[Closed] Road groupset quandry

A posh bike? Then I wouldn't spend fifteen hundred quid on an off the shelf steel frameset. You could get a Rourke/Enigma/Shand almost any other custom for that much.

If buying off the shelf, then the Ritchey Logic frames and forks are supposed to be mint and are half the price.

Groupset also needs to be something posh like Record.

Finishing kit is down to personal preference and fit.

Ultegra di2 versus mechanical dura ace is such a tough choice. If I wasn't going hydraulic disc I think I'd go with mech dura ace.

In fairness I don't think you'd be disappointed which ever one you picked.

di2 is great IMO/E. I'd get it again if I was getting a new bike

Dura Ace Mech... It's the pinnacle of mechanical groupsets and whilst Di2 might have the novelty/wow factor, the actual shift is virtually identical and far less fiddly.

I'm also convinced that a good rider with a bit of "mechanical sympathy" is far easier on their kit than Di2.

I bought the new 9000 groupset when it first came out and I still drool over it. (Far more than the newest Dura Ace in fact!)

And if anyone questions why you went mech rather than elec, just point out that if it's good enough for Spartacus and El Pistolero, it's good enough for you!

If I woke up wanting to buy either of those frames then I'd probably want to build it with the Rotor Uno groupset. Hmm, no disk mounts so would use magura RT8 calipers instead.

No desire to go for campag if I'm honest, shimano is nice enough for me and I want rim brakes also.

A Rouke stainless frame is more expensive and I don't like the paint finishing (although you could probably change that for a fee) as is the Enigma (albeit Ti) and I like the idea of stainless for some reason.

Starley are local to me, and I just like the look of the Bowman, their Palace has been very well received.

Guess you've gotta buy what you like. The Shimano stuff (well the chainsets) look bloody gopping, especially on a steel frameset. You could probably get a different chainset like a Praxis or something.

SS sounds like the sort of material that you'd want welded by someone who knows what they're doing; a bit like Titanium.

That Starley looks like a load of cheapo SS tubes thrown together in the Far East and sold for a huge mark up.

These look good; big oversized pipes for sitffness.

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

I had the same choice and went with DI2 Ultegra. No regrets coming from Dura Ace 7900. I'll never have mechanical on my posh/summer bike again.

Just need to stretch to DA DI2 on the next one...

Front shifting Di2 is just amazing and complete game changer. Rear shifting is not really that different as rear shifting has always been good. If I was in your shoes I would go Ultegra Di2.

The Shimano stuff (well the chainsets) look bloody gopping, especially on a steel frameset

Never a truer word spoken, somehow they seem to look tolerably OK on carbon aero wunder-machines but on anything more conventional they just jump out at you in bad bad way.

I'd even take a bargain square taper RD/TD Sugino chainset over the current Shimano stuff on a nice steel frame.

Plenty of nicer modern chainset options out there if you're bothered about looks, it's almost a shame the Shimano stuff shifts so well...

Oh yes, the original question, mechanical for me, probably Ultegra as the weight saving of DA just not worth the £ in my eyes, Ultegra is functionally excellent 🙂

Herself has Chorus EPS on her RLT9, she loves it. She finds life a real chore when she has to ride her mechanical Chorus equiped road bike.
I'm waiting for HydroEpS and eTap-HYdroR before making any future bike decisions.

Dura Ace Mech... It's the pinnacle of mechanical groupsets

Chainset wise I was thinking rota with praxis works rings

Have you ridden the high end groupsets before ?. In the middle of the range the performance isn't that different - Ultegra mech is better than 105 for sure but when you get to DA Mech, Chorus Mech or Red they're all excellent but also very different (thats a deliberate comparison of Churus to DA by the way). Electric then seems to come back together again and level the playing field (and for me that means I'd probbably rather go Mech than electric).
That could be also to do with how the groupset is installed though as its quite difficult to install any of the electrics so they shift badly (although not impossible) where as you can make a top end Mech groupset shift like a low end one if you fit it poorly.
I guess what I'm trying to say is top end Mech feels different to each other but electronic is a more level playing field.
Also electronic can get a git funny if you're not on the manufacturers rings.

I've ridden dura ace and ultegra but none of the others, highest sram I've ridden is rival

difference is huge DA to Rival. To be fare though If you like Shimano then you probably won't like Red, in the same way that I like Campag and find SRAM finnicky and Shimano "wishy washy".

Finishing kit wise - I like my rotor cranks lots, the 3d+ idea of using the bottom bracket top deal with the different standards is great. - I've been a fan of the new 3T stuff for a while but have recently switched to a Deda Carbon post (12mm setback) and thats really nice - easy to set up - doesn't need gorilla tightening and no squeaks at all. I do use carbon assembly past on it though which helps

Di2 for my money.

Or go mental and just go DA Di2!

njee20 - Member
Di2 for my money.

Or go mental and just go DA Di2!

Might need a few more OT shifts to get that

Ok, it's got Campag - but sweet jesus isn't it pretty 😯

[img] [/img]

Happy to help.

^What is it?

I'll have a wild guess at:
Stelbel Antenore

website
[url= http://www.stelbel.it/en/prodotto/antenore/ ]linky[/url]

Starting at £1600 (rough from euro) plus VAT it may get a bit pricey

Pretty. that saddle lools like it would destroy me though!!

