Here's a more-or-less complete and brand new Dura Ace 7900 groupset. I decided to stick with 10-speed for compatibility reasons. As this story is presented retroactively, I can say that I'm amazed with DA. STI's are so light and precise, especially on up-shifts, brakes are amazing and the carbon pedals make for noticeably easier spinning! I prefer Ultegra's front derailleur action over DA's though.
Viewed: 2553 times.
|
Dura Ace 7900 chainset weighs 50 grams less than Ultegra 6700.
Viewed: 2552 times.
|
Rear derailleur weighs 20 g less...
Viewed: 2704 times.
|
...and 20 grams difference again for front derailleur!
Viewed: 2655 times.
|
Dura Ace 7900 STI's weigh whopping 65 grams less than Ultegra 6700 ones...
Viewed: 2452 times.
|
...while brake calipers save 21 grams.
Viewed: 2552 times.
|
Dura Ace 12-25 cassette is noticeably lighter than Ultegra, or to be more precise - 51 grams.
Viewed: 2527 times.
|
242 grams for 7901 chain shortened to 108 links, which is 11 grams weight difference compared to 6700.
Viewed: 2600 times.
|
I opted in favour of Ultegra 6800 Carbon pedals instead of Dura Ace ones as they are only few grams heavier yet still 58 g lighter than Ultegra 6700. Totals up as very close to 300 grams shaved off in the groupset department.
Viewed: 2476 times.
|
The handlebar will be wrapped in Deda fluorescent yellow bar tape @ 63 g. I've had lime green on my ex-CR1, so this colour choice alludes at the progression :-).
Viewed: 3304 times.
|
Stealthy Elite Custom black on matt black bottle cages - 41 grams x 2.
Viewed: 2687 times.
|
After disc brakes, will this be the next big thing in road cycling? :-)
Viewed: 2769 times.
|
And here it is, all built up together with my PRO Vibe 7s 130 mm stem, PRO Vibe 7s 44 cm handlebar and Fizik Arione CX Braided saddle (591 g for the three), 6700 Ultegra wheelset with Continental GP4000 tyres (2414 g for the set), cables and grease. The total weight is 7250 grams - which makes it exactly 400 grams lighter than my ex-CR1.
Viewed: 3181 times.
|
The frameset is very stiff due to tapered head tube, wide bottom bracket and no shock dampening in the forks. It accelerates fantastically (especially on climbs) - and amplifies the excellent Dura Ace anchors. However, it comes with a penalty - the ride is rather harsh compared to CR1's - it feels as if the tyres have 2.5-3 bars more pressure in them and the chainslap occurs regularly on small rear cogs over bumps, due to the rear fork design (and I hate chainslap with passion).
Viewed: 2708 times.
|
On the other hand - the handling... oh, the handling! I know that the previous Addict has been praised for it but I am blown away now I have experienced it myself. It feels so positive and planted in the corners, while combined with super-sharp steering it makes for an outstanding ride and easily overshadows the downsides of this race-oriented frameset.
Viewed: 2659 times.
|
To recap - it has taken me some time to get used to riding the Addict, as it's nothing like CR1's "magic carpet" ride, but now I have, I find it very rewarding and don't look back. Dura Ace groupset is also a vast improvement over Ultegra and plays a great role in the grand scheme of things. Now if I could only get rid of the chainslap...
Viewed: 2785 times.
|