I’ve got a bit of cash put aside to upgrade my groupset from 105 which I’ll sell on. There’s nothing wrong with the 105 and it’s in great condition but I just fancy an upgrade.

I’m sticking with shimano because I love the brakes and replacement parts are cheap. I’d love dura ace as it would look awesome on my ti frame but the cost is prohibitive. For that reason I’m thinking ultegra is the way to go. Any reason not to? Should I be looking at Sram too? Cheers

Keep the 105 and spend the money on something that will actually make a difference? You could buy some lovely wheels for the price of a groupset…

Which version of 105 are you replacing? The newest Ultegra, 6800, is lovely, really good but it’s not a huge jump up from the newest 105, 5800. It is however a big jump from the older 105, 5700.

So, if you’ve got 105 5800 I’d either not bother or go for Dura-Ace. If you’ve got older 5700 then Ultegra will feel like a real step up.

Its not the answer you want, but second the above. Go with 105, the 11 speed stuff. Its miles ahead of the older 10 speed 105. I’ve had Ultegra, Dura Ace and 105 and I certainly can’t tell the difference.

I’m not a huge fan of SRAM, always feels like its about to break. Its nice and light though. Other people love it however so its all personal preference.

Make sure you get the PTFE cables though, they make a massive difference. I think mine are DA but you can get ultegra level ones as well.

I just fancy an upgrade.

Upgrade implies an improvement in some way, otherwise it’s just a change so what specifically are you trying to upgrade…

– performance? (in what way?)

Ultegra will perform pretty much identically (assuming 5800 – 6800) to the 105 kit you already have, it certainly won;t make you faster, mis-shift any less or cause any measurable increase in speed.
If you want more performance then that starts with identifying what aspect isn’t performing as you’d like and then looking at solutions that will address it.

– weight?

Ultegra will be a tiny bit lighter, but if weight loss is your aim then then are better more cost effective ways to do it, finishing kit which might also improve comfort, wheels which might also have other benefits, or even SRAM/Campag instead of Shimano.

– looks?

Ultegra doesn’t really look much different, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that so only you can say what you want aesthetically.

If what you actually mean is, I want to feel like I’ve upgraded, then go ahead, the only reason not to is if you can’t afford it, if you cna and it’ll make you happy then crack on 😀

Make sure you get the PTFE cables though, they make a massive difference. I think mine are DA but you can get ultegra level ones as well.

I think I had these with my 105 group, but the ‘sleeve’ seemed to get munged up (stop me if I’m being too technical) and block the outer a little. I’m back on stainless till I figure out if I fitted them wrong, was unlucky or that’s how they are.

Hmmm that’s kind of what I thought. It is 5800 that I have and it’s great to be fair. All the finishing kit I have is decent comfortable stuff and I’ve just recently bought some nice light Chinese carbon wheels. The groupset change is really just a finishing touch combined with wanting to reduce weight a bit.

5800 and 6800 are both really nice setups and work great. But, there really is a step up to DA 9000 that’s noticeable over and above 6800.

The groupset change is really just a finishing touch combined with wanting to reduce weight a bit.

There’s only ~300g or so in weight difference between 5800 and 6800 (full groupset), and nearly half of that is in the Chainset/BB I think so if you really want to save a few grammes that’s where to start, and there are many lighter chainsets out there than Shimano, there’s only about ~50-60g difference in the shifters, and everywhere is is a handful of grammes here and there.

Personally if you already have 5800 I wouldn’t bother unless you really really really want to spend some money for spending sake. If you want a proper weight reduction then do it properly and go full on WW 😈

Ultegra di2 if you must change the groupset. +1 to spending money on something that’ll actually improve things though.

Alternatively, instead of buying Dura Ace, do a week’s riding in Majorca.

The current Ultegra groupset is lovely – I’ve gone from Campag to Di2 on my new ti bike. What I did was sell the Ultegra crankset and buy a new DA version – this way it looks like a full DA set. The 6800 set cost me around £450. I then sold the crankset for £100 and bought a new Dura-Ace one for circa £250. The total outlay was £600… and I’m happy. Also, the dark grey of the Ultegra looks great next to titanium.

– weight?

Ultegra will be a tiny bit lighter,

Approx 200g lighter – http://www.thebikelane.com.au/2015/06/2015-road-groupset-weights/

Whatever your looking at, remember that 6800 is old now (in Shimano terms), and should be replaced next year (and will most likely take a lot of ques from 9000), with 105 in 2018, do you really need an upgrade now, or can wait till the next gen is out?

I’ve 5800 Ultegra on number one road bike and had 105 on previous commuter, i really could honestly state i couldn’t tell the difference.

I think if you can afford Dura-Ace type money then i’d go for Ultegra Di2, you’ll notice a real change then and a real “upgrade”

Interesting reading. I’m currently speccing a new road bike and was planning on going “up” to Ultegra from the old 10 speed 105 on the current bike.

But if the new 105 is close enough in performance to Ultegra, I could ignore 200g weight penalty and put the £200 saved towards a custom paint job 😕

I’ve dura ace as it came with my bike on a cannot be refused deal. I previously had ultegra 6800 and to be honest I notice very little difference in use.

I would use the money on either a power meter or a holiday. Either one will make a difference to your riding.

+1 for Ultegra di2.

Another +1 for ultegra Di2.