OK, trying to decide what brakes to put on the bike. I have an old set of Ultegra 6500’s that have to go. I know that when it was the 6600-G’s vs. the 7800’s, the main difference was weight, but now DA’s have a whole new design. I’m not an uber-biker by any means, I just want a solid brake with good power, modulation, and reliability (without having to repeatedly adjust it). Now according to their site, there’s only a 27g difference for the pair, and I’m not a weight weenie (I ride an aluminum bike), so I’m wondering if I’d really be giving up that much brake by going with the U-SL as opposed to the DA. I thought about Zero G’s NG, but I’m reading about a lot of adjustment necessary over the life of the brake. I’m also considering something like a TRP/Tektro/Cane Creek (I think they are all the same, to be honest) if anyone can enlighten me to their reputations for being Shimano like in their usage/reliability. My thing is, give up the 30 or even 100g if it means having a part that is rock solid and doesn’t need to be constantly adjusted. I gave up about 300-400g so I could run a set of RotorCranks because hey, if I can turn out a power more efficiently, that half pound will mean nothing, and according to the reviews, they’re great for climbing, which I suck at.
I have DA, Ult, and Ult-SL on 3 different race bikes and can’t tell the difference in power. All three are reliable and work perfectly in all conditions.
I also have experience with the Cane Creek SL brakes. They were hard to set up, unreliable (meaning, I had to constantly make adjustments) and they didn’t have the power that the Shimano brakes have.
So, it comes down to your budget and what you think would look best on your bike. Performance wise, the Shimano brakes are all the same to me.
Then it’s got to be the U-SL’s, because DA’s are just too darn expensive, and then dark brushed metal is awesome looking.
ultegra sl sexy…
dura ace 7900 very sexy…
I ride DA7800 on both of my bikes, and had Ultegra SL on an old bike. I like the DA, but really think that Ultegra has just as much to offer. The big difference is in brake pads. Keep 'em high quality and new-ish.
in general, if you want a top performing bike, get ultegra
if you have money to burn and want to shave a few more grams, get dura ace =)
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