Road Cycling - Ultegra or 105?

I am trying to decide which group to buy for a custom bike. Pros? Cons?

In short, Ultegra=less weight, better shifting; 105=better price and (almost?) as durable. Do a search on the forums, you will find plenty of more detailed input.

I am trying to decide which group to buy for a custom bike. Pros? Cons?

i thought you said gears were for wimps :p

anyway, i have ultegra on my bike and it works nearly flawless. i've been very happy with it. if it's within your price range i would say go with that.

You get what you pay for here....Ultegra is better stuff but more expensive. You might also consider the fact that 10 spd Ultegra is coming out at the end of this year. If you can wait that gives you an option on the more expensive 10 spd Ultegra, or possible discounts on the 9spd Ultegra.

the '05 Ultegra is a 10 speed system... if this is important to you, then go for the new Ultegra, otherwise, I would look fora good deal on a 9sp Ultegra (should be dropping in price soon :) )..
Ultegra is a bit lighter then the 105, and is a bit prettier, as the cassette is chrome plated... if you end up buying the group is bits and pieces, you can mix and match 105, Ultegra(9sp) and DA(9sp), whatever is priced better ..

i thought you said gears were for wimps :p

anyway, i have ultegra on my bike and it works nearly flawless. i've been very happy with it. if it's within your price range i would say go with that.

D'oh! You caught my wanton hypocrisy. Chalk it up to post-ride euphoria skewing my judgement. Gears aren't really for wimps, they are actually great for riding in places other than NYC (i.e. places with real hills) and I am building a light tourer, for which gears are an absolute necessity. It has been so long since I rode a geared bike that I am worried I might fall off it.... Anyhow, thanks for input.

The 10-spd Ultegra will probably be pretty pricey... I'd guess around what 9-spd DA is going for now.

Re 9-spd Ult vs 105, my wife's bike has 105 w/a triple front chainring, and it's soooo hard to shift (to a bigger chainring) that she has to lean over to bear down enough on the lever. I have 9-spd Ult w/a double, and it's nowhere near as hard. It's fairly difficult even for me. I do not know whether this is a triple vs. double issue, or 105 vs. Ultegra (anyone?). Aside from that, my experience with 105 has been that it's good, durable stuff. Ultegra is a little lighter and is a little more refined in most regards, but won't necessarily last any longer. Ultegra 9-spd shifters were notorius for their irritating, ceaseless rattle. Maybe Shimano has addressed this in newer models... mine are 4 years old and probably has around 25,000 miles on it. The hubs have gotten pretty marginal, and the rest of the stuff is getting a little tired, but still working fine.

Bottom line, aim as high as the budget allows.

if she has to put that much power into shifting something is f'd up. Triple front ders are nothing but a pain in the ass.

I have an Ultegra triple it takes very little effort to change between chainrings.

The 10-spd Ultegra will probably be pretty pricey... I'd guess around what 9-spd DA is going for now.

Re 9-spd Ult vs 105, my wife's bike has 105 w/a triple front chainring, and it's soooo hard to shift (to a bigger chainring) that she has to lean over to bear down enough on the lever. I have 9-spd Ult w/a double, and it's nowhere near as hard. It's fairly difficult even for me. I do not know whether this is a triple vs. double issue, or 105 vs. Ultegra (anyone?). Aside from that, my experience with 105 has been that it's good, durable stuff. Ultegra is a little lighter and is a little more refined in most regards, but won't necessarily last any longer. Ultegra 9-spd shifters were notorius for their irritating, ceaseless rattle. Maybe Shimano has addressed this in newer models... mine are 4 years old and probably has around 25,000 miles on it. The hubs have gotten pretty marginal, and the rest of the stuff is getting a little tired, but still working fine.

Bottom line, aim as high as the budget allows.

Since the new ones are 10 spd there are some pretty good deals out there for 9 spd ultegra stuff, so I think that is how I'll go.

The 10-spd Ultegra will probably be pretty pricey... I'd guess around what 9-spd DA is going for now.

Re 9-spd Ult vs 105, my wife's bike has 105 w/a triple front chainring, and it's soooo hard to shift (to a bigger chainring) that she has to lean over to bear down enough on the lever. I have 9-spd Ult w/a double, and it's nowhere near as hard. It's fairly difficult even for me. I do not know whether this is a triple vs. double issue, or 105 vs. Ultegra (anyone?). Aside from that, my experience with 105 has been that it's good, durable stuff. Ultegra is a little lighter and is a little more refined in most regards, but won't necessarily last any longer. Ultegra 9-spd shifters were notorius for their irritating, ceaseless rattle. Maybe Shimano has addressed this in newer models... mine are 4 years old and probably has around 25,000 miles on it. The hubs have gotten pretty marginal, and the rest of the stuff is getting a little tired, but still working fine.

Bottom line, aim as high as the budget allows.


my double 105 FD shifts like butter. had it for a year, still have the same cable and haven't had to adjust it since i built the bike up (not even for cable stretch). my RD is like butter too. i keep my cogset, chain, and the pulley and jockey wheel on the derailleur clean as a whistle too. that helps a lot for smooth shifting. i haven't had a ton of experience with full ultegra, but i can't really imagine anything being "smoother" in terms of not binding, or being difficult to shift. maybe more crisp, more positive engagement right off the shift, but smooth? nah. tiagra can be as smooth as DA if you want it to be. it won't be as crisp/precise though.

i rode a co-motion with like, 8 speed campy athena sometime last week, and i gotta say that it felt way better than my 1 year old 105. i'm probably going to go for something campy with my next upgrade. (thinking veloce, centaur, or chorus). the price difference between veloce and centaur isn't very much, while the difference between centaur and chorus is huge!

gears are for wimps.
wimps that have better knees than me.

Since the new ones are 10 spd there are some pretty good deals out there for 9 spd ultegra stuff, so I think that is how I'll go.

That would be my route as well!

Set up and tuning make most of the difference in shift quality. Both systems can be setup to work very well. I actually converted my race bike from Ultegra to a triple with lower priced components for mountains and trailer towing and it shifts better than the Ultegra. I find the chain makes a difference in the shifting and the Shimano chain shifts very well.

i haven't had a ton of experience with full ultegra, but i can't really imagine anything being "smoother" in terms of not binding, or being difficult to shift. maybe more crisp, more positive engagement right off the shift, but smooth? nah. tiagra can be as smooth as DA if you want it to be. it won't be as crisp/precise though.

Going from 105 to Ultegra, I did notice an improvement both in 'smoothness' and 'precision'. But maybe I just didn't take enough care of my 105 bike (or perhaps I was only justifying the upgrade).

Set up and tuning make most of the difference in shift quality.

Plus maintenance! It is amazing what a really clean drivetrain is capable of.