Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 25 total)
  • ultegra vs 105 now they're both 11 speed.
  • Onzadog
    Free Member

    The giant defy advanced thread is interesting. As neither the 1 or the 2 have hydro discs, does the ultegra justify the extra money?

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    On last generation, hell yeah

    mtbtomo
    Free Member

    I thought there was a 105 mechanical shifter/hydraulic brake lever STI available on the new 5800 105 groupset?

    On Ultegra, I thought only Ultegra Di2 had hydraulic discs with levers

    New 105 looks like the closest its ever been to Ultegra.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    Just back from a first ride on mechanical geared, hydro braked Ultegra. It’s really very good. Very good indeed.

    Mister-P
    Free Member

    The 685 hydraulic brake system with mechanical shifting is “non-series”, it’s not badged as anything but as it is denoted with a 6 it is Ultegra level. However it will work with 11 speed Dura Ace and 105.

    I think what the OP was saying was “as both bikes have the same brakes, is the price difference justified by the drivetrain alone?”

    mtbtomo
    Free Member

    Probably not then eh, unless you’re bothered by the weight difference, mainly in the crankset

    alandavidpetrie79
    Free Member

    I’ve got a 2015 Kona Jake the Snake.

    It came with 105 & shifts very smoothly indeed.

    As good as the Ultegra on my Roubaix.

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    Thanks. As above, if it’s just the drive that’s different, I’m struggling to see where the extra money is.

    Rusty-Shackleford
    Free Member

    I’m struggling to see where the extra money is.

    On Shimano’s balance sheet.

    flange
    Free Member

    I’ve ridden both and would take ultegra ever time. It’s as good as dura ace in my opinion. 105 is very good, but not a patch on the higher group sets

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    Still struggling to see the benefits of 11 speed over 9 here!

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    The most obvious reason for me, is that it’s current and therefore will have the longest life span before it becomes obsolete. Plus, I’m not sure I could buy a higher end 9 speed road bike even if I wanted to.

    I’m still running 9 speed mountain bikes at at xt/xtr lever, some stuff is already proving difficult to get hold of. If I can just hold out a while, I might skip 10 altogether and just go 11 speed on those as well.

    shedfull
    Free Member

    11 speed Ultegra shifts more crisply and is lighter than 11 speed 105. I guess the better shifting is partly due to the build of the mech but mostly due to the cassette. If I get a chance I’d like to fit an Ultegra cassette on a bike with 105 shifters and mech.

    Both 105 and Ultegra front mechs have the long arm design that seems to build tension in the cable before suddenly flipping the chain to the big ring. Both also work with Shimano’s low friction inner cable.

    stevious
    Full Member

    I’ve got 5800 on my new CX bike and 6800 on the road bike. if I try really hard I can detect a slight difference in the shifting action but that’s about it. I think the only reason I’d go ultegra now is if I was buying a full bike and the full package made sense.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    IMO new road bikes are all about the frame these days, If I were you I’d get a tiagra/105 equipped bike and put some ultegra or better wheels and nice finishing parts on it. (what I do is buy a bike, sell everything bar the frame and build it with my 9s set up!)

    I’d also avoid Di2 cabling and the stupid seals on 4mm cable ends, along with better cable pull of less gears, it saves your indexing requiring constant work.

    Onzadog – Member
    The most obvious reason for me, is that it’s current and therefore will have the longest life span before it becomes obsolete. Plus, I’m not sure I could buy a higher end 9 speed road bike even if I wanted to.

    I’m still running 9 speed mountain bikes at at xt/xtr lever, some stuff is already proving difficult to get hold of. If I can just hold out a while, I might skip 10 altogether and just go 11 speed on those as well.

    If you want/need high end stuff then fair enough. I prefer to keep going on a budget, having light parts that aren’t consumables – what do you save on a HG20/40/50 to dura ace/xtr cassette, 50-100gm? the industry is one of the best at sucking people into having the latest thing.

    More fun per £…and you can still buy 5 speed…

    cultsdave
    Free Member

    Still struggling to see the benefits of 11 speed over 9 here!

    The main benefit that is even noticeable between 10 and 11 speed is the jump between gears. My winter bike has 11-28 10 speed cassette (hilly here) and the nice bike has 11-28 11 speed cassette. I find that on the winter bike the jump between gears can be a bit large. This does not happen on the nice bike as the 11 speed cassette is basically the same as an 11-25 10 speed but with the added bonus of a 28 tooth bail out gear.

    Jamie
    Free Member

    Still struggling to see the benefits of 11 speed over 9 here!

    The 2 extra cogs make you more visible, Al.

    More mass, innit.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    What Cultsdave said.

    Recently upgraded to 11sp, not really expecting any difference tbh – but the 11-28t cassette that came on my new bike is noticebly nicer to use than the 11-27t 10sp that I used to have on my winter wheels.

    And the feel of 6800 Ultegra is really good.

    Tallpaul
    Full Member

    The difference in price for 11sp 105 v’s 11sp Ultegra groupset is about £150 (and about 500 g in weight saving).

    Considering how good the performance of 105 is, the 2015 Defy Advanced 1 looks poor value at £250 more than the 2.

    Sundayjumper
    Full Member

    Building up a Tarmac for myself last year I really pondered over whether to go 105 or Ultegra (5700/6700 at the time). In the end the price swayed me, 105 groupset from Merlin @ £300 was literally half the price of Ultegra. I built it up and… I was impressed. Levers are plastic instead of carbon and some bits of the mechs are steel instead of alloy so it’s all a smidge heavier but to ride it the difference is tiny. Very happy with it.

    I already had my other Tarmac built up with Ultegra so this was a genuine side-by-side comparison.

    igm
    Full Member

    Does 105 still have alloy brake levers? Because I really like the composite Ultegra ones on cold mornings.

    Yes I need to man up

    Edit: just re-read the last post

    mtbtomo
    Free Member

    I don’t think the levers are plastic on 105 (5700 or 5800) – they’re painted metal (for the black ones). Right down to Claris and below they’re metal.

    Mister-P
    Free Member

    A lot of the price difference in those two Defys will be down to the chainset. The non-series one on the 105 bike will be loads cheaper at OE price than the Ultegra one on the more expensive bike. It’s why you see quite a few bikes specced with non-series chainsets or an FSA or something. The price difference at cost makes for a large difference at retail.

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    Given I only ride 170mm cranks, I’d probably have to factor in a new chainset anyway.

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    I think the trek domane disc is bolt through and has guard mounts.

Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 25 total)

The topic ‘ultegra vs 105 now they're both 11 speed.’ is closed to new replies.