I've had some time to spend with my new road bike and thought that some
might be interested in my findings. I've mostly focused on the differences
between the Dura-Ace 10 speed group and the Dura-Ace 9 speed group. Here
they are:
1. The 10 speed brakes most certainly stop better w/less effort (caution when using them, wow!)
2. The new STI levers do not appear any better but they aren't any worse either (supposedly more
robust, tho)
3. The extra cassette cog certainly is nice on a road bike especially when you consider the poor
selection of 10 speed cassettes
4. The 10s Dura-Ace hubs have more material around the flange and this may make them more radial
lacing friendly (My eyes probably dilate everytime I look at them so I must really like em'😉
5. Can't use a mountain cassette and derailleur like we could on 9 speed and the selection of
cassettes is very limited! (big bummer)
6. The freehub is very noisy which makes sneaking up on opponents difficult
:-) Guessing, I'd say that it's about half as loud as a Chris King. If you
didn't know, the 9 speed DA freehub is nearly silent.
7. The front derailleur is supposed to be stiffer, but I can't tell a difference. It looks
stiffer, fwiw
8. 9 and 10 speed DA shift equally as well, IMO. 10 speed shifts VERY well, but so does 9 speed.
Both shift quickly and decisively. I swear, I can't tell that 10 speed shifts faster like most
claim it does.
9. The 10s chain always rubs against the two nearest cassette cogs and this appears to be normal.
And then there's the much awaited crank/BB thingamajig. I gotta tell ya that the large chainring is
a frickin piece of art work. It's beautiful and belongs in the MOMA. As for the crank, I can't tell
that it is stiffer. I can tell that my new frame or fork is not as stiff and this disappoints me,
but the crank seems the same to me. But to be fair, when I'm out of the saddle I'm only back to
about 75% since the accident however I'm at about 90% when hammering it in the saddle. I understand
that elaborate testing equipment claims the new crank is considerably stiffer but in the real world
it doesn't seem to matter much. Maybe if your last name is O'Grady, you can appreciate it more.
Have I forgotten anything?
Just a quick recap... I really like the new brakes a lot. It would appear that Shimano really gave
some thought towards improving them. If the hubs weren't so noisy, I'd like them just as much, but
I'm still happy with them.
All in all, the new group is very nice but I think that if you weren't obsessed with all these
details, you'd say that it's just like the 9 speed
w/better brakes (yes, there are that few improvements). If you currently have a bike w/DA9 and it's
not worn to pieces then there's no doubt that you still have a very nice ride. If I could trade my
back pains and new bicycle in for my old one then I would in a heart beat, however, that's not
possible so while I'm a little dissappointed, I'm still happy with DA10.
Dave