Ultegra 6800 or Dura Ace 9000

paul1000

I'm having the same problem, really want dura ace, you have to make sure to get 9001 levers though, also there are big problems with the cassette with carbon spider failing very fast.

steve_kay

Yeah it's a tough one Paul. I'm looking at buying the gruppo from ribble (they're the cheapest and a credible retailer) and I've checked about the shifters and they're 9001 that they sell. Another one to watch out for is the brake and gear cables. Some retailers don't sell them with the gruppo. Ribble do though. I'm planning on using an ultegra 6800 cassette once the DA one has deteriorated. They're a third of the price and perfectly compatible. Plus more durable by the sounds of it

paul1000

Did you get the dura ace Steve? I'm going for it, just have to save a little more, it's going on a de rosa superking 888 so it has to be good lol.

steve_kay

Yeah I've taken the plunge and gone for the Dura Ace. I'm just waiting for it to arrive next week. I figured that it will be worth the investment in the long run as I can use it when I eventually upgrade my frame. I've heard of people who've had their DA groupset for 10 years and it still feels and works the same as the day they bought it. So you can imagine how long the DA 9000 will last. Plus, it's such a good looking gruppo. I'm planning on going with the ultegra cassette when the DA one is on it's last legs as it's a third of the price, fully compatible and will last a lot longer as I'm led to believe they're having a lot of issues with the DA cassettes.

Ben6899

How about going down the Dura Ace route, but throwing on a SRAM cassette from the '22' range? Would that work?

I run 7900, but have a SRAM cassette and chain.

steve_kay

I didn't think SRAM ans Shimano parts were interchangeable to be honest. I may be wrong though. The only compromise i was thinking of making was to go full Ultegra apart from the crankset and rear mech which would be DA. However, after pricing up what the cost of it would be, it was only about £180 short of a full DA gruppo

DiscoBoy

Ben6899 wrote:

How about going down the Dura Ace route, but throwing on a SRAM cassette from the '22' range? Would that work?

I run 7900, but have a SRAM cassette and chain.

Yes, the 1190 (red) cassette is excellent, but more expensive than ultegra 6800.

SRAM and shimano are full interchangeable, apart from rear mech and right hand shifter. (and bottom brackets, obviously)

paul1000

I've looked into it, it may be a bad batch of da cassettes, the ultegra ha no problems, it also has a carbon spider which holds only two cogs as opposed to three or four on da.

Mccaria

Can confirm that SRAM cassette works absolutely fine with 9000 - it's what I am using now.

If the 9000 cassette issue was a bad batch it was a heck of a big batch !

steve_kay

You'd think Shimano would have rectified the faulty DA cassettes by now. Especially when they're asking for upwards of £140 for them. What is the price difference between the SRAM Red and Ultegra cassette?

Mccaria

Steve,

The red cassette is a very expensive but lovely piece of kit, it's the xg-1190 and the cheapest I have seen is Pro bike kit at £185. It's very will made but expensive for something that will need to be replaced reasonably regularly.

The ultegra works absolutely fine and there are plenty of 9000 cassettes being used without problems - but for the price it shouldn't be so hit and miss. I have a couple of 9000 that work fine, one that has just started to creak and one that I won't ride anymore because I don't want it to go many miles from home and it just creaks too much.

steve_kay

Thanks Mccaria. To be honest, i couldn't justify £185 (as you just said) for something that will need replacing on regular basis thoughout the year. If it was once every couple of year then fair enough. I think Ultegra 6800 cassettes seem to be the happy medium between price, performance and durability

paul1000

There is a deal on at ribble for shimano this weekend 10% off! excludes group sets though, if you buy the components separately you get the 10%, I don't need the bb! mines bb86 and I can have the 6800 cassette which comes to £890 so looks like I will be doing that.

steve_kay

Yeah I did see that earlier today. I must admit, I've been quite impressed with ribbles prices and website lately. They have a good range of things as well

northpole

Ribble are tip top offering great deals and quick delivery. Buy with confidence.

Peter

paul1000

Steve, did the levers come with inner and outer cables?

steve_kay

Yeah they did Paul. How come?

paul1000

Just wondering, just about to order :-)

steve_kay

I can't promise that yours will be the same. Depends who you've ordered it from. I know some companies don't sell any type of cabling

paul1000

Ribble mate, I take it you got yours from there

steve_kay

Yeah I did. I missed the 10% off unfortunately

richiegwy

Debating wheter to spend the extra on 9000 as well. I want to change from SRAM red/force combo on my Look 566. Nothing wrong with it but I hve just snapped up a scott foil and 6870 Di2 from Westbrook and want to share wheels and maybe get a stages powermeter in the future.

Has anyone tested 6800 and 9000

My thinking is that I will carry this groupset across to a future frame should I decide to build from scratch. My heart would love the top end groupset for the experience but the idea of having Ultegra on both gives me flexibility to share brakes, cranks if I need to. This bike will be my sportive and training bike as I will be racing the foil.

Mccaria

Functionally there is little between them. Aesthetically the 9000 wins hands down (and there is some small weight saving). You can also mix and match 6800 and 9000 which I have currently on one bike - 6800 chainset, brakes and cassette, then gears and sti from the 9000 series.

DiscoBoy

richiegwy wrote:

Debating wheter to spend the extra on 9000 as well. I want to change from SRAM red/force combo on my Look 566. Nothing wrong with it but I hve just snapped up a scott foil and 6870 Di2 from Westbrook and want to share wheels and maybe get a stages powermeter in the future.

Has anyone tested 6800 and 9000

My thinking is that I will carry this groupset across to a future frame should I decide to build from scratch. My heart would love the top end groupset for the experience but the idea of having Ultegra on both gives me flexibility to share brakes, cranks if I need to. This bike will be my sportive and training bike as I will be racing the foil.

Any wheels which you use with 6870 will be compatible with red/force, you'll just need a spacer. Same goes for a crankset.

richiegwy

I know they are compatible with sram but I want interchangeability without haveing to pull of cassettes and stuff. Also having tried he front shifting on the new shimano it kicks the ass of sram red (black eddition).

philbar72

From experience i have 6870 and its lightyears better than 6700, though thats because i'm probably not the worlds best at adjusting cables! no more missed shifts, but occasionally things get a little crunchy if you shift then dont pedal, at a junction for example).

its cheap at ribble, (again big tick in the box, excellent service), and looks to be the best thing i could spend my money on comparatively, as the DA equivalent is around twice the price, and not a great deal lighter or better performing.

ergonomically the 6870 shifters are literally worlds apart of the 105 and 6700 shifters, they fit and have perfect sculpted STI's in comparison to the bloated older generation stuff.

my new build will be getting this as well. its fantastic.

DiscoBoy

richiegwy wrote:

I know they are compatible with sram but I want interchangeability without haveing to pull of cassettes and stuff. Also having tried he front shifting on the new shimano it kicks the ass of sram red (black eddition).

Fair enough on the cassette front.

I agree that shimano front shifting is better. But also be aware that 11 speed SRAM front dérailleurs work with 10 speed SRAM setups. Someone on here was recently saying how they had upgraded from a red 10sp to a force 11sp yaw front dérailleur and that it was a cheap and worthwhile upgrade. (shimano front dérailleurs will also work, actually)

racingcondor

Here's a good question though.

Since 105 is also excellent why spend £500 making the relatively marginal upgrade to Ultegra? I'd put 15,000 miles into the 105 and then upgrade when you replace it (plus you'll get a couple of hundred when you sell the 105 that way). For me moving from 10 to 11 speed wouldn't be enough.

I'd either admit it's a vanity purchase and get DA (the prices at the moment are incredible) or ride the 105. I'd also ride an Ultrgra cassette on the DA to avoid the possible exploding carbon spider issue.

galatzo

Force 22 front shifting is really good, a bit better than the chorus I had for years.
Not tried the 6800 but wouldn't mind given the stoopid cheap prices you can get it for right now.
God DA is only £950 at Ribble for a full pro level groupset, can't see Campag ever gettin cheaper !, so id get DA but with ultegra cassette and brakes and maybe front mech.