Hi, I was wondering what is the difference/hierarchy of shimano's vintage(1980's/1990's) components. ie dura-ace, 105, ultegra, 600, etc...
Thanks,
Ladule

here

The older Ultegra 600 gear from the early 90's is very high quality stuff that goes cheap on the used market. I would recommend finding older Shimano 600 cranks, brakes, levers you name it. The old 600 parts are great. The Dura Ace is not going to be of much greater quality than the old first generation Ultegra/600 parts. Dura Ace will be lighter and have a more pretty finish but performance is pretty close. Shimano 105 is not much worse than the ultegra/dura ace...All the old Shimano components are pretty good. If you can source good used parts then a high quality bike build can be done on the cheap.

The older metal Shimano 600 brake levers are some of the best. The old arabesque parts are also quite beautiful. I don't see a huge difference between the current Ultegra derailleurs and the older grey coated parts. There all pretty decent performers. I don't think the older Dura Ace parts are worth the added expense over the 600/ultegra parts. The Shimano 105 parts are just fine too. The current modern Dura Ace cranks are quite spectacular looking and performing. You save a little weight with Dura Ace but to me it doesnt make sense to justify the huge price increase. 105 parts have a less beautiful finish and might weigh a tiny bit more or the same than Ultegra.

This page lists Shimano parts in the 1980's.