2004 dura-ace

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by curt velocity
Has anyone tried the new dua-ace?
How does it compare to old dura-ace/ultegra?
I have on order a tcr 0 and anxiously waitng to try it out.

I have not yet tried it but from all the hype i have heard about it , it seems to be not much improvement apart from the new chainset.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by will1988
I have not yet tried it but from all the hype i have heard about it , it seems to be not much improvement apart from the new chainset.

Shifters

The new Dura ace is very nice with some nice changes. I have ridden it and worked on it. The STI levers have a diffent shape that is good for smaller hands now and the rear shifter when you push the small lever it has a very nice feel in that it is very easy to push rather than a hard push like 03 stuff. The crank is very stiff and it is very light. The crank is just like the 03 XTR. The weight of the group is also almost a pound lighter than 03. I think it is well worth waiting for. It is also 10 spd. and that gives you a lower gear on your cluster like campy.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by pudster
It is also 10 spd. and that gives you a lower gear on your cluster like campy.

Large cog is still 27 with shimano,to my knowledge. Speeds make no difference as to what the large cog can be anyway. 5 and 6 speed had over 30.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by pudster
The weight of the group is also almost a pound lighter than 03. I think it is well worth waiting for. It is also 10 spd. and that gives you a lower gear on your cluster like campy.

a pound light but stronger? or will it wear out faster?

I don't think its a full pound lighter. I don't think its even half a pound of difference. Besides the obvious extra gear, the shifters are supposed to be more ergonomic. The crankset is what I find the most interesting. Having moved to the huge outboard bearing bottom bracket based on the mountain bike groups should make for some seriously stiff and lightweight cranks. This new BB design will be far more durable than the traditional kind.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Hecubus
This new BB design will be far more durable than the traditional kind.

It was supposedly a POS when introduced last year in XTR.Maybe the bugs are out?

I really like the brakes; I used them on a Campy set-up, preferring the new 04 over the Record brakes.

If you are running a 12-25 cassete you can go to a 12-27 and still have the same spacing as with the 12-25 but with a less of a jump between between gears. You would prefer an 8spd or seven speed with a 12- 27? I have never heard any complaints
about o3 XTR cranks. I have been using them since october of 02. I was wrong about the weight, it is 100 grams lighter. Sorry about that.

Dura Ace -04 BB should be much more durable than -03. -03 BB didn't even last one season on my use.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by curt velocity
Has anyone tried the new dua-ace?
How does it compare to old dura-ace/ultegra?
I have on order a tcr 0 and anxiously waitng to try it out.

I upgraded my tcr1 from ultegra and it's great. I would not have bothered with anymore shimano if they hadn't upgraded this year. I was very close to going over to the dark side =)

Overall four and a half stars.

I really like the brakes. With ultegra I would try and modulate but with DA04 you just squeeze and they pull F>R perfectly. Great stopping power. Didn't notice any loss in the wet weather either.

Shifting wise, I have had ultegra for years and never liked it. Overall the DA is sweet. The front shifts positively, even under pedaling power. It's really impressive! I'm still in the break in period so I can't say for sure that the rear is perfect? I guess the extra gear is nice.

STI's have a short and more ergo push to them. It's minor but still nice.

The crank's beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose, but it is growing on me. I like that it is firm. Every whimpy-ounce-of-energy I can muster goes directly toward forward movement.

I am sure you'll enjoy your tcr0, except too bad it doesn't have the red stripes 😉

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by boudreaux
It was supposedly a POS when introduced last year in XTR.Maybe the bugs are out?

I don't know were you heard was a problem with it. The BB design has not changed since it was introduced last year. Its even being used in the new Saint freeride group. So far it is far long outlasting the old 950 and 952 xtr bottom brackets and best of all its super easy to service.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by curt velocity
Has anyone tried the new dua-ace?
How does it compare to old dura-ace/ultegra?
I have on order a tcr 0 and anxiously waitng to try it out.

I have heard a rumour that Shimano have officially conceded that Campagnolo is much better

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by pudster
If you are running a 12-25 cassete you can go to a 12-27 and still have the same spacing as with the 12-25 but with a less of a jump between between gears. You would prefer an 8spd or seven speed with a 12- 27? I have never heard any complaints
about o3 XTR cranks. I have been using them since october of 02. I was wrong about the weight, it is 100 grams lighter. Sorry about that.

Shimano did an interesting job spacing the 12-27 cassette, so you do not get a spacing advantage. 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27 is from the specification that I got from Shimano's site. Ideally it should be: 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-27. I think that they sized them due to weight considerations, and not spacing considerations.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by scituatejohn
Shimano did an interesting job spacing the 12-27 cassette, so you do not get a spacing advantage. 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27 is from the specification that I got from Shimano's site. Ideally it should be: 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-27. I think that they sized them due to weight considerations, and not spacing considerations.

Shimano knows what they are doing.A 16 is the sweetest cog there is, and since the 27 is a bialout,and not used by serious racers, the 24-27 jump is not an issue. Use to be if you wanted the 27,you gave up the 16,now it's best of everything...SHIMANO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING!

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by boudreaux
Shimano knows what they are doing.A 16 is the sweetest cog there is, and since the 27 is a bialout,and not used by serious racers, the 24-27 jump is not an issue. Use to be if you wanted the 27,you gave up the 16,now it's best of everything...SHIMANO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING!

Agree....I'd swap a 16 for a 25 any day of the week.

Dan

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by dhk
Agree....I'd swap a 16 for a 25 any day of the week.

Dan

No kidding. Back in the days of 8-spd, the 12-21 (or was it 12-23) cassettes skipped over the 16 which I found very useful in crits when in the big ring. You had to specifically order cassettes that had the 16. With 9-spd, the 12-23s automatically had 16s in them.

There's a really interesting article in the latest (November? '03) comparing the stiffness of the high end cranksets - mainly between the carbon ones (Record, Colnago, FSA, Profile) but also they compared to Dura Ace '04 (7800)...
The interesting thing was that the DA was by **FAR** the stiffest of the lot (more than 30% stiffer) and at comparable or lighter weight... and at much less $$$ than the Record & Colgano.

PS: someone who pays $995 (yes!) for a more flexible, heavier (and plainer looking) crank must be pretty nuts 😉

I think that looks are a matter of taste. While I agree that the new Dura Ace crank looks better than the carbon cranks, I also think that the Ultegra and 105 cranks look better than the new Dura Ace crank, but if they are not as stiff, then looks won't matter to strong riders.