leycur

Hi All
I am about to buy a new Bike and it comes in 2 identical version bars groupset.
An upgrade to Dura Ace 9000 from Ultegra 6800 costs €800.
Is this worth it ? - I suspect not

thanks

dr_lha

If you need to ask the question, then it is not worth it.

HillRider

Obviously it's your money to spend as you wish but, for my money, not a chance. Ultegra is very good stuff and the minor weight and finish improvements with Dura Ace are not worth anywhere near that cost.

leycur

thanks HillRider and dr_lha, appreciate your opinion(s).

digibud

Agreed. Not a chance. The dura ace electronic has some nice advantages over the ultegra but in terms of the mechanicals, nope.

dsbrantjr

€800 (US$1200 approx.) is a lot for what is essentially bragging rights. I doubt that many, if any, people would be able to tell the difference in a blind test.

shelbyfv

I expect there may be a difference in the wheels as well. The actual groupset cost difference is closer to $600-$700.

hueyhoolihan

i wholeheartedly agree...

but i know more than a couple of cyclists i ride with occasionally, that would never ever be satisfied with the Ultegra. they must have that Dura-Ace. and i concede that that is a reality for them.

most people know what type they are.

HillRider

Well, the dollar is a lot stronger these days so that €800 is "only" about $865US right now that's but still a big penalty for what is more image than actual substance. Of course, the OP is paying in Euros so the cost to him remains the same.

cale

Ultegra is the sensible alternative to Dura Ace.

dsbrantjr

My bad, I converted GBP to dollars instead of Euros to dollars. Long day at work...

rms13

I would argue that 6800 is never worth it. 5800 has almost identical functionality and looks for less money. Then if you are racing and/or weight weenie step up to Dura Ace. The only time I would consider 11 speed Ultegra is if I wanted to step up to Di2. These are all personal opinions of course, but based on testing various groups and a lot of research

dr_lha

Those 5800 groupsets from Merlin are a shockingly good deal. Almost makes me regret paying the extra $200 for my 6800 groupset, but then I remember the reason I got the 6800 groupset: bling!

rms13

Yeah just bought 5800 for $370. But I don't think bling factor between 6800 and 5800 is as high as older Ultegra vs 105 groups

dr_lha

Despite there not being much in it, I personally prefer the look of 6800 vs 5800, but that's a personal choice. The Ultegra grey matched better my frame. Plus it says "Ultegra" on it.

My old bike is 105, so I wanted to "upgrade" and can afford the extra $200 (although I it wasn't quite that much for me as they bundled a set of Ultegra pedals for an extra $50, which is about $70 less than I could find them in the US).

This all comes down to my original reply to the guy about "6800 vs 9000", if you need to ask which is better, get the cheaper one. Those who want/need Dura Ace, or Ultegra over 105, will likely know that what they want. If you don't know what you want, 5800 is the best choice IMHO. Of course when it comes to buying a whole bike, it may not be the best choice to buy 105. After all, a 105 level bike tends to have other components at a lower level than an Ultegra based bike, it's unusual that the only difference between two bikes will be just the groupset.

BoJaffa

I would say that my decision as to which groupset to purchase also came down to the intended use of the bike. I went with 105 because the frame I had bought ( Madone 3.1) is going to be used as my all around bike. For most riders the lessor groupsets perform extremely well. Dura Ace adds a lot of bling though. Buy it for the wow factor not necessarily a huge improvement in performance.

Kimmo

If you're the sort who enjoys conversations about metallurgy, or is interested in the finer points and nifty details of fancy mechanisms, you might consider DA worth the extra $ if you have cash to burn...

Otherwise yeah - if you have to ask, you probably won't notice any difference beyond bragging rights. 6800 if you want the Di2, otherwise 5800 should be just fine.