Does Dura-Ace shift better than Ultegra?

[nbfman]

It's been mentioned several times recently that Dura-Ace shifts better than Ultegra. I have all-Ultegra and want to know what I might be missing. I suspect it is probably beyond my abilities to tell the difference, but I'm curious to know. Can folks elaborate (i.e. how is it better)? Is it due to tolerance differences in the parts, or fundamental features in the design?

 

[friedmikey]

I went from a 2004 Ultegra equipped bike to a 2005 Dura-Ace equipped bike and there was, without a doubt, a very noticable difference. Shifting was much lighter, faster, and far more precise. As you may have heard, the Dura-Ace brakes are phenomenal as well, as far as road bike calipers go. My comments could all be moot, however, as I'm not really comparing apples to apples. Shimano redesigned the Ultegra group in 2005, and I'll bet that the 2005 Ultegra 10 works much better than my Ultegra 9 did - probably pretty close to the DA stuff.

 

[nbfman]

In follow-up, I also wanted to ask how much has to be Dura-Ace to get the benefits? Does it have to be shifter-derailleur-crank-cassette-chain? Is just Dura-Ace derailleur with Ultegra everything else enough?

 

[ritcho]

In follow-up, I also wanted to ask how much has to be Dura-Ace to get the benefits? Does it have to be shifter-derailleur-crank-cassette-chain? Is just Dura-Ace derailleur with Ultegra everything else enough?

Dura-Ace is lighter, so that's one benefit. You can get away with Dura-Ace shifters to get the bulk of the 'better' shifting. However, you're more likely to notice the difference with high quality, greased cable housing, efficient cable routing and a well-adjusted rear derailer.

Ritch

 

[shokhead]

If i have a choice i'd go Ultegra 10 if i'm paying. If its already on the bike,DA is great. The problem i have is the price difference vs what you get. I dont think what you get is worth the price difference. I have DA 10 but it came on my bike. The other problem is if you have it long enough its going to cost more to replace the DA as it wears out.

 

[jrstevens]

If i have a choice i'd go Ultegra 10 if i'm paying. If its already on the bike,DA is great. The problem i have is the price difference vs what you get. I dont think what you get is worth the price difference. I have DA 10 but it came on my bike. The other problem is if you have it long enough its going to cost more to replace the DA as it wears out.

don't quite understand your rationale; didn't you have to pay extra to get DA10 even though it came on your bike. You chose to purchase a bike with DA 10 as opposed to Ultegra doesn't that say that for your money DA is worth the price difference

 

[shokhead]

The 05 Roubaix Comp had DA on it,what was i suppose to do,have them change it out? I would have happy with Ultegra. I guess i'm trying to say is if i could choose,it would have been Ultegra. I will replace when the time comes the DA chain and cassette with Ultegra.

 

[rek]

A little while back I upgraded from my old road bike that was upgraded with a new Ultegra-10 groupset, to a new bike that came with Dura-Ace 10 from the floor.

Shifting wise, there is very little difference.. they're both work just perfectly IMO. What you are missing with Ultegra is that your parts are just a little bit heavier, a little bit less shiny, and you have heaps of money in your wallet which you wouldn't have if you bought DA.

Given the huge price differential between the two, I don't think it's worth the money. In fact it all has me wondering, how good might the new 10-speed 105 group be? Looks like it's made with very similar mechanicals inside...

Ritcho is 100% correct in that most of the shift quality "feel" comes from the shifter. In the long term, keeping proper cable tension/derailleur adjustment, and making sure your cables and housings are clean, makes a huge difference in keeping your shift quality perfect.

I've had my old commuter MTB (Deore) shift heaps better and cleaner than my race MTB (XT/XTR), simply because the latter had dirty cables and housing!

 

[JTE83]

I don't notice any shifting diferences between my 105, Ultegra, and Dura Ace bikes (all 9 speed). Only that my Dura Ace bike is the lightest and my 105 bike is the heaviest (also due to wheels).

105 - hard to replace component parts.
Ultegra - replaceable parts, 1 year warranty (?)
Dura Acre - replaceable parts, 3 year warranty (?)

That warranty is really valuable since I bought a 2004.5 Giant OCR 1 and my right Ultegra shifter went bad after 400 miles. Was replaced under warranty.

All Shimano shifters will **** out when they get too old. And you can't fix them like Campy. But I hate Campy shifters.

 

[laffingbilly]

i have DA10, and i can't tell the difference. it's mostly in people's head. save your money and buy something else

 

[el Ingles]

I don't notice any shifting diferences between my 105, Ultegra, and Dura Ace bikes (all 9 speed). Only that my Dura Ace bike is the lightest and my 105 bike is the heaviest (also due to wheels).

105 - hard to replace component parts.
Ultegra - replaceable parts, 1 year warranty (?)
Dura Acre - replaceable parts, 3 year warranty (?)

That warranty is really valuable since I bought a 2004.5 Giant OCR 1 and my right Ultegra shifter went bad after 400 miles. Was replaced under warranty.

All Shimano shifters will **** out when they get too old. And you can't fix them like Campy. But I hate Campy shifters.

no longer quite true as in europe you can get shimano refurbished shifters , and shifters are now sold individually in case of an accident , can´t be re-built at home like campy but don´t tend to need to be rebuilt quite as often .

re feel : most neutral people say that ultegra shifters are smoother and lighter while DA are more metalic and positive - it is after all their racing system .

Good rule :
for road use best shifters you can afford and a lesser rear mech
for MTB use best rear mech and lesser shifters
ie ultegra levers and 105 mech or XT mech and deore levers - seems to make the most effective use of money / function .