Ultegra V 105

I recently upgraded my Boardman Pro Carbon from 105 to Ultegra. It totally transformed the ride quality, as far as shifting was concerned. Although a lot of the difference was due to the move from 11-25 to 11-28, the Ultegra just feels a whole lot better than the 105 set overall.

My Bianchi Sempre Pro has a full Ultegra 6800 groupset (nicely upgraded at purchase) and the brakes are stunning, by far the stand-out improvement over my experiences with 105 5700 on a friend's bike and my earlier 105. The braking is powerful and controlled, so it does give you the confidence to push a little harder. I've also just bought a CAADX with 3500 Sora fitted and the gear-change on that is suprisingly slick, so I'd be amazed if Shimano haven't managed to get the 105 gear-change within a knat's breath of the Ultegra smoothness.
Pretty what everyone else says… the Ultegra brakes are superb.

I believe the reactivator of this discussion is trying to consider between 105 10 speed and Ultegra 11 speed, in which case no argument - go for Ultegra. The new 11 speeds are a massive development on 10 speed. I've gone from Dura Ace 7900 to Ultegra 6800 and the smoothness difference is amazing. Especially on the front mech.

@Shep73 where are you finding Chorus cheaper than Ultegra?

Best I've seen is Ultegra £472.95 (Ribble) and Chorus £768.73 (Bike-Discount.de).

@shep73 ... got chorus 11 on all mine ... faultless, sublime, quiet ... much better
than any sram or shimano setup I've run in the past ! and yes in mud slx does
seem to work better

back to the topic though .... several buddies of mine all say the only real world
difference you'll notice between 105 and ultegra is the brakes.

I have Ultegra, apart from the brakes I am not overly impressed, I have had plenty of shifting issues on the back and it's not a very positive shift change when tapping the levers. I am looking at a new bike (Bianchi Infinito CV) I will be giving campag a go. Wanted Super Record but looks like it will be Chorus.
It's funny because I found XT on the mtb rubbish in muddy conditions but SLX has been faultless. Apart from the XT shifters and ice tech brakes I run SLX.

I've used both 5800 and 6800 and I'd say that beyond weight, the only perceivable difference I have noticed is with the brakes.

6800 brakes are unfathomably good... best I've ever used. 5800 are no where near as impressive.

I'm going to have a go at re-cabling them, to see if its just a bad set of cables or something, and also try changing the pads to Ultegra/Dura Ace.

The 105 brakes lack bite and modulation (comparatively) and it feels as though the success of the design relies on stiff, efficient cables and soft brake pads. The lever rate is such that without these two parameters, there is no bite unless you squeeze real hard.

I've also ruined a 5800 rear mech, simply by riding it with a slightly misaligned mech hanger. By slightly misaligned I mean slightly, and effectively the lower jockey wheel has worn and is now throwing the chain at the more extreme ends of the block. So I'd suggest its a little more sensitive too.

Can add a little bit here. I switched from sram force/rival to ultegra 6800/105 5800 this last summer on all my bikes, I have 105 gears/shifters on my cx/gravel bike, and full ultegra on the 2 road bikes, the mrs also has full ultegra on her road bike.

big differences are weight, as the shifting action feels the same, and the other difference is the 105 lever gets a little colder due to being non carbon. a couple of my team mates have gone from ultegra/dura-ace to 105 and they all say that the brakes are about the same, once they changed pads.

crankset i cant comment, as the cx bike has FSA slk's, and the roadbikes are all ultegra. the chainrings/crankset are stiffer than the previous sram cranksets I had, and don't suffer from the chronic chainsuck that sram can do. I only have 6800 cassettes and chains, mix of 11-28 and 11-25.

my final thoughts, 105 drivetrain is great, but upgrade the chainset( for the weight issues), and brake pads plus a pair of bling wheels

The earlier posts have been very useful for me but I have a particular decision dilemma that I would appreciate advice on.
After 7 or 8 years on my first road bike - a Dawes Giro 200 with Shimano 150 8 speed - a faithful but now broken steed - I have the choice of a BH Quartz with Shimano 105 10 speed or Ultegra 11 speed.
Both are on sale with the Ultegra having the bigger discount but still a price increment for the Ultegra of $400 (about 200 pounds).
I ride for pleasure about 100 miles a week but live in hilly area.
The jump up to either bike from my old Dawes will be fantastic but is it worth paying the extra for the Ultegra?

