Road Cycling - Ultegra to Dura-Ace??

what would be the benefits to moving to dura-ace from ultegra??

weight? strength?

i really don't have a reason to upgrade other than trying to save weight, but i guess i'm more curious. :)

btw...ride a kestrel 200sci with ultegra gruppo.

thanks.

Mainly weight. And it'll look somewhat nicer. There's probably a slight improvement in shifting performance but I haven't noticed it when I tried riding some Ultegra bikes. And depending on who you ask, you might actually be losing strength... especially with the BB.

the front shifting action is SO SWEET with the dura ace shifter/FD combo....

I only noticed subtle differences in performance between my ultegra bike and dura ace bike. Slightly more precise shifting, and slightly better braking were the two noticeable changes for me.

The dura ace cranks seem to withstand my acid sweat better also.

I think the biggest differnce would be weight and shifting performance. shifters feel nicer

I checked the price if I wanted to go from Ult to Dur on my Trek 5200 and was told at the shop that it would be about $1000. Don't really think it is worth that kind of $$$$$

Originally posted by msz
it would be about $1000. Don't really think it is worth that kind of $$$$$
Sheeez. Time to find a new bike shop. Colorado Cyclist shows retail on a DA gruppo as $979, Ultegra as $589. They were either planning on charging you an awful lot for installation, or not giving you any credit for the Ultegra!

The only upgrade that would be meaningful to me is the shifters. I just can't see paying for Ti cogs. Besides, for 90+% of the riders out there, a one month diet would do a helluva lot more for performance than a few grams off the drivetrain.

Originally posted by roadbuzz
Besides, for 90+% of the riders out there, a one month diet would do a helluva lot more for performance than a few grams off the drivetrain.

Couldn't agree with you more... I've owned both Ultegra and Dura-Ace and IMHO Ultegra will outlast Dura-Ace in general. Not to confuse the issue but have you considered Chorus? (For the difference in price between the 2 Shimano groups you could buy the Chorus group, which personally I like over Dura-Ace). My 2¢

Originally posted by mrdatalife
what would be the benefits to moving to dura-ace from ultegra??

weight? strength?

i really don't have a reason to upgrade other than trying to save weight, but i guess i'm more curious. :)

btw...ride a kestrel 200sci with ultegra gruppo.

thanks.
Better wheelset would be a better upgrade if you need to.

I agree. If I would just clean out the loose change that has accumulated in my seat pack, it would save more weight. Not to mention knocking off the Ho-Ho's!

Why not upgrade a few parts at a time? You could put on a DA crankset and shifters and save a little bit of weight. Or, you could slap a carbon crankset on and save a lot of weight and wait until one of your Ultegra units breaks to replace it (you'll probably wait a while).

I'd suggest leaving the Ultegra BB in there no matter what. I got tired of rebuilding by DA twice annually and put an Ultegra in over the summer.

Originally posted by ImprezaDrvr
Why not upgrade a few parts at a time? You could put on a DA crankset and shifters and save a little bit of weight. Or, you could slap a carbon crankset on and save a lot of weight and wait until one of your Ultegra units breaks to replace it (you'll probably wait a while).

I'd suggest leaving the Ultegra BB in there no matter what. I got tired of rebuilding by DA twice annually and put an Ultegra in over the summer.
2002 FSA team issue carbon crank,double,576g@$369
2003 D/A,600g@$185
2003 ultegra,643g@$99
Ultegra vs FSA=less 67g@$4per.Is it worth it?

You're asking the wrong person; I'm not looking to upgrade anything. Just making small talk. We're all here to help each other dream, right?

Originally posted by ImprezaDrvr
We're all here to help each other dream, right?

Right. And if you've got the money to spare, what's the big deal? Even if it is a "waste", I can think of plenty of worse things to be throwing money at. So maybe you're sitting on a buttload of cash that's burning a hole in your pocket and you fork it over because you want to smile everytime you see the pretty carbon fiber cranks on your bike. Who's right is it to question the value of the extra $200 you spent? People spend $200 on things of a more volatile nature all the time (family of four at Disney World). Live life by your own values... not others.

Not to say its dumb but,if rich people spend money on things they dont need or dont spend smart,they wont be rich for long.Ya wanta spend on a gold plated crank,go ahead.I'm just let'n ya see some stats so who ever is buying can see where ya spending it.

Sometimes people just want nice things and theres nothing wrong with that. I think we all own things that function no better than less expensive versions. I have two pairs of Air Jordan basketball sneakers. Do I play hoops, hell no!!! These babies are schweet.....I always liked them so I bought them. The Dura-ace probably isnt going to make any of us faster but in my opinion, from being around it for so long, I believe it lasts longer and works better. If you like it and want something nice, go ahead and enjoy. There may be a time in your life when it not feasable to do it so sowhy not now? As far as weight.....if your doing it for that reason alone its a waste of money....your better off cleaning the dirt of your bike or buying lighter inner tubes...

jim

thanks guys...

and yeah, like most riders here, i don't want to waste my money. smoother shifting would be nice though. :)

And it's more than smoother shifting, it's also dura-bility. I bought a used Litespeed Vortex with full Dura-Ace three years ago. The bike is a '98 model. Anyway, i haven't even made cable tension adjustments on the rear derailleur in 3 seasons of riding. All I do is lube the bike and ride it, and over those 3 seasons I've put more than 7000 miles on it with no need for adjustments to anything. The only thing I've done is to replace brake pads once. ..that's it!! ....personally, I'm a believer in the quality and longevity of the Dura-Ace parts. :thumbup: