masont

Hi -

I'm reasonably new to the bike world, and have found that I really, really enjoy tinkering with my bike, and find myself making changes at times seemingly just to make changes. I realize this is silly, but it's fun.

I'm running 7700 shifters/derailleurs on my bike right now, and being that I'm new (and apparently haven't spent a ton of time in this forum) I've been fine with the 9 speed.

Well, yesterday a pair of ultegra 6600 sl shifters and derailleurs popped up on craigslist for a price that I could sell my 7700's at, so I picked them up. They weigh about 50 grams more, plus the cassette I'll need to get is another 75 grams heavier than the 7700 cassette I run now. I'm not an enormous weight weenie, but I started thinking "so what am I actually getting here?"

Now, they're a lot newer, and I'm assuming have a lot more life left, which is good, but I'm not particularly worried about what I've got wearing out. Will I see a difference in shifting performance? Will I even be able to notice it? Am I putting 125 grams on my bike for the difference between 9 and 10 speed?

rog

I don't think that they'll have a lot more life left than the DA would have; I've heard it said by several people whos opinions I trust, that DA will retain its smooth, crisp feel for much longer than Ultegra, because DA uses bearings where Ultegra uses bushings. Of course, I have no way to make an objective determination of that on my own, as I only have one of the two groupsets.

But - bear in mind, 125 grams is nothing that you will ever notice. Ever. And when I go from my ten speed road bike to my nine speed commuter, theres a little gap, at one point, that isn't there on the ten speed cassette. So use that as a stick to beat back the buyers remorse. ;-) Plus, that SL sure is bling-y!

Edit - I just reread your post, and realized you still have the DA set. If you can afford to, hold on to it, buy another frame in 6 months, and build up a new bike. Tinker away!