I’ve just cleaned my road bike and it’s looking pretty sorry for itself, the poor thing is the hardest working out of my bikes as I commute and do road rides on it. It’s been cobbled together with parts off the bay/classifieds, a donor bike and sales bins. At the moment it’s got 9 spd Ultegra mechs, 105 triple sti’s, 105 double chainset, 1 very old and the other not so 105 brakes. It all works but it’s starting to get worn out.

So as a treat I’m thinking about replacing the whole thing in one go.

Should I go 105 or Ultegra, does one wear better over the other?

I’m not really bothered about weight, I know there’s not much in it, I just need something well built and that will last.

Thanks for getting this far and any opinions will be welcome.

Bike24 is cheapest.

Ultegra chain rings are around £90 to replace if I am not mistaken. 105 is more than capable but ultegra looks better IMO.

Actionsports.de is normally one of the cheapest.

Running new 10 speed 105 and cant think it would be much better being Ultegra other than 200 grammes.
Ribble were a good price when looking.

Is it cheaper to buy a complete bike with 105 in the sales and sell you present one?

Road bike groupsets are really expensive!

The existing parts will be transferred to the ‘turbo bitch’ I’m building.

Ribble were cheapest when i bought last month

Full ultegra ( except wheels) 605 quid

105 lasts well. I bet yours would scrub up OK.

Merlin always seem pretty good for groupsets, £375 for 105 or £575 for ultegra.

I’ve ridden both, can’t really tell the difference, you’re paying for looks and a few grams weight saving.

Have you considered SRAM if you’re going for a full groupset change?

chakaping – Member
Is it cheaper to buy a complete bike with 105 in the sales and sell you present one?

Road bike groupsets are really expensive!

Sorry didn’t read your post properly.

It’s an 853 frame so I don’t really want to get rid and I doubt a comparable frame/bike would be less than£1500+, so that rules that out.

Full 105 is £399 and Ultergra as Trail Rat said about £605. The only issue with it is buying forks as it’s a 1″ headset.

‘I know 1″ it’s like living in the dark ages’ 😐

Have you considered SRAM if you’re going for a full groupset change?

Never tried SRAM, is it any good, is it better, does it last longer? I really like the way the STI’s work with Shimano is SRAM the same?

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5XhKsif52w&feature=player_detailpage[/video]

Im in the exact same dilemma! (Although my Sora groupset has only covered 200 miles)

I ‘want‘ definitely don’t ‘need‘ Ultegra.

My mate reckons I should just go for 105, but im a complete bike tart and pretty sure I will opt for the Ultegra due to it looking so dahm sexy in grey! 🙂

I’ve always used Shimano until I got SRAM on my CX bike and after using it for a couple of months I now prefer it to Shimano. My road bike has Ultegra and if I was swapping the whole groupset on it I’d definitely go with Sram. I just prefer the double tap especially for changing gears from the drops.

Another thought, isn’t Ultegra 11 speed rumoured to be out later this year?

The current spec ultegra has been out for a few years so it’s due a new version for the 2014 product year so that generally means parts will start being available later in 2013.

Either means you could wait and get the new version or wait and get a deal on the old version once the new one is announced.

SRAM is fine when new.

goes shitty quick imo – and i dont mean cables i mean shifter wear – sloppy internals – albe it rival stuff.

Id much rather have shimano – hoods are the right shape as well 😀

i recently went from sora(with tiagra brifters) to full ultegra- did i notice any difference – did i ****

105 now has the bar routed cables so i see no reason to go above 105 unless your racing. my ultegra was a handmedown from the mrs’ race bike i got her 6600 she got 6700

Ultegra Di2 is lovely 🙂

Merlin had a deal on ultegra this week I think – £400 off iirc. Not sure how it compares to other deals.

My road bike has 4 year old 105 on it – test road a bike with ultegra last summer and the LBS were bigging up how much better it would feel – it didn’t, still have the old bike!

Merlin always have a sale on as do all the online retailers, Ultegra is about 50% more than 105. Do CRC, Evans and wiggle not sell group sets any ore, I could only see the Campy 80th edition group set on there.

I’d like to ride them all to compare them, so long as it changes gear and stays in gear it’s fine for me ATM!

It’s a tricky decision as not many tests are focused on how durable components are they just compare aesthetics and weight. Does lighter mean more fragile or stronger ‘lighter’ construction.

Think I’m leaning towards 105.

mrblobby – Member
Ultegra Di2 is lovely

I bet it is, but my bike gets ridden in all weathers to commute so fancy pants Di2 isn’t really an option, it’b be lovely but I’d feel less happy locking it to a lamppost in Central London. Isn’t the battery internal on Di2, I’d have nowhere for it to go on a steel Kona frame.

I asked Dolan about the SRAM/ 105 decision , when I bought my frame from them, as the sram was lighter and I am anti shimano. They said 105 all day long, which miffed me a bit, but I bought 105 and can say it runs fantastic. I fitted a Sram 10 sp chain as found the 105 one on my Cube as nasty and caused so much noise. Sram chain has been silent on both bikes.