Road Cycling - 2004 Dura Ace - Ugly

Okay, here's a question for those of you who have seen the new 2004 Dura Ace. Is it just me, or is the design of the components very ugly?!? :eek: The STI shifters and the cranks seem especially badly designed. I guess the other parts are fairly close to the older model, so they're not that bad. I think I'll keep my 2003 Dura Ace without a problem!

Well as far as cranks go, I opted for FSA with my current D-A setup so I'd just keep the same if I went to the 2004 group too. I didn't like the look of the current D-A cranks and I like the looks of the 2004 ones even less... much less actually. I think the brifters look okay but I do prefer the look of the current ones. I haven't ridden the 2004 brifters so maybe comfort will win the day. I have heard they're supposed to be more comfortable and shift better. I agree with you on the rest of the components. The big draw for me is the 10-speed cluster which in the spacing I want (12-27) will include that elusive 16 that I crave.

I think they are trying to differentiate themselves from Campy a bit more. Right now, the two look alot alike.

well if there claims are true, I wouldnt care about looks. anyways I think they look cool, they just dont have the classic crank look.

the cranks are not that ugly in the metal, in fact they 're oklooking and then they grow on you when you ride them.
Very stiff!
Don't goive a hoot what they look like. I don't look at my cranks when I ride. I look ahead.
Shiftersdon't look very different from 2003 DA.
Sostill prettyin my view.
A very plain looking groupset with some brilliant features.

The cranks and large chainring are repulsive. There... I said it.

Originally posted by F1_Fan
The cranks and large chainring are repulsive. There... I said it.

Amen! :D :D :D

Agreed! Poopy cranks, but the 7800 wheelset kicks!! The photos in Cycle Sport do them justice.

Shimano is focused on fit, function and performance, not looks. Want looks? Try Campy.

Ya, I'm not sure why it matters about the looks of it. If it's light and performs well, and is comfortable then who cares. Do you look at your cranks while your pumping down the road and say 'Damn those cranks are sweet looking'? Frame colors and design I understand, but cranks, brake levers, etc. I could care less what they look like.

Teski

some peopel prefer to stop for creme cakes and talk about about ho much they spent on their bikes rather than how well they ride them.

Shimano is for riders
Campy is for poseurs.

No, campy isnt just for bragging. What makes you say that? Cause theres carbon on it? or because its more expensive? Its more expensive because its different. I know yours a huge shimano advocate so i want to argue, but campy definltey has advantages over shimano. i dont dislike shimano however, i have it on another one of my road bikes, i just prefer campy as its slightly more reliable and maintenence free.

I come from a drag racing background and have always believed, "If it doesn't go, chrome it! " That's what the street rodder do and not the actual racers! I'm sure the '04 Dura Ace 10 speed components will be the sh*t. As far as looks, I personally think they look cool. I like what Tim B said, Shimano is for riders
Campy is for poseurs. LMAO Please, Campy riders, no hate mail, just having fun with ya all!

Originally posted by F1_Fan
The cranks and large chainring are repulsive. There... I said it.

Hey! What's not 'tlove??? :D

I guess I will go against the grain here. I like the syling on the 2004 Dura Ace line. The line grows on you after a while. Just wish I had the cash to upgrade!

Maybe I should have said, "fit, form, function and performance. Now that's a crank!

I like it. Hey you will always have a frisbe if you need it.

Since this is the Road Bike forum and the mountain bikers
won't read this, I think the Shimano Crank is
Mountain bike ugly.

Seriously, I'm of the opinion that Shimano Sante and Campy
C-Record were drop dead gorgeous, sexy gruppo's.
The new stuff just doesn't do it for me, I'm a retrogrouch
in that regard for sure.

Marty

Originally posted by lotek
Since this is the Road Bike forum and the mountain bikers
won't read this, I think the Shimano Crank is
Mountain bike ugly.


Hey now.

Mountain bikes have all the style:D

Actually, when I saw the pic that Cipher posted, I admitedly thought it looked very mountain bike-ish, but thought it was a step in the right direction for road cranks. Very fast and modern looking.

lotek, LMAO buddy! :D:D :beer:

Burn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If they only knew.