I think there was a bigger difference between older 105 and Ultegra (esp the chainset and brakes). Cables and general set up could potentially make more difference to how the groupset feels than difference in materials/manufacturing quality.

I'd be more bother by the step down from 105 to Tiagra. Tiagra feels quite light action but flimsy and the hood/lever shape isn't as good.

I've probably already posted this somewhere, but I've got full 6700 on one bike; 5700 shifter/Microshift Arsis derailleurs/6800 Ultegra brakes on another; full 5800 on another and Tiagra on the commuter. There's not a lot of difference between any of the set ups except the Tiagra set up.

You probably won't notice the difference if you can't ride the two groupsets back to back.

There aren't a lot of Ultegra owners responding here (respondents appear to have opted for 105 and are happy with their lot). To be fair I cannot comment on the latest iterations, but my Ultegra is crisper in the change and smoother all round from the 105s I've ridden. I'm not going to say that it's a massive difference, and I think the price differential reflects that (compared to the giant leap to Dura Ace). But you do feel the quality.

new bar tape a few/ half a dozen times a year is no bad thing anyway, let alone for the advantage you get from new cable outers.

I have the 105 5800 11 Spd gruppo and there is only a weight difference to me that i notice right away.

I have just changed from 105 calipers to ultegra and the improvement is huge, if the rest of the groupset is as different then it is worth the £300 (I use SRAM apart from the calipers because i prefer the shifting and lever shapes of the SRAM stuff)

difference in retail price between 5800 and 6800 groupsets is only about £150.

I run 105 (except for my crank) and I swap out the cassette from time to time for different ratios, and one of the cassettes is Ultegra. Ignoring the difference in ratios, the Ultegra cassette feels much better. Gear changes are sweeter, and somehow the feel through the drive train is better - more direct. It makes me want to change the rest of the drivetrain to ultegra.

Shimano 105 5800 is probably the closest that 105 has ever been to Ultegra. The brakes are the same dual pivot, shifters only miss the carbon levers, and the outer chainring is not hollow like Ultegra.

If it was 5700 vs 6700 Ultegra, I'd have gone for the Ultegra, but for the new stuff (5800/6800), as per previous posts its the weight that is the main difference.

Can I stick in a SRAM-shaped curve ball...? I've been using various iterations of 105 for years and yes, it's improved vastly to the point where weight appears to be the only difference between it and Ultegra. However, I've recently switched to SRAM Force on my winter bike and the difference between it and 105 is incredible. I'm a total convert to their Double Tap levers, which are so much easier to use than 105. There isn't a single bit of chain rub or jumping on the cassette and the shifts are light, quick, accurate and immediate. If you can give one a try then I'd recommend it before shelling out for new 105. I've been really, really impressed.

Not if you go for the 5800 105 spec - 11spd and some of the brake development from ultegra has shifted down to 105.
Be careful as lots of retailers are still selling bikes with the old 5700 105 groupset on them

new 105 carries down most of the important innovations of the latest ultegra groupset, and functionally it's very difficult to tell the difference between the two. it's heavier, of course, and if that's a deal breaker then go for ultegra. but like others have said, saving the weight in the wheels will affect the feel of the bike a lot more

Right then, i own a Cube Attempt and have done for the last 2 1/2 years. It is now my winter bike so will remain 105 equipped as it is cheaper to replace. The groupset on there has done over 10,000 miles and is still doing the business with no issues.

There is nothing wrong with the 105 shifting, just make sure that you are cleaning and maintaining regularly. One thing that you may want to change is the front mech. 105 is quite noisy and having changed to an Ultegra FD on another bike (now retired) there is a definate improvement.

So the saving of £300 on the groupset should allow you to get a wheel upgrade. Fulcrum 5's or Campag Zonda's are great and can be had for £215-£250. Grab yourself a cassette too and you have yourself a pair of winter wheel and dry weather wheels