What are your thoughts on the new Ultegra 6700 versus the old Dura Ace 7800. I keep hearing bike geeks say that the new Ultegra is better than the old Dura Ace? I am still somewhat new to cycling so I need your thoughts!
I hope you are right. My 6700’s arrive this week. I will let you know how I like them after a good test ride.
I have ultegra SL on my road bike, with the exception of the chainrings that are on the crank I almost think it is the old DA. the RD has bearings in the pulleys. They did not have that before only DA did. The shifting is on par with DA 7800. You can’t go wrong with it.
Your 6700 will be just as good or a little smoother than the Dura Ace 7800. It just might be a little heavier (I have not weighed it but guessing).
You can’t go wrong with the purchase. Besides you saved a bunch of money.
New ultegra will perform better but be slightly heavier than old 7800 dura ace.
There is new geometry for the front and rear derailieurs that will allow for a wider range of rear cassettes and smoother shifting in the front.
The road shifters/brake levers also have a different shape.
New ultegra has hollow forged crank arms like old dura ace but doesn’t use the titanium in the rear cassette which adds to the weight.
The one complaint is that the ultegra rear derailieur still uses a ceramic bushing rather than a sealed cartridge bearing for the guide pulley. These don’t seal very well and can become gunked up and start to drag on the chain.
I’d say go with the ultegra for sure and then buy the $15 dura ace bearings for the derailieur.
I’d probably go with whichever one I could find cheaper. The biggest difference is probably going to be shifter ergonomics - that’s just going to be a matter of putting your hands on the levers and deciding which ones you feel more comfortable on. If you’re still somewhat new to cycling you’re probably not in a position to be able to appreciate any marginal benefits one might have over the other. Both are really solid systems; both are really sexy - I keep arguing with myself over which one is sexier.
I have 7800 shifters and chain with 6600G everything else on my road bike and performance is spot on all the time so I’d expect nothing less from 6700. IMO it’s a win-win.
If it’s for a road bike, the 6700 hoods fit the hand wonderfully. I still prefer SRAM Red’s zero take up shifting, but those Ultegra hoods are quite nice.
ETA - I have not had a chance to wrap my paw around a 7900 hood yet.
that’s just going to be a matter of putting your hands on the levers and deciding which ones you feel more comfortable on.
For road riding this is key since you spend about 75% of your time riding on the hoods, this is an important and key contact point with the bike.
The newer hoods on the SRAM and Shimano kits are longer and flatter. The older DA(7800 et al) hoods are shorter and curved. One or the other are different enough that it could impact bar choice and stem length.
I have always like the feel of Dura Ace levers over Ultregra, especially the front. I believe the upgrade is in the crankset with the 6700. Recently however 7900 stuff has come down in price, probably due to the economy. Performance recently has a 20% off sale that would have brought the levers down to about 360.00.