Should I get some Ultegra brake calipers and crankset.?

daniel_b

Evening all,

so I have one of the infamous CR1 SL frames, FSA stem and seatpost, Mavic Ksyrium wheels , and a brand new 105 5700 black groupset - this is set to be my 'best' bike ever, ad will probably keep it for 15 years or so.

That was going to be it, and then I saw the Ultegra 6700 levers for sale at Merlin, and now have a pair - my plan to sell the 5700's to make the upgrade cost not as much.

Additionally, before I started all this, I have sourced an Ultegra cassette and an Ultegra chain.

So.....

I am now tempted to get a Ultegra compact crankset (£125) and brake calipers for a touch under £80 from Wiggle or CRC, and then also sell on those boxed 105 bits to minimise the upgrade cost.

The main reason I am thinking of the brakes combined with the levers, is that I see good reviews of them in terms of braking ability, compared with stock 105.

If I go that far, I wonder if it would be worth getting the lovely grey chainset....

Derailleurs would still be black 105 - would that look a bit weird.....?

Bozman

I bought the grey Ultegra calipers for my CR1 and they match well because they're a dark charcoal colour.

daniel_b

Bozman wrote:

I bought the grey Ultegra calipers for my CR1 and they match well because they're a dark charcoal colour.

What's the rest of your groupset Bozman?

Did you bag the deal from JE James, £60 for a pair or something?

Just seen that 6800's can be had fpr £10 more, and have 10% more stopping power allegedly - anyone know if they are compatible with 6700 levers...?

Bozman

I've put Ultegra on it with a SRAM Red/Black chainset. The new Ultegra calipers(6800) aren't as dark at the 6700 calipers, the whole charcoal grey goes well with the frame but I have the pro and not the SL.
I already had the components apart from the calipers which I purchased from bike discount de a few months ago.

smidsy

If you want the groupset to match then sure.

If you are expecting noticable performance improvements do not bother.

If you do sell the 105 stuff I am interested (I have a winter project in need of a group set).

indyp

Short answer is yes go for it. Ultegra is lighter and performance is better than 105, also include the rear derailluer and possibly the front to.

napoleond

Then once you have all Ultegra start swapping bits out for Dura Ace.

polyx

I used to have 105 5750 cranks swapped them for Ultegra 6700 and never looked back ever since. Front shifting is much smoother, like cutting through a warm butter. (Need to mention that standard shifts better than compact due to smaller gap between rings as well), Overall you instantly notice the difference in performance.
I have 105 shifters though, which and have no complains about.

neeb

You clearly like buying shiny stuff, so save yourself some money and get full Dura Ace now instead of buying Ultegra and then selling it a few months later..

If you buy the most expensive stuff your lust for shiny bits will only be fed by the manufacturer's update schedule, not by the knowledge that there is something better already available... So you actually save money by buying the most over-priced, unnecessary, lightest stuff. That's my excuse anyway...

defride

Interesting thread for me, the bike I bought came with Ultegra except c/set and brakes. I changed the cassette from some non-descript Shimano 12/30 to an Ultegra 11/28 as I wasn't using the 30 and felt a slightly bigger gear would be beneficial, it helped it was a bargain. What I noticed more than anything was how much better it shifted. So, my thoughts initially re c/set were that moving to Ultegra would make a negligable difference, since the cassette though I'm wondering whether it'll also shift better? As for brakes I'd also be interested in hearing thoughts from a performance pov. Mine are Shimano 2300, they work fine in the dry but in the wet they are nowhere near as confidence inspiring, like the op I'd be keen to hear any thoughts on whether changing the caliper & pad or perhaps even just the pads would make much of a performance difference?

napoleond

The cables will make a big difference to braking. Trying out a set of Jagwire compressionless cables (not expensive) is well worth a go.
Also, Koolstop Salmon brake pads.

daniel_b

Thanks for all the replies gents,

I'm not a really a magpie, just like to impart a bit of quality into my items where I can.

Dura ace is a step too far for me in terms of what I would term vfm, as was the entire 6700 groupset, at over £225 more than I could get the 105 for.
But I have rationalised the purchase of levers and 6800 brakes as in I hope shifting will be improved, and also braking will be improved over a stock 105 setup, so for me, these are the most 'vital' parts of the groupsets, oh and did I mention the levers are carbon too ;-)
I can then offset the cost of these by selling my brand new shifters and callipers, once I have decided I have no other use for them.....
The levers and brakes have cost me £232, but I would hope to be able to get somewhere in the region of £160ish back for my new parts should I go that route, as long as Merlin aren't knocking out any crazy prices again!

As luck would have it the Ultegra chainset has gone back up to £150 at Merlin, and in all honesty I think it would look a little out of place without the rear derailleur and the front to some degree - but then I am up to the point of a full groupset!

The cheapest I could find the 6700 callipers for was £80 (Wiggle/Merlin), or a touch under with cashback etc, but I stumbled on a pair of 6800's from Ribble, which come out at just under £72 with the MOVE10 code which is valid until tomorrow I believe, not sure if these are any lighter in weight, I gather the colour is marginally different, but according to the marketing spiel they are 10% better than the 6700 callipers.
I have to hope that these '11 Speed' callipers will work with my 10 spd 6700 shifters!

In all seriousness though, can anyone thikn of any compatibility with the levers and these brakes?

Cheers

Dan

indyp

You'll have no problem with the brakes, and it's a bargain price!

indyp

Also the price of the crankset will come down again with crazy season coming closer.

dennisn

indyP wrote:

Ultegra is lighter and performance is better than 105, .......

I'll buy into the "lighter" idea, but you'll have to do better than simply saying "performance is better".
Better how?

daniel_b

indyP wrote:

You'll have no problem with the brakes, and it's a bargain price!

Cheers Indy, I thought that should be the case, even though they are '11spd' brakes ;-)