Bicycle Build

[Thorn]

A year after building my beautiful, custom Waterford I'm....uh...building another. The Waterford, oddly shaped tho it may be, fits me perfectly, so I'm building a second one with S&S couplers for travel (optimism: the economy will improve). No more ill-fitting rentals for me.

Since the bike is for travel (think TSA and baggage handlers) and will only see 500-1000 miles per year, I pulled back some on the components--Veloce, not Chorus; no carbon. The wheels are the same as her big sister's--don't skimp on the wheels, y'all say.

But, my conundrum....the build quote is for Shimano 105 cranks. Should I spring to take the crank to Ultegra? My rule of thumb that I've learned over the years here is "don't skimp on the rolling parts". My logic says that includes the crank, bottom bracket and pedals, not just the wheels. Is my logic flawed and the 105 cranks are fine or should I spring the $100 and go with Ultegra? Opinions?

[redrhodie]

I've had the same dilemma between choosing ultegra and 105 brakes for my winter bike, and my lbs convinced me that performance was the same between both, just the finish was different. I bet for what you need, 105 is the way to go.

[newfsmith]

I've never had anything Ultegra level, I can't spin fast enough to justify it. In all honesty, I can't feel any difference in my full 105 Felt 70 and my mixed bag home build with Sugino cranks. I would spend on the BB, but the cranks (unless very heavy) aren't going to make that much difference. On a touring bike where you set your own pace I would think 105 would be fine, I've done several centuries (solo as well as group) on mine.

[indysteel]

I, personally, think 105 will do just fine for a bike that's only going to see 500 to 1000 miles of touring (not racing, right?) a year. Have you looked at the specs for each to determine what the difference between the two cranks actually is?

I'm confused though. You mention Campy Veloce and Chorus in the same post. Are you building this bike up with Shimano or Campy or a mixture of both?

[Thorn]

My LBS prefers the Shimano cranks over the Campy triple crank (Campy's down to one). We talked about using FSA on my original Waterford, but, sigh, I simple had to go with silver so we put on Ultegra.

From a visual appeal, the Shimano cranks are lovely with their smooth lines; the LBS really felt strongly on the Shimano over the Campy triple; and, well, the egalitarian in me kinda likes the fact that my bike is not polarized--it is neither Campy nor Shimano--it is both!

When I looked at the specs, they read the same. Shimano didn't list weight, but I found a site that said the 105 is actually lighter, but that the Ultegra is better material and stiffer. If I was tooling up and down the MUP, I'd say that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the 105 and Ultegra crank, but on vacation we climb mountains. Under load is crank stiffness noticeable to a plodder when you've dropped to the lowest gear and are at 50-60RPMs? So, no racing, but climbing.

[indysteel]

My LBS prefers the Shimano cranks over the Campy triple crank (Campy's down to one). We talked about using FSA on my original Waterford, but, sigh, I simple had to go with silver so we put on Ultegra.

From a visual appeal, the Shimano cranks are lovely with their smooth lines; the LBS really felt strongly on the Shimano over the Campy triple; and, well, the egalitarian in me kinda likes the fact that my bike is not polarized--it is neither Campy nor Shimano--it is both!

When I looked at the specs, they read the same. Shimano didn't list weight, but I found a site that said the 105 is actually lighter, but that the Ultegra is better material and stiffer. If I was tooling up and down the MUP, I'd say that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the 105 and Ultegra crank, but on vacation we climb mountains. Under load is crank stiffness noticeable to a plodder when you've dropped to the lowest gear and are at 50-60RPMs? So, no racing, but climbing.

I have the Campy Comp triple, i.e., the one that Campy is down to. I'm curious as to why your LBS prefers the Shimano crank over it. I like it; it was a big improvement over the Sugino crank that came standard on my Bianchi. However, and this is a big however, for me, the Q-factor is too wide and it's not the right crank for me. I'm about to begin my own custom build project, and the crank will likely be a difficult choice. I'm going with Campy compact, I think, unless my LBS sells me on a different triple.

If climbing is an issue, then I'd go with an Ultegra. How much difference in price is it?