2022 Dura Ace, Ultegra & 105 electronic groupsets

The 11-34cassettes are aimed at sportive riders, because every sportive organiser feels he has to throw in the longest, steepest hills in to make it a proper challenge and similar downhill for the biggest thrills and achieve some sort of sportive status a la Fred Whitton. Plus riders would feel they arent getting value if it was a rolling cum flattish course
Imagine the revelation that the new breed sportive riders would feel if they discovered Audax riding, and that it offers pretty much the same 'challenge ride' feel but only costs a fiver and not £50+quid.
 
On another note, I went into a glitzy bike shop today. £4k plus was the standard for what id consider a modern enthusiasts club bike, that is a carbon frame with ultegra.
£2.5k buys either carbon with Tiagra or aluminium with 105.
Cant see me buying a new bike ever, just replacing bits from whats in the shed
Same here on this side of the world. In 2020 I spent >£2k on an undiscounted carbon bike with mechanical Ultegra. It felt like a rash purchase at the time, but now in 2022 the same bike with 105 Di2 is £1k more and weighs nearly half a kilo extra. I know inflation is a factor but still astonishing to me
 
I briefly thought about buying a new bike (~£1k, "lame" category) a while ago, but I'd be swapping the pedals/saddle/bars/levers/tyres/wheels before the first ride, so what's the bloody point.

If I buy a new bike it will probably be a Spa, but even they are succumbing to shite like disk brakes by the looks of it.
 
On another note, I went into a glitzy bike shop today. £4k plus was the standard for what id consider a modern enthusiasts club bike, that is a carbon frame with ultegra.
£2.5k buys either carbon with Tiagra or aluminium with 105.
Cant see me buying a new bike ever, just replacing bits from whats in the shed
i agree. no more mix and match like the 80's. Sad

we have now entered the deathstar!
 
I am not a fan of these groupsets that are aesthetically not the best, the bonded cranks with the dura ace and ultegra series and their many failures as well as the internal cable eatring shifters is why I stepped away from 22-24 groupsets. I stick to dura ace 7700-7800 only.
 
Hi
all the new gear seems very fragile, the amount of mechanical's that happen on the tours. Why having 12 on the back is better than 10 or 9 or 8 , must be more is better? It's only possible to ride in one gear at a time. Anyway that's my 2 pence worth.
 
Hi
all the new gear seems very fragile, the amount of mechanical's that happen on the tours. Why having 12 on the back is better than 10 or 9 or 8 , must be more is better? It's only possible to ride in one gear at a time. Anyway that's my 2 pence worth.

More available ratios means a cassette can have each gear closer to the one either side meaning smaller jumps between gears making it easier for a rider to maintain a preferred cadence or even stay in one chainring longer. Also it means modern bikes can still have a decent small (11t) sprocket with a 28 or 30+ for a low gear all in one cassette. Looking back at 7 speed cassettes neither close gears or a useable spread was possible.

I agree with the shortcomings of modern groupsets but one advantage is definitely the available ratios on cassettes & chainring size choices we didn't have 15 years ago.
 
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