too.

With 6700 you need to get used to shifting the lever a little further than you'd think to ensure a clean change. If I were riding it all the time I'd get used to it but I only ride the carbon bike at weekends, I'm in Aberdeen during the week and my bike there has 7800.