[road]

Is it worth going from the 105 level to Ultegra? The shifters for the 105 seem to be getting fairly poor reviews compared to the Ultegra ones.

Looking at a Ribble CGR and it’s a £200 increase to do so. I can just about afford the upgrade (sell a kidney and share the Dog’s kibble) but would rather spend the cash on other bits if I can.

Topic

[Anonymous]

kevvjj wrote:

The 105 hydraulic levers are ugly – there ain’t no way of getting away from that! If you can put up with their looks then performance wise they are identical to Ultegra (if not a little heavier). But their looks are a deal breaker for me.

 

Have you seen the Ribble CGR?! Ugly shifters are going to be barely noticable.

 

That bike is yellow.

 

Or perhaps I should say YELLOW!

[Anonymous]

guyrwood wrote:

guyrwood wrote:

I’d argue shifter ergonomics are pretty important. I upgraded my winter bike to 5800 105 recently (non-disc). One of the reasons was that the 105 shifters are so comfortable, the 9 speed Sora shifters were really uncomfortable after about 40 minutes. The last thing you want is anything discouraging you from riding your bike.

 

It was badly worded on my part to say ergonomics arn’t that important.

 

Yes ergonomics are important but, like beauty, it’s in the eye of the beholder. Compfy for one is sheer hell for others.

[Boombang]

Easy servicing, adjustment
Easy servicing, adjustment and functionality at a price point?

[therevokid]

kevvjj wrote:

The 105 hydraulic levers are ugly

 

Kinda makes you wonder what happened in the Shimano design office !!!!

 

That aside – Upgrade 🙂

[Anonymous]

The 105 hydraulic levers are

The 105 hydraulic levers are ugly – there ain’t no way of getting away from that! If you can put up with their looks then performance wise they are identical to Ultegra (if not a little heavier). But their looks are a deal breaker for me.

[StraelGuy]

I’d argue shifter ergonomics
I’d argue shifter ergonomics are pretty important. I upgraded my winter bike to 5800 105 recently (non-disc). One of the reasons was that the 105 shifters are so comfortable, the 9 speed Sora shifters were really uncomfortable after about 40 minutes. The last thing you want is anything discouraging you from riding your bike.

[Anonymous]

Honestly I’m less concerend

Honestly I’m less concerend witht the ergonomics and more with whther they do the job well.

 

The reviews I’ve seen suggest they are less crisp on the shifting/braking than expected. Thing is I’ve never riden with shifters like these (last drop bar bike was 30+ years ago) so really don’t know whether it’s something I’d even notice.

 

The only reason I’m concerend is that if it’s one thing that gets me anoyed is gears not shifting well. My (cheap as hell) MTB from Halfords has a mind of its own in that regard. But it’s done it’s job in getting me back in to riding 🙂

[hoffbrandm]

YES! i upgraded. never looked

YES! i upgraded. never looked back. its all about the ergonomics with this years shifters.

[Author]

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