Originally posted by lotek
Since this is the Road Bike forum and the mountain bikers
won't read this, I think the Shimano Crank is
Mountain bike ugly.

Some of us swing both ways. :D I think the styling of the new D-A cranks is that of the kind found on late-80s Huffys.

MTB cranks can be very nice looking too. I like the looks of the Race Face cranks... especially the Next LPs and the Turbines. Also, check out the old Sampson and Grafton cranks. Or how about the old Record-OR cranks?


Originally posted by lotek
Seriously, I'm of the opinion that Shimano Sante and Campy
C-Record were drop dead gorgeous, sexy gruppo's.
The new stuff just doesn't do it for me, I'm a retrogrouch
in that regard for sure.

Marty

I also liked the look of the Sante as well as the mid-90s Deore {LX,DX,XT**. I prefer the look of the FSA cranks for road cranks.

I enjoy just riding around, but if I'm getting 04 DA its for racing, so as long as the performance is better I could care less if it looked like medusa.

-Matt-

I'D HAVE EM

Anyone wanna start a pool for the month in which those cranks get recalled because the press fit axle comes loose?

I know it's a proven design but frankly, it scares me in a road part that's been pared down to the minimum. Maybe I'm showing my age here but a crankarm should have a bolt in the centre...

Originally posted by lotek
Since this is the Road Bike forum and the mountain bikers
won't read this, I think the Shimano Crank is
Mountain bike ugly.

Hey, mountain bikes are for riders, road bikes are for posers.

aiiiite?? :p

Anyway, I personally like the new styling. It's different, and that's a definite plus IMO. :D

Originally posted by lotek
Seriously, I'm of the opinion that Shimano Sante and Campy
C-Record were drop dead gorgeous, sexy gruppo's.
The new stuff just doesn't do it for me, I'm a retrogrouch
in that regard for sure.

Marty

agreed! here's what's left of my sante gruppo..

Again i see the new Dura ace cranks and now I loveit a little more.
I'm sure by next week I'll be purchasing it.....
hmmmmmmmm

Sante was very Plain. Campy C-Record was drop dead gorgeous.
New Dura Ace takes design into the 21st century

F1-Fan, a press fit is more secure that a bolted arrangement. Just look at MTB Suspension forks....

I think they look nice on a newer design bike - I have them on my Ti Litespeed. Nothing like the look of Campy on a steel bike though.

Bottom line is the new DA cranks are incredibly stiff - therefore functional.

I'll say this again. The DA crankset needs a major nose job. It is definitely a stiff and functional crankset but it is ugly, IMO.
You wouldn't buy a brand new vehicle solely based on their good reputation and functionality would you?

You wouldn't buy a brand new vehicle solely based on their good reputation and functionality would you?

well, I hear that the toyota echo is doing pretty well...

Hey I like the new DA... maybe that makes me different. Of course my next group set with probably be campy but...

well, I hear that the toyota echo is doing pretty well...

I'll ride the new DA if I can get it next to nothing.... :D

there are some truvativ rolleur cranks coming out that use a similar design to the DAs, but are nowhere near as heinous looking...just looked for a pic of them on the truvativ website and it appears they are not up yet. pretty much every bike that was spec'd with ultegra 10 at interbike had these cranks.

Shimano is for riders
Campy is for poseurs.
Tell that to this year's World Cup and Olympic champion, Paolo Bettini.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2004/olympics04/men_rr/additive-oly2004-cycling-44.jpg

Think the new Dura Ace 7800 looks great. So much better than the 7700.
But there again. It's a matter of taste. Like your ašš........Has to be split.

Whether some find it ugly or attractive looking, one thing is for sure - it works great. Super stiff and light crankset combined with the SMOOTHEST set of shifters out there....and yes, I have campy components on another bike for comparison. The shifting on the new DA shifters were so smooth that I found myself constantly looking down at the cogset to see if the rear derailleur actually moved!

I think the 7800 cranks look tough.....they are definitely not elegant though.

I don't like the chainrings. Too BMX looking.
The crankset itself is a tad too big.
The STI shifters are too big also.

