Dura Ace 7900 V Uletegra 6700

[Jace]

Just wondering if anyone knew the main differences between these two? As I understand it the 7900 is older but finding it hard to find out much more info?

Thanks!

[Duck!]

7900 was introduced the year before 6700 (standard "trickle-down" pattern). There are some material differences, resulting in Dura-ace being lighter & more expensive, but functionally there's little to split them.

[Jace]

Sweet, thanks Duck! So very similar accept in terms of weight? Out of interest do you know how old they are? I have been trying to work out whether a bike equipped with Dura Ace 7900 is better or equal to one with Ultegra 6700 assuming everything else was equal.

[Duck!]

7900 was introduced in 2008 for 2009 model year & current until mid-2012, 6700 was a year behind. Dura-Ace is always a bit lighter, but I don't know exact figures off my head.

[Strydz]

From memory the weight difference is 300 grams between 7900 and 6700. The Dura Ace has a smaller hood design and I have found it is a fair amount more comfortable over longer rides, there is a slightly better shifting feel with the DA over the Ultegra but personally I wouldn't say it is worth the extra coin. The 6700 is a great bang for your buck groupset

[chucknitro]

Ultegra brakes improved significantly with 6800. A club member who normally rides Dura Ace, had a ride of my Ultegra 6700 and was not impressed with the brakes. I'd expect much better braking with the Dura Ace.

[Xplora]

9000 or GTFO. The latest gen Shimano ergonomics are much better. I went to Campag at considerable expense and worse braking because the ergonomics crap all over the Shimmy stuff. You hold your hoods much more than you change gears

[Duck!]

From a mechanic's perspective, I'm not a great fan of the whole 7900/6700/5700 family. The shifting is stiff & draggy, even with the specified Teflon-coated cables, and the ergo is weird. Both the older-generation 10-sp 7800/6600/5600 and the new 11-sp. groups are better. Chuck a set of Tefon cables in 7800-&-related shifters & the shifting is sublime. I also like the bigger hood peaks of the older series; much more meat to hang onto. The little peaks on 7900 etc have you feeling like you're going to slip off the front if you hit a decent bump.

[Strydz]

From a mechanic's perspective, I'm not a great fan of the whole 7900/6700/5700 family. The shifting is stiff & draggy, even with the specified Teflon-coated cables, and the ergo is weird. Both the older-generation 10-sp 7800/6600/5600 and the new 11-sp. groups are better. Chuck a set of Tefon cables in 7800-&-related shifters & the shifting is sublime. I also like the bigger hood peaks of the older series; much more meat to hang onto. The little peaks on 7900 etc have you feeling like you're going to slip off the front if you hit a decent bump.

Agree with you here. Shimano just got it wrong when they went under the tape with the cables, can't quite work out how they stuffed it up but they did. Along with running 7900 on my TCR I also have the new 11 speed Ultegra and it does shift better with a nice hood design, I like the 7900 (also like the ergo) but now having used the 6800 you can really feel the "lightness" when shifting. The brakes on the 6800 are damn fine but so are the 7900's

[Dr_Mutley]

7900 was the reason I went to Di2.... 7900 was just woeful, especially with some internal cabling systems...

[Jace]

9000 or GTFO. The latest gen Shimano ergonomics are much better. I went to Campag at considerable expense and worse braking because the ergonomics crap all over the Shimmy stuff. You hold your hoods much more than you change gears

I didn't realise the hoods were different as well? Hmmm, learn something new everyday!