building a new bike

Ricitius said:

i'm thinking of finally going geared for a new ride. i've been riding a single speed a a fixie for quite some time now 🙂

what exactly is the difference between the shimano 105, ultegra, and dura ace groupsets? is it just weight savings? or is also function? meaning, does the dura ace shifter better than ultegra or does ultegra shift better than the 105?

thank you for reading, i can't wait to read your posts.

Bling, a little weight, perhaps a little durability and a lot of money. DA shifters feel more assured than 105 shifters, but from a practical viewpoint there is little difference even in the shifting.

105 are good and light; Ultegra are good, a little lighter, but more expensive; Dura Ace are good, a little lighter, but more expensive. I think that just about covers it.

What about Campagnolo?

janiejones said:

What about Campagnolo?

campagnolo is the italian system right? how is that, anyone recommend it? what is the 105, ultegra, and dura ace equivalents of campagnolo

Ricitius said:

campagnolo is the italian system right? how is that, anyone recommend it? what is the 105, ultegra, and dura ace equivalents of campagnolo

Yes its Italian, Camapgnolo have a wider range - it starts with Xenon, Mirage, Veloce, Centaur and Record.

The top three would probably be pretty well equivalent to 105, Ultegra and Dura Ace.

Campy levers have a more "traditional" look you might say compared to Shimano, but I think the shifting quality is pretty similar. I have used Mirage and Veloce before, and various Shimano groups - and I think most of it comes down to personal choice - Campy feels a lot different and the shifting mechanism is a little different.

I think weights are similar and so are prices for the top sets. Some say that Campy levers etc can be rebuilt with spare parts, where Shimano can't.

I personally like Campagnolo - the look and the feel.

And here's a bit of trivia - Lance Armstrong is the only man to win the Tour De France with Shimano components (that doesn't count last year of course, we don't know who won yet - what a long race it turned out to be).

janiejones said:

Yes its Italian, Camapgnolo have a wider range - it starts with Xenon, Mirage, Veloce, Centaur and Record.

You forgot Chorus.

artemidorus said:

You forgot Chorus.

oops, yeah and there's Chorus after Centaur

To be complete, there's now SRAM's road groupset. They are getting some followers.