Ive got the exact same decision to make re groupsets (also 40th). Frame Ive decided on is the Mason Resolution. Currently leaning towards DA mechanical for the same reason metioned above that I think Shimano will go wireless in the next few years and I'm holding out for that.

I had the same choice.

I went for Ultegra Di2 with Hydraulic Discs. Quite simply cos I couldn't bear the thought of cables. Coupled with the discs it should be pretty much maintenance free.

I have another bike with Dura Ace Di2 and quite honestly shift wise I can't tell the difference.

That Stelbel is very VERY nice. (Goes off to search under the couch cushions)

A coupla reasonably insightful posts regarding SS; Hope they're useful

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=2026098&postcount=36

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=1161681&postcount=32

[quote="duc"](thats a deliberate comparison of Churus to DA by the way).hmmm. I'm guessing it's as you're a bit of a campag snob?

Record, super record/EPS etc offer nothing over chorus (or DA) except very slightly lower weight and a much larger dent in your bank balance.

davidtaylforth - Member
A coupla reasonably insightful posts regarding SS; Hope they're useful

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=2026098&postcount=36

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=1161681&postcount=32
br />

Only that it's tricky to work with and you can't make a SS 29'er apparently, I guess you don't like the material

Only that it's tricky to work with and you can't make a SS 29'er apparently, I guess you don't like the material

Can't say; never had a stainless steel bike. It's no different to regular steel in terms of how it rides though. It's slightly lighter, can be left polished, is more prone to dents, more prone to breaking (by the sounds of it), should be replaced after two seasons use (according to Reynolds) and is very expensive. Why you'd want to choose a bike specifically because it's made from that stuff is beyond me. Only trying to help.

I think what he's implying is that with limited availability of tube sizes, the difficulty in forming/bending/swaging SS tubing and the more general difficulties in working with it. He couldn't make a 29er to his design.

Which basically means he hasn't designed for the material. Not a very good designer then.

Which basically means he hasn't designed for the material. Not a very good designer then.

Or why compromise the design to suit the material when more appropriate materials can be used.

Then it stops being a stainless 29er.
Which was what he said he couldn't do.

😀

ghostlymachine - Member
Then it stops being a stainless 29er.
Which was what he said he couldn't do.

Or maybe he could do it, but he had a design he didn't want to compromise....

Or maybe we get back to the OP and forget about arguing over why people can't build a SS 29'er.

Wonder why Starley offer a lifetime warranty then?

It's slightly lighter, can be left polished, is more prone to dents, more prone to breaking (by the sounds of it), should be replaced after two seasons use (according to Reynolds) and is very expensive. Why you'd want to choose a bike specifically because it's made from that stuff is beyond me. Only trying to help.

If only there was another corrosion resistant metal that frames could be made out of for similar money, maybe even something less dense so the tubes could be made a bit thicker and less likely to dent 😉

I wanted a special 'bike for life' Sunday best road bike it having a custom paint finish was important to me. I chose a Rourke, what don't you like about the paint finish? it's better than any bike I've ever had. Admittedly they offer little help with the design and this probably leads to the many gopping examples that are out there but they'll do whatever you want and yu have 5 month to consider the design while you're on the waiting list.
It was going to be my 40th birthday bike but I got an unexpected work bonus so spent the money on the frame to make me feel better about how shit work was. Unfortunately (in the long run it was actually the best thing that ever happened to me) I was made redundant before the frame was finished so I had to scale back on the groupset from Ultegra Di2 or DA to Ultegra mechanical. 2 years later when I became 40 I considered upgrading to the DA but Ultegra is so good (much better than my ability) I couldn't justify it and upgraded my winter bike to 105 instead.
If you really want it to be special spend the money on the frame, the groupset can be changed / upgraded in good time if you've got yourself a keeper.

[url= https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3813/11796369825_8d11c32f26_k.jpg [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/iYptLD ]P1070226.jpg" target="_blank">https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3813/11796369825_8d11c32f26_k.jpg [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/iYptLD ]P1070226.jpg"/> [/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjohnson76/ ]Rob Johnson[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5547/11796381105_5897cf81c7_k.jpg [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/iYpx88 ]P1070236.jpg" target="_blank">https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5547/11796381105_5897cf81c7_k.jpg [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/iYpx88 ]P1070236.jpg"/> [/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjohnson76/ ]Rob Johnson[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5583/15248591146_08b47871f2_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5583/15248591146_08b47871f2_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/pet1TU ]20140917_160121[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjohnson76/ ]Rob Johnson[/url], on Flickr

Yeah but surely as you only fet one [s]mid life crisis[/s] 40th it is best to go fully crazy-go-nuts and get the di2 and/or Dura-ace, so forget about plain mechanical ultegra. I still like the idea of Rotor Uno though, i think the exotic exclusiveness of it would be a good match for the £1500 noodley steel frame

If it were me I'd go for Di2 because even though mechanical DA is nice it's not gonna blow you away. It's still the same clicky-click gear changing. Di2 is robots.

ROBOTS.

Isn't eTap in a similar price bracket to Di2 or did I just dream that?

£1500 noodley steel frame

have you ridden them? the Bowman isn’t “a noodly steel frame”