Wheels or Groupset

supergrass

looking at getting a bike from Dolan... for my budget would you choose

a) Shimano 105 groupset but with Mavic Carbon SLS wheels

b)Shimano Ultegra with Mavic Cosmit Elite S wheels..

Basically should i put my into the wheels or the groupset... head says Groupset... but i love those wheels

TheHound

Wheels.

From various reviews 11sp 105 is just as good as Ultegra.

supermurph09

What bike is it? If it's a TT bike then option A without question, if it's a road bike I'll still go option A as the 105 chainset is alot nice looking now and as TheHound says, the shifting it right up there with Ultegra.

supergrass

thanks for the replies..

its the Ares, so Road..

dinyull

Seeing as your looking at deep section wheels then I'm guessing weight isn't an issue. 105 is basically the same as Ultegra except from being few hundred grams heavier.

supergrass

in an ideal world i want the bike to be as light as possible, but being realistic its not an issue for me..

this is my mid life crisis bike and i love the look of deep section wheels.. whether they are right for me is another question i suppose

iron-clover

It depends what you want to get out of the bike and how much it would cost to buy the wheels that you want compared to the groupset later on.
As others have said, you won't notice much between new 105 and Ultegra, but you will visibly see the difference between the wheels if that's important to you.

Also, complete Ultegra groupsets come in at around £500 nowerdays which is likely less than the cost of the cosmic carbone wheelset if you wanted to buy them later on.

supergrass

im mainly just a sportive rider, like the challenge of the climbs. the deep section is just a cosmetic thing if im honest

the other option is to go for the cheaper Ksyrium range for a compromise

but thanks for all the responses, i thought people would say the opposite... glad i posted now :-)

vermin

There's a lot of sense above but, as an alternative view and an argument for ultegra, you are far more likely in future to wish to have two sets of wheels than two groupsets. Buying ultegra with cheaper wheels will give you an easy itch to scratch when you're inevitably looking for an excuse to spend more money later. The cheap wheels will still be useful as a training/winter set.

gimpl

vermin wrote:

There's a lot of sense above but, as an alternative view and an argument for ultegra, you are far more likely in future to wish to have two sets of wheels than two groupsets. Buying ultegra with cheaper wheels will give you an easy itch to scratch when you're inevitably looking for an excuse to spend more money later. The cheap wheels will still be useful as a training/winter set.

This would be my logic too.

supermurph09

vermin wrote:

There's a lot of sense above but, as an alternative view and an argument for ultegra, you are far more likely in future to wish to have two sets of wheels than two groupsets. Buying ultegra with cheaper wheels will give you an easy itch to scratch when you're inevitably looking for an excuse to spend more money later. The cheap wheels will still be useful as a training/winter set.

THIS ^ (I changed my mind). This makes total sense.

Miles253

vermin wrote:

There's a lot of sense above but, as an alternative view and an argument for ultegra, you are far more likely in future to wish to have two sets of wheels than two groupsets. Buying ultegra with cheaper wheels will give you an easy itch to scratch when you're inevitably looking for an excuse to spend more money later. The cheap wheels will still be useful as a training/winter set.

Thats how i would work it too

meanredspider

Get disc brakes then the whole "winter wheels" thing is a non-issue and you'll be able to stop in the wet too

cycleclinic

As the new 105 groupset get the polymer coated gear cables now, so the shifting is as good as ultegra. That is the big change shimano have made. so ultegra is just a bit lighter but for 99% of riders will perform well enough as ultegra. Ultegra shifter internals may and it is a big may last a bit longer.

2 sets of wheels is always useful just incase you have an accident and damage one. It also allows you to have different tyres fitted to each wheelset one for wet cold days when you really don't want to deal with a puncture and another set for dry warmer days when punctures are less common.

I would never buy any wheelset in which the cost of repairing/rebuilding it is so high I am left without wheels. For £500-£600 you can buy two sets of wheels that will meet all your needs. Don't con yourself into thinking that these new mavics will make climbing easier unless what you have is really terrible. Gravity holds the universe together it is hard work to overcome what ever the wheels you have. So go with the cheaper wheels and get a second set later.

Disc brakes with tubeless tyres on the wheels will solve this winter/summer thing at a stroke. The problem for me I have 6 road bikes and one now surpass the other 5. That one is the disc brake bike.