# 105 vs Ultegra question



## Ibashii (Oct 23, 2002)

Looking at two bikes, will buy one tomorrow: for the purposes of this thread, all you need to know is one of them would have full 105, the other a weird mix of Ultegra and FSA cranks/BB.

I've been an Ultegra guy for 7 years and I've been happy. Nonetheless, people are fond of saying that 105 stuff is 'bombproof' and the only difference is a bit of weight, which I don't care about. While I firmly believe that Ultegra is as performant as DA for most riders, does it go the other way? In my head there is a quality drop from 105 to Tiagra (and, now, a difference in cassettes as well with the intro of 10-speed from the 105 gruppo on up), but frankly I don't have any evidence to prove that. Does anyone else? Am I likely to notice?


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## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

What did you get?


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## Ibashii (Oct 23, 2002)

I ended up getting the Time dealer to lower the price of an Edge Pulse with full Ultegra (he subbed out the FSA cranks and BB for me, no charge) to within exactly 123 EUR (2322 vs 2199) of the price of a Look 566 with 105 (The 566 Ultegra was 2699), which closed the sale for him. Everyone is happy except the Look dealer, who picked a bad time to stand firm on the MSRP. I'm sorry for bike dealers that it's like this for them right now--I know they're not the ones making the big markups--but times are tough for everyone and the 7% discount on the Time was a significant sacrifice to get my business.

My new Time rocks...but I'm sure I would be posting "my new Look rocks" if it had gone the other way.

I'm glad I don't have to find out, but part of me still suspects that I wouldn't know the difference between 105 and Ultegra if they weren't different colors and I couldn't read.


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

Congrats on the Time. If I were you I wouldn't look back on the purchase - just enjoy your ride. 

I've ridden a mix of DA/ Ult/ 105 and IME they all perform well. Any differences are more a result of maintenance/ adjustment (or lack thereof) than perceived quality.


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## shachah7 (Dec 2, 2008)

Ibashii said:


> I ended up getting the Time dealer to lower the price of an Edge Pulse with full Ultegra (he subbed out the FSA cranks and BB for me, no charge) to within exactly 123 EUR (2322 vs 2199) of the price of a Look 566 with 105 (The 566 Ultegra was 2699), which closed the sale for him. Everyone is happy except the Look dealer, who picked a bad time to stand firm on the MSRP. I'm sorry for bike dealers that it's like this for them right now--I know they're not the ones making the big markups--but times are tough for everyone and the 7% discount on the Time was a significant sacrifice to get my business.
> 
> My new Time rocks...but I'm sure I would be posting "my new Look rocks" if it had gone the other way.
> 
> I'm glad I don't have to find out, but part of me still suspects that I wouldn't know the difference between 105 and Ultegra if they weren't different colors and I couldn't read.


I've owned bikes with 105 and ultegra SL. The ultegra shifts smoother and quieter. The 105 is a good group and very reliable but i definitely prefer riding ultegra. Ultegra sl is closer to duraace 7800 than to 105, if that makes sense.


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