In general, I like the Campy look better, but I prefer the lightness and feel of the Shimano shifting and braking lots more than Campy.

Well it's an interesting design, but I'll stick with my Truvativ cranks. I've had nothing but good with them, so why change :)

Anyone wanna start a pool for the month in which those cranks get recalled because the press fit axle comes loose?

I know it's a proven design but frankly, it scares me in a road part that's been pared down to the minimum. Maybe I'm showing my age here but a crankarm should have a bolt in the centre...

I like the looks of the new Dura Ace 10. The reasons are, it's lighter, stiffer, stronger, and it shifts nicer than DA 9. You gotta try it. Therefore I like what I'm looking at. I know the chain wears out faster, but knowing it now, it's OK with me.

The one piece crank/axle on the DA-10 has been raced on by Lance in the TDF, ridden on, raced on, and stress tested for a couple of years before they were released to the public. It's not new by the time the public gets it. Plus the the other continents have had them retail for a while, so they are out in the riding public. I know metal fatigue can take a while and come on suddenly, but there will always be someone around that has more miles on their group. Not much else you can do.

I certainly can't stress them like Lance. Can you? ;)

Would you like it better if the new DA groupset were gold?

yes slvoid, i would. i hope you can deliver a gold groupset to me ASAP :)

Funny how most here are panning the beautiful DA 7800 cranks (http://www.bicycletest.com/absolutenm/articlefiles/123-7800%20crankarms%20large.jpg). I thought they looked very nice, but when I saw them in person, they are even more beautiful (the Ultegra triple is even more amazing as the middle chainring has some serious sculpture on it to facilitate shifting.) The outboard bearings really make sense. Scientific testing backs them up (PDF document.) (http://dura-ace.shimano.com/publish/content/duraace/en/home/the_product0/drive_train.ExtraMainContentPar.0017.File.tmp/VN-crank-results-web.pdf) They are the stiffest cranks for the weight. To me, it is a work of art, and yet it's true: form follows function.

Would you like it better if the new DA groupset were gold?

Bling bling!!

Really, I love the way d-a looks. I think it's purdy. But I'll like the look of a 105 crankset more than dura ace.

I really can't believe no one has said anything about those DA cranks looking phallic!?!?

Funny how most here are panning the beautiful DA 7800 cranks (http://www.bicycletest.com/absolutenm/articlefiles/123-7800%20crankarms%20large.jpg). I thought they looked very nice, but when I saw them in person, they are even more beautiful (the Ultegra triple is even more amazing as the middle chainring has some serious sculpture on it to facilitate shifting.) The outboard bearings really make sense. Scientific testing backs them up (PDF document.) (http://dura-ace.shimano.com/publish/content/duraace/en/home/the_product0/drive_train.ExtraMainContentPar.0017.File.tmp/VN-crank-results-web.pdf) They are the stiffest cranks for the weight. To me, it is a work of art, and yet it's true: form follows function.

I agree. I'm a big fan of campy, but campy really hasn't redesigned their cranks for years. I'm also a big fan of carbon, but I like my bike parts to have a jewel like shine. Like the da cranks or not, you have to admit they really redesigned the cranks from the bb up. Campy better get off their butts and start seeing what they can make better. ;)

I really can't believe no one has said anything about those DA cranks looking phallic!?!?

I don't know what YOU'RE thinking in that dirty mind of yours. :p
But I always thought it looked like the stabbin finger that the T1000 used when he liquified himself. Scary...

I really can't believe no one has said anything about those DA cranks looking phallic!?!?

I guess it depends which picture you're looking at...

This one
http://dura-ace.shimano.com/publish/content/duraace/en/home/the_product0/drive_train.ProductImagePar.Single.Image.200.200.gif

Or this one
http://www.bikesomewhere.com/images/big/duraAceCrankSet.jpg

:roflmao:

Hey! What's not 'tlove??? :D

Hey...if I can cut it out of metal with a hacksaw in my basement....it's ugly. That is one ugly chunk of metal! If the only thing that matters is how it performs, why doesn't everyone drive a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Accord?