Ultegra or 105 chain set?

[oldgreyandslow]

Is ultegra worth the extra £35? I am thinking of changing my bb30 FSA chainset to hollowtech as I am losing patience with having to change bearings too regularly. Everything else on the bike is 105 so I wonder if it's worth upgrading to ultegra in this case.

 

[dan_bo]

Depends how much you'd miss a spare 35 quid pal- aside from weight and looks there's not much difference otherwise.

 

[Kies]

If everything else is 105 .... Keep it the same

 

[boydj]

You'd not notice the difference when pedalling.

 

[The Brewer]

I don't know, will it change gear smoother ???

 

[LimeBurn]

I dont think you'd notice unless you were changing all the drive train to be honest and even then it would only be while shifting as it would be slightly smoother. 105 is after all very good as it is, it would be more down to aesthetics for me - would the 105 match better as ultegra could be a different colour. Unless you don't mind stuff like that

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Absolutely no value in it

 

[ianrauk]

I don't know, will it change gear smoother ???

No.

Stick to the same as what you have on the bike already.
If you are planning on upgrading the rest of the bike in time, Brifters, Rear and Front Derailleurs and Brakes then go for it.

 

[oldgreyandslow]

Thanks, the bike is a boardman team carbon that is coming up to 2 years old, the existing crank set is a FSA Gossamer BB30 set up, which is fine but creaks, and I seem to be spending a lot of time greasing and eventually replacing bearings far more regularly than I would have expected. I am on my third set of bearings already and the bike has only done just over 4200 miles. So I was thinking of ditching the BB30 and fitting a sleeve/adapter for Shimano Hollowtech and switching to either 105 or Ultegra. It looks like it'll be 105 based on the above

 

[Dangermouse]

Only if the 105 is worn out or looking tired, Ultegra is lighter (just) and does shift a little crisper, as for looks it is much better I think, but you have to weigh up the cost of the big chainring..........nearly £100 each time you wear one out and they do wear quicker than the 105.

I am talking about a full change to Ultegra, if you only plan on changing the chainset, you wont notice any difference apart from the cost.

 

[User6179]

I changed from Ultegra to Tiagra( under £50) as I was not prepared to pay for Ultegra Chain rings and cant notice the difference.

 

[Dangermouse]

I changed from Ultegra to Tiagra( under £50) as I was not prepared to pay for Ultegra Chain rings and cant notice the difference.

The only difference I do notice is the change is faster and has a nice crisp feel to it..........that's it.