Originally Posted by cale

If that 7 year old is you first or only child and is a boy, you're going to be amazed by the change to your grocery bill. At 14, my son is trying to eat us out of house and home!

Ah, but back to the subject at hand. I think the "general consensus" is that Ultegra has a slight weight and performance advantage but... enough of one? They share the same designs on so many parts that the finish of the parts is as much the difference as any weight or performance differences. I think 11-spd 105 is VERY well made. But I've been known to get in trouble with my significant other for spending too much time with my bike. LOL

I've never had any luck with keeping three bikes just for myself. When I got my last bike it was not so easy on my ODB (Old Dutch Bike), as you so gently put it. She finally just flat out left because she had enough of being ignored. (I think there's a theme here.) Haha I'm not a mountain biker but I see the need to own two bikes of different character, a gravelly sort of bike and a road bike. Works for me.