EliB
12-02-05, 05:44 AM
A friend gave me a spare (long story) Dura Ace rear derailleur. My bike is equipped with 105. Can I put it on (or have it installed) Is it worth it to do, are there any real benifits to it?
Bicycle Mechanics - A Dura Ace part, what to do?
Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.View Full Version : A Dura Ace part, what to do?
Little Darwin
12-02-05, 06:14 AM
I will preface by saying I am not an expert... I have never used Dura-Ace or 105.
However, from my understanding the major benefit of the upgrade is that you will save a couple of grams on bicycle weight... and of course the bling factor! Of course if you are replacing a new 105 with an older Dura-Ace, then you might just have bling.
The pieces should be interchangeable, but the alignment and adjustment may make it enough of a pain to bypass the process if you aren't sure about what you are doing... of course books, the Sheldon Brown site, and the Park Tools site will give you details on how to adjust the equipment if you want to take that plunge.
If the derailleur happens to be adjusted properly and the alignment of the hanger is not different between the two models, and you install it properly, it is just swap it and ride... but that is best case. I would expect you will need to do some adjustment as well.
However, from my understanding the major benefit of the upgrade is that you will save a couple of grams on bicycle weight... and of course the bling factor! Of course if you are replacing a new 105 with an older Dura-Ace, then you might just have bling.
The pieces should be interchangeable, but the alignment and adjustment may make it enough of a pain to bypass the process if you aren't sure about what you are doing... of course books, the Sheldon Brown site, and the Park Tools site will give you details on how to adjust the equipment if you want to take that plunge.
If the derailleur happens to be adjusted properly and the alignment of the hanger is not different between the two models, and you install it properly, it is just swap it and ride... but that is best case. I would expect you will need to do some adjustment as well.
Matt Gaunt
12-02-05, 06:18 AM
Wouldn't bother, myself. Just keep it for if you ever swipe your 105 mech out in a fall or something. You'll notice the difference then!!!
TallRider
12-02-05, 06:50 AM
A friend gave me a spare (long story) Dura Ace rear derailleur. My bike is equipped with 105. Can I put it on (or have it installed) Is it worth it to do, are there any real benifits to it?
If it's Dura-Ace designed for 8-speed or previous, then it's got a different amount of cable pull and will not work with current Shimano 8/9/10 indexing. If it's 9-speed Dura-Ace (I highly doubt your friend gave you a 10-speed!) then it'll work fine.
If it's Dura-Ace designed for 8-speed or previous, then it's got a different amount of cable pull and will not work with current Shimano 8/9/10 indexing. If it's 9-speed Dura-Ace (I highly doubt your friend gave you a 10-speed!) then it'll work fine.
EliB
12-02-05, 07:00 AM
Thanks all. It's 9 as is my 105, so I gather there are no compatability issues. I suppose I'll save it as a rainy day project. I'm not opposed to a little bling, especially if I'm not paying for it.
TallRider
12-02-05, 08:13 AM
Yeah, I'd just save it for a project. There'll be very little to absolutely no discernable improvement in performance, although you'd save 50 grams or something like that (if you're counting, there are 454 grams in pound).
fmw
12-02-05, 08:21 AM
I haven't used 105. One day I'll build a bike with it. If blind testing were safe on bicycles, I'd bet nobody could tell a current Ultegra from a current DA drive train in actual use under such a test. I suspect it might be the same with 105. One cay I'll find out.