105 vs Ultegra. Is it worth $300 more for Ultegra?
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#129
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But funny that you said that, because I did that very thing, I test-rode a whole bunch of bikes with 105, Ultegra, and DA, between the 105 and the Ultegra I could feel no difference, but there was a bit more smoothness to the DA. Now for a dirty little secret, that you will laugh at me about, but until you try it, don't laugh, and former pro rider working at Adrenalin Bikes told me this secret...on a bike with 105, simply swap out the standard Shimano wires with DA9000 wires, along with just a Ultegra rear derailleur and the rest of the driveline is 105 and in a blind test people will think they're riding on a bike equipped with DA! I did what he said to do, and when a friend and I would trade bikes, he had a Motobecane Titanium bike with DA, and I had a Lynskey with 105 and the Ultegra RD, he thought he was using DA system, he couldn't tell the difference, nor could I riding his bike as far as function goes. There was a ride difference but that's a different story for another time.
Now I know you're going to laugh at what I said, but this isn't the first time this subject has come up, so see this:
You can read the whole thing or skip down to "Ride Feel", he does talk in the previous section about overall weight.
All 105 is, is trickle down technology from DA of 10 years ago! So it's no wonder that 105 feels darn close to DA.
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Meanwhile, build up a 105 version for back-to-back comparisons and deliver that, too.
It's okay---it is for Science.
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