Once you have perfected your cycling tan lines the next logical step is to invest in a performance oriented groupset. Shimano is a name familiar among cyclists and they rightly deserve their highly respected reputation for excellent groupsets.
They have a groupset for every budget :. When you start to focus on getting better on the bike you need a groupset with performance to spare.
In this article we look at the Shimano versus Ultegra groupset to help decide which one is best for you and your budget. See on Amazon. Both the and Ultegra groupsets come with an speed cassette. This is the gold standard in the cycling world at the moment. More sprockets means a superior shifting performance with less torque changes between sprockets.
Having more sprockets means that you can find the perfect cadence to match your efforts, whether that is spinning up hills or grinding on the flats. The cassette comes in , , and teeth options so there is a gear ratio for everyone and every terrain. Without turning this into a mechanical engineering lecture, these numbers basically represent the number of teeth on the smallest and biggest sprockets of the cassette respectively.
The gear ratio on a bike simply means how many times the back wheel turns for each full pedal stroke. The bigger number helps you pull your bike over tough climbs. The right cassette for your bike comes down mostly to the terrain you ride. The Ultegra comes with the same cassette options as the with an additional and option.
The option in particular is great for those doing some cyclocross in winter. Swapping for a means less jumps between the gears and more chance to find the perfect cadence for your effort. Since the cassette has the same number of sprockets on the and the Ultegra, the chain is the same dimensions on both groupsets.
The difference in price of the two chains comes down to the fact that the Ultegra chain has low friction treatment on both the roller link plates and the pin link plates.
The chain only has friction treatment on the roller link plates. It is debatable if this would be noticeable to the average cyclist and is an area most would be happy to save some money.
The rear derailleurs on both groupsets feature Shimano shadow technology. This technology has been adopted from the mountain biking world and basically helps to protect the rear derailleur in a crash. When it comes to cranks Shimano is king. Made from aluminum, the Shimano Crank Set is durable and can compete with other similar products made from carbon. Current designs use a 4-bolt design, unlike the previous chainring design. The chainrings are a substantive downgrade from Dura-Ace and Ultegra.
Both use hollow forged rings, while the current has been machined out on the backside. Its race-worthy equipment designed to be affordable, and since it benefits from Dura-Ace and Ultegra trickle-down technology, it doesn't compromise performance. While the Shimano FC-R Crankset tips the scales at around grams more than its top-end sibling, it's still nowhere near what you'd call heavy.
Previous versions of front derailleurs were popular for their excellent front shift quality. The previous versions of the same had problems with tire clearance. People have stated that they have had issues when they relied on a long swingarm.
It used to pivot closer to the rear tire, resulting in interference and rubbing with wide gravel tires. The good news is that this is not a problem for any triathlon tire sizes. The new design ensures a great shift quality is maintained.
It is also compatible with direct mount derailleur hangers. Currently, there are two cage length options. The short cage works best with 25 — 30 tooth large cogs. The long cage is recommended for 28 to 34 tooth large cogs.
If you are not sure, it is better to err on the longer side. Unfortunately, the new derailleur does not have an option for a clutch limit. Considering the price, this is not a deal-breaker. Cassette sizes have a nice range with a downside of a 12 — 25 oddity. The beauty of getting plenty of rear cogs is the option of choosing different ranges with reasonable jumps from one cog to the next. Any avid bike rider knows Shimano makes great brakes.
The bushings and pivots are smooth, burly, and durable. Compared to many cheaper OEM calipers, these brakes have low braking noise. They are available in all popular variants like special under-BB option, direct-mount, and standard. Currently, there is an official series hydraulic caliper in the brake disc department. At the moment there are no hydraulic or mechanical TT brake levers. The new brakes are redesigned and borrow the same new pivoting mechanism for a linear feel that provides an incredibly consistent power distribution from the lever to the rim's braking surface.
It will start with Dura-Ace, followed by Ultegra, and finally The good news is you can make your system using components such as Wolf Tooth 1x chainrings. By the time you have everything in place to make the system work, you will be near the price point of buying a ready-made system from SRAM. We recommend the if you want two rings and you are on a budget.
SRAM Rival 1 is the way to go if you prefer a single chainring. Soon we shall see level Di2 concerning electronic shifting. Shimano was the first company to offer electronic shifting on a wide scale. It is the only company with the ability to pull off a mid-level electronic groupset. Present-day Ultegra groupsets present a host of real improvements. Improvements in current Ultegra groupsets include a very handsome look, flawless shifting, and incredible braking performance. On the downside, the two-position brake quick release may not suit your taste and the barrel adjuster is a bit finicky.
Other features you should look into are:. Ultegra levers are almost identical in profile when compared to They have dual control levers that come with aluminum main levers and plastic brackets reinforced with carbon-fiber. The main difference between previous and current versions is the shape.
If you like wrapping your finger around the bar you will find it quite comfortable. The shape lets you use only your second finger when braking as you slow. You can easily add the remaining fingers for hard braking efforts. Featuring stress-free cable-actuated operation and improved ergonomics for all-day riding comfort and performance. Tooth chainrings for the Ultegra include , , , and the option of a cyclocross. They all use the same bolt circle diameter of mm.
This means you can swap a tooth outer chainring for a tooth. In key areas, the Ultegra and chainsets use the same materials and technology. Although other manufacturers have moved to carbon-fiber cranks, Shimano has maintained using aluminum. Hollowtech technology from Shimano allows the Ultegra to retain stiffness while keeping the weight low.
Additionally, the chainring is of higher quality as it features a two-piece construction. On the downside, the design is likely to store grime in all the recesses. The chainset's outer chainring is heavily machined on the inside face to reduce weight, retaining splines across the machined section to make sure stiffness isn't compromised. It's not quite as technically advanced as the Ultegra outer chainring which features a two-piece construction, but you wouldn't know unless you looked at it from the back.
The design is a bit more susceptible to storing grime in all the recesses but that's not a huge issue. Whereas some chainsets feature a aluminium axle in a 30mm diameter, Shimano uses a steel axle with a 24mm diameter across the board.
The above and Ultegra below front derailleurs each come with a glass-fibre reinforced plastic outer link, an aluminium inner link, a chrome-plated steel chain guide, and light shifting. A trim position allows you to avoid chain rub as you move across the cassette. Both the Ultegra and front derailleurs have been redesigned and use a cam arrangements to actuate the shift, allowing the units to be much more compact than before.
They each feature a tension adjustment screw, which means there's no need for an inline barrel adjuster. The largest chainring recommended for use with each of them is tooth.
Both Ultegra and below rear derailleurs are available in short cage SS and medium cage GS versions to suit the chainset and cassette that you are using. Go for the medium cage version of either and the maximum sprocket size you can officially use is 34T although in reality they'll handle much more. They're similar to one another in terms of materials although the Ultegra model has better pulley bearings. For the latest versions of its top three groupsets, Dura-Ace, Ultegra and , Shimano has incorporated its Shadow technology, brought over from the mountain bike side of the business.
Its design means that the rear derailleur profile is much narrower when you look at the bike from the rear, sitting 12mm closer to the bike when in the bottom sprocket of the cassette.
This means that should you crash or the bike gets blown over there is less chance of damage to the bike or wrecking your gear hanger. The new design is compatible with direct mount frames, although there aren't many of those in the road sector right now.
In his review of Shimano Ultegra R Stu said, "The gear shifts feel slightly quicker and lighter than on , and it really is a joy to use. Once set up, we found shifting to be precise and consistent across the whole cassette.
It's crisp and light whether you're using the short cage or the medium cage rear derailleur. There's no Shimano clutch derailleur. Both and Ultegra are speed systems.
Ultegra is available in all of those plus and With both and Ultegra, the largest sprocket you can officially use is a tooth, although in truth you can go much larger than that; we have gear systems with cassettes that work very happily.
These differences make for a difference in weight, but we're talking about g, depending on the size of the cassette. They have a very solid feel and modulation is excellent. I've been using the brakes on my race bike, which has Swiss Side Hadron wheels that have an alloy brake track, and the brake performance is about as good as you're going to find for a rim brake.
The callipers are not noticeably inferior to the Ultegra brakes in anything other than weight, and even there the difference isn't great. Shimano also offers direct mount brakes in both the Ultegra and the groupsets. Shimano has offered level and Ultegra-level hydraulic disc brakes for some time but it's only recently that designs have actually been incorporated into each of the groupsets.
The body of the hood is a bit bigger, especially at the bottom where the hose exits the lever, but not so much that it's a problem. Read our Shimano R hydraulic disc brake review here. The system has an aluminium brake lever while it's engineering composite if you go for Ultegra, which is a little lighter. Will you notice a difference in the quality of the braking if you opt for more expensive Ultegra? In short, no. It works brilliantly whichever you choose. The only difference between them is that the chain has this treatment on the roller link plates the inner ones only while the Ultegra chain above has it on the pin link plates the outer ones too.
It's great to see that Shimano is finally offering its chains with a quick link similar to those used by KMC and others, making them much easier to fit and remove. Shimano recommends the same bottom bracket whether you go for an Ultegra or a groupset. The Ultegra and below pedals both have wide carbon composite bodies, widely spaced bearings, chromoly steel axles and adjustable entry and release tension.
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