Originally Posted by
Pb_Okole
The Ultegra and Ultegra SL are ABOVE the R700 in Shimano's line. The R700 was the first compact that they produced so some mistakenly thought it was on par with the Dura Ace line.
Now that you mention it, I believe you are correct. But when choosing parts for the bike, I did NOT want the ultegra compact crank. I didn't like the look of it, especially because of the big "ultegra" stamp on the side of the crank arm. I think the r700 has a much cleaner look, especially for a dura ace equipped bike.
FYI, it looks like the difference is r700 = 850 g, ultegra compact = 745 g. I think that's less than an ounce. Of course as soon as they produce a dura ace compact crank I'll be forced to upgrade.
