B
B. Sanders
Guest
Just built up my beautiful Soulcraft Royale road frame with an Ultegra/Dura Ace drive train - all
brand new components, purchased a month ago (April
2003).
The new Dura Ace triple rear derailleur is a work of art, and shifts like a dream. It's what I've
come to expect from Shimano's high-end gruppos, and doesn't disappoint.
The new Ultegra 6510 STI shifters, however, are not impressing me. They rattle and buzz (I
thought they fixed that?). Downshifting is vague, with no perceptible click stops, so I'm
constantly overshifting to a too-low gear. This is quite annoying. I didn't expect the 2nd best
Shimano shifters to be so crappy. I had Sora STI on my 2002 Fuji Finest, and they shifted
beautifully (although I didn't like the ergonomics much). How is it possible that Ultegra is
outperformed by Sora?
The Ultegra shifters look weak and fragile. The plastic upshift bat handle is lashed to a metal
lever - looks cheap and shoddy. The "engineering plastic" shifter body probably keeps the price
down, and I guess it's OK; but doesn't scream "value" to me. I bought Ultegra because it was
actually cheaper than 105 (on sale); but this is a real let down. I have to believe that 105 is
essentially identical, with the Ultegra logo being the only significant difference.
On the plus side, the Ultegra 6510's are the most comfortable brake/shift levers I've tried. They
fit my (size Large) hands quite well. I can easily reach the levers from the drops. That does count
for a lot in my book, and is ultimately more important than positive shifting detents (since I'm not
a racer, instant point-n-shoot shifting is not so important).
Comments?
Barry
brand new components, purchased a month ago (April
2003).
The new Dura Ace triple rear derailleur is a work of art, and shifts like a dream. It's what I've
come to expect from Shimano's high-end gruppos, and doesn't disappoint.
The new Ultegra 6510 STI shifters, however, are not impressing me. They rattle and buzz (I
thought they fixed that?). Downshifting is vague, with no perceptible click stops, so I'm
constantly overshifting to a too-low gear. This is quite annoying. I didn't expect the 2nd best
Shimano shifters to be so crappy. I had Sora STI on my 2002 Fuji Finest, and they shifted
beautifully (although I didn't like the ergonomics much). How is it possible that Ultegra is
outperformed by Sora?
The Ultegra shifters look weak and fragile. The plastic upshift bat handle is lashed to a metal
lever - looks cheap and shoddy. The "engineering plastic" shifter body probably keeps the price
down, and I guess it's OK; but doesn't scream "value" to me. I bought Ultegra because it was
actually cheaper than 105 (on sale); but this is a real let down. I have to believe that 105 is
essentially identical, with the Ultegra logo being the only significant difference.
On the plus side, the Ultegra 6510's are the most comfortable brake/shift levers I've tried. They
fit my (size Large) hands quite well. I can easily reach the levers from the drops. That does count
for a lot in my book, and is ultimately more important than positive shifting detents (since I'm not
a racer, instant point-n-shoot shifting is not so important).
Comments?
Barry
