Indysteel,
I want my next bike to be steel, my dream would be titanium but that's really out of my pocket right now. As for your question regarding Ultegra, I don't really have any particular reason not to go with Ultegra. I road a bike with DuraAce and it was so much smoother than my Shimano 105 (2005). If I find a well fitting steel bike with Ultegra I would definately go for it. When it comes to test riding next year I will have to try both and decide what I lilke best. So far Campy sounds attractive because of durability aspect. I have my bike for about a year now with 1400 miles on it so far, the shifting is not very smooth, especially on a hill. I don't have any complaints, so far I didn't have to fix anything but I think I will outgrow 105 pretty fast.