Shimano Ultegra....

WarlKicken

Evening All!

SO I have ordered the frame for my build. It's lovely. I have 3T cockpit setup (ERGONOVA and ARX stem). I am going to get a pair of C50s. I just need advice on the groupset. I've read DuraAce mech is substandard and not worth double the price of Ultegra mech. I love the Ultegra mech on my Pinarello ROKH and was going to stick with that BUT bonus time has come along and surprised me (which is good) and I could potentially get Di2 and sack of the C50s and get some Campy bullet Ultras again on the wheels.

Ultegra Di2 worth double the price of the mech?...

Cheers
WK

sloppyschleckonds

Ultegra Di2 is for those too lazy to buy a proper gruppo

DiscoBoy

There are some strange points in your post.

There is nothing "substandard" about Dura Ace. It is better than ultegra in every way*. Whether or not it is worth all that extra money is down to the individual: most people would agree that it isn't twice as good, although it is double the price, but if you want the best, then that is what it costs. It's more of a heart vs head purchase, as with so many things with bikes.

It reads a little like you think that all you need for di2 shifting is the rear mech: this is not true. You need shifters, mechs, wires, a junction box and a battery (plus a charger) as well as a di2 compatible frame. The ultegra di2 groupset costs around the same as a dura ace groupset. Which you think is better for the money is, again, personal preference. Awesome mechanical shifting which is very light and looks great vs. electronic shifting which weighs more and doesn't look as fancy.

* bar the well known cassette issues which are easily resolved.

w00dster

I'm fully with DiscoBoy on this one.
I currently have Ultegra 6800 on my Summer Bike, it works well. However I'm saving for Dura Ace (Mech) with the Ultegra going onto my Winter Frame.
I personally don't like the look of Ultegra, however it does its job absolutely fine. Again personal preference, but I would prefer DuraAce Mech over Ultegra DI2 - I've rode bike with both. I would go DuraAce di2 if I won the lottery, but I can't really justify the £2k spend.
DuraAce mech is by no means substandard. The only known issue is the carbon rear cassette, however I can keep my Ultegra rear on the back with no issues.

twgh

I have DA9000 on my new road bike - came from Athena - DA9000 is godly. Just get it.

freefall_junkie

I have the latest Ultegra Di on my bike and it is so functionally perfect it is really hard to imagine how Dura Ace Di could be any better other than for slightly less weight. A recent test of Ultegra 6870 in Cyclist mag came to a similar conclusion. The mechanical vs electronic thing is really down to personal preference, and cost of course. I wasn't at all convinced by Di at first, mainly because I found it hard to get used to the feel shift buttons (the actual gear changes are completely, totally perfect every time), but now I am a convert. Interestingly electronic seems to be the choice of the vast majority of world tour riders whose teams use Shimano or Campag (with one or two notable exceptions like Cancellara). Of course whether that is their preference or just what the sponsors want is open to debate

twgh

freefall_junkie wrote:

I have the latest Ultegra Di on my bike and it is so functionally perfect it is really hard to imagine how Dura Ace Di could be any better other than for slightly less weight. A recent test of Ultegra 6870 in Cyclist mag came to a similar conclusion. The mechanical vs electronic thing is really down to personal preference, and cost of course. I wasn't at all convinced by Di at first, mainly because I found it hard to get used to the feel shift buttons (the actual gear changes are completely, totally perfect every time), but now I am a convert. Interestingly electronic seems to be the choice of the vast majority of world tour riders whose teams use Shimano or Campag (with one or two notable exceptions like Cancellara). Of course whether that is their preference or just what the sponsors want is open to debate

They get told to use electronic by the manufacturers. Only the real big dogs get to be different (Cancellara,Nibali, Wiggins last year) and that is only if they want to.

I would imagine a big selling point for many of the riders is being able to have satellite shifters - just look at Jrod's bike for the Giro he has the sprint shifters on each side of tops for when he is climbing which you just cannot do with mechanical.

I have never used Di2 or EPS, and I am sure both are amazing, but I really struggle to see how they are better than a top end gruppo? Only issue with mechanical is cable wear which may mean shifting suffers.

passout

Well I'd get SRAM force myself - lighter & better IMO. But Ultegra will do I guess. Seriously though, I pefer SRAM but Shimano Ultegra & DA are both excellent. Ther'es nothing sub standard about DA - it's pro level kit - but Ultegra or Force are obviously better value and 105 or Rival are even better value still. I'd stick to mechanical myself.

Check Merlin Cycles for good deals ob Shimano & SRAM groupsets.

Bozman

I've used Shimano for 20 years and there used to be a noticeable gap between the groupsets. 7800 DA was head and shoulders above 6600 Ultegra but that gap has got a lot narrower and with the current generation I'd say that there's squat difference in performance, the only difference is a slight aesthetical one and a few grams in weight.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing, I feel that shimano are shooting themselves in the foot.

fast as fupp

WTF is a 'cockpit' on a bike? :shock:

kingstonian

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Ultegra Di2 is for those too lazy to buy a proper gruppo

hahaha, whatever

stueys

As someone has said the difference between ultegra and DA is negligible, it's gets closer every iteration. Having said that DA is the best and personally I run DA, that would fail any kind of value equation but i can afford the difference.

What stops me on electronic is the 'getting home' issue. I had a mechanical on my shifting at the top of sa calobra a few weeks back. There isn't much around there in the way of assistance. On mechanical 10 mins playing with a multi tool and I was moving again, albeit with a reduced gear range. Not sure what I would have done with an electronic group set.

dilatory

fast as fupp wrote:

'cockpit' on a bike

The Pro Race forum comes close.

kingderham

fast as fupp wrote:

WTF is a 'cockpit' on a bike? :shock:

Detention for you, asking silly questions.