Originally Posted by
Jughed
the 105 front mech is slow to shift and as stated above - takes more force to shift. The fine adjustment between gears is lacking, and getting the shifting to stay consistent over the past 10k miles has been hit or miss. The rear mech is never exactly right - even when coming back from the bike shop - and once it is right, it won't stay that way... and yes, everything has been checked.
I don't disbelieve that you are having issues. However I put 105 5800 on a Schwinn Paramount frame from the 1990-1991 time period. The shifts were
fast and
crisp. Rear shifts completed in less than a quarter turn of the crank. When making a front shift, particularly going to the small ring, I could simultaneously shift the rear 2 cogs and not have my cadence interrupted by a poor or slow shift at all.
So why you are having a completely different experience is either you got a bad set or that there is something wrong with the installation that you just aren't realizing. Or on the other end, I must have purchased a perfect example of what 105 5800 should be. I tend to doubt the latter possibility was reserved only for me. So I think your experience is the outlier data.