SHIMANO ULTEGRA VS. DURA-ACE AT IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

If you’re like me, the pros can have a big influence on your purchasing decisions. I want to ride a V-PRi because it’s the IRONMAN bike course record holder and get fancy upgrades like oversized pulley wheels to extract every marginal gain. Obviously, the engine (you) is the most important thing, but it’s incredibly easy to convince yourself that using the same gear as the pros will lead to more speed. The problem with pro-level gear is that it often comes with a pro-level price tag. 

This is why I LOVE seeing pro athletes achieve success at the highest level using more relatable (and affordable) equipment. Today, we tell the story of two pro athletes who raced this year's IRONMAN World Championships on Shimano Ultegra and beat many bikes with fancier and more expensive Dura-Ace and SRAM RED builds. Then we’ll dive into the differences between Shimano’s popular 105, Ultegra, and Dura-Ace groupsets and how to choose when ordering your next triathlon bike. 

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Achieving the 10th Fastest Bike Split in Nice on Ultegra

Breivold's Ultegra-equipped V-PRi waiting in transition. 

Quintana Roo pro, Jon Sæverås Breivold, was a bit of an underdog at this year’s Men’s IRONMAN World Championship in Nice. This was his first World Championships, and he put himself on the back foot after coming out of the water well off the pace. But Breivold is a former professional cyclist, and the moment he got on the bike, he turned on the afterburners and showed he belonged in