I "upgraded" from 6600 Ultegra SL to 6700 Ultegra and the shifting is significantly poorer. On the weekend I re-cabled the bike to try to improve shift feel and quality (Gore cables, lubed all the cable ends, routed the gear cables straight out from the shifters and around the back of the bar) and it made only a marginal improvement. By comparison the shifting on my exposed cable 105 commuter bike is much better and crisper!Dr_Mutley wrote:I went with DA7900 on my latest S3 build and must say i am quite disapponted with it... All my previous bikes have been shimano shod, and unless I take the jump to Di2 one day, this will probably be the last DA gruppo I go for... My RS cervelo runs DA 7800 and it is fantastic, pure quality, and shifts very very well. DA7900 feels inferior in quality with is over use of plastic. Shifting is significantly poorer than 7800, altho this maybe due a little with the S3s cable internal routing being less than direct. Also for some reason Shimano decided that increasing the throw of the brifter to change gears from the 7800 to 7900 would be a good idea? WT?? I also dislike the 7900 exposed internal shifting mechanism as it looks crap and also rubs blisters on my fingers when climbing (have to put my gloves on before getting out of saddle!). The only aesthetic positive to 7900 is the concealed cabling, besides the small weight drop.
Try Red prior to your build. If u ike it go wth that. It looks better, shifts better than 7900, weighs less, and is significantly cheaper.
On the plus side the brakes are fantastic compared to 6600!
Did I mention the bulk of the shifter body and length of the lever throw? Not one for stubby and small hands like mine!
My mate has he same bike as me with SRAM Red and I'm definitley going to try it out for an extended test ride. Shimano seem to have gone backwards of late overall.