The difference between Ultegra and 105 is about $200.

Not on the two bikes I'm looking at. The Ultegra bike also has somewhat better wheels -- but wheels I'm not likely to use, except to transport the bike on a hitch rack.

Def not worth it. The feel of ultegra is marginally better than 105, and looks slightly better up close.

But then again, this is coming from me, a guy for whom my previous well-adjusted Shimano 9-speed Sora brifters on my road bike shifted as well as my Cervelo P2C TT-bike Dura-Ace setup. I would seriously rock those Sora shifters forever, if not for Shimano's planned annoying groupset incompatibilities (9 vs 10 vs 11 spd, and Sora is not compatible with 105-DA) that made it a lot simpler to just upgrade to at least 105 so my road/TT bike parts are interchangeable.

https://www.merlincycles.com/...al-offer-113147.html

I would say the functional difference is very close to zero. Don't they both use the same bar end shifters anyway? If 105 is stiff enough to be a problem, I doubt it is set up correctly.

I’m pretty sure they all use the same TT shifters. You’ll never be able to tell the difference when riding.

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It is not a huge difference. I started with an IA16 on 105. After a little over a year and 5K miles, my shifts may have lost their snap. It would occasionally drop a chain. I don't know for sure why, but I theorized that bearings or the spring in the RD had worn a little. It has not dropped a chain since I upgraded to Ultegra. I have since upgraded again to Ultegra Di2.

The Ultegra vs. 105 has a lot of considerations, especially if you are looking at a new bike. It can be a whole lot more than just the FD, RD, and shifters. On a lot of 105 bikes, they might have a very crappy non-Shimano crankset (mine did). There is a lot of value in a Ultegra crankset versus a crappy less-than-105 crankset. Same for brakes. My bike had really crappy non-Shimano brakes too. Ditto the wheels.

So, when you are looking at the value difference between a 105 and Ultegra version, don't forget to look at the wheels, brakes,and crankset. If those are also major upgrades, then the delta might be worthwhile.

That's nice, but it doesn't help my issue. I'm not buying a road frameset. I'm buying a complete tri / TT bike. (And tri / TT complete bikes at the low end can be bought for less than the price of a frameset.)

Thanks for the quick replies! My previous TT bike was Ultegra Di2 and I loved it, but the budget doesn't allow that.

The answer may be as simple as going with the bargain full 105 bike and changing out any perceived weak spots (rear derailleur?) with Ultegra when needed.

105 (especially the current R7000) is a superb groupset. So much so that if there was a Di2 version, I would’ve installed that on my Omni instead of Ultegra. Really a tremendous value.

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You will never, in your life, have a chance like this again.
If I were you, I would not pass this up. I would not let this go by...this is rare.
Come on...what harm??

You could buy the complete bike with 105 group on it and switch it to Ultegra.

''cable actuated shifting can be a stiff, high-effort situation that's less than ideal. ''

If you are having that problem, the problem is in your cables, not your components. Shimano only makes one style of bar-end shifters. You won't notice any difference.

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Just finished a bike build and went through these same considerations. Went with the 105 (R7000) and have no regrets.

On my road bike, my 105 front derailleur stopped working well after 1000 miles. The right shifter after about 11,000 (the shifter got all floppy and wouldn't return all the way). The rear derailleur also got out of whack. The left shifter cracked in a crash but was working okay prior.

I replaced all my 105 parts with Ultegra within 15,000 miles. Up until they wore out or stopped working well, they were fine. But I'd personally spend a little more upfront on the Ultegra for added durability. Since I just build my own bikes, I'll always go with Ultegra in the future.

For a TT bike, if we're only talking about differences in derailleurs, brakes, crank, chain, and cassette...I would go 105 all day. Chain and cassette will eventually need to be replaced anyway. And if your FD or RD are ever to break/fail...it's super cheap and easy to replace. Brakes on a TT bike...lets be honest...not the most critical part on the bike as long as they work. A 105 crank will work fine, and while all 105 parts are slightly heavier...again...it's a TT bike...so not really a concern.

Now for a road bike...I'd probably be tempted to go Ultegra if I'm going to plan to bike race, or ride aggressively. The shifters matter, and Ultegra has a noticeable difference in feel and responsiveness when shifting under load, or popping down several gears to set up an attack. The brakes also have a nicer modulation feel to them to inspire slightly more confidence when doing technical descents. The weight savings probably doesn't matter, but sometimes it's just placebo effect to inspire confidence when your bike is a little lighter. 105 would work for sure...and if it was just on a road bike that I planned to JRA, commute, or weekend warrior group ride then I'd probably go that way.

Might as well go with 105. The difference going from Di2 back to mech is HUGE.

Had a road bike that I converted from Ultegra Di2 to mech Ultegra. Felt liked I had just screwed myself as the difference was that great on the same bike. Super glad I still have that Di2 on my new bike.

If you can't transfer your Di2 to the new bike, you might as well get the 105 as the difference between that and Ultegra is not worth mentioning in comparison.

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That is pretty much exactly what I did, and it is the perfect budget-sensitive approach.

For a few hundred, you can get the bike equivalent of an upgrade from VW to Audi. Both will get you there, but why not arrive in style?

That said, there must be more than a simple 150-Ultegra upgrade to justify that price

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There used to be a time when Ultegra had more features than 105 (more gears, shift cable that don't stick out in the middle. That's no longer true. Mech 105 and Mech Ultegra are functionally indistinguishable.

In my opinion, from a value stand point, chains are actually where Ultegra comes out ahead. Not much more expensive, but lasts longer (or so I believe).

I built a bike for a friend with R7000 and was very happy with it.
I've replaced three Shimano 6800 rear derailleurs with R7000 mid cage derailleurs and every one shifts better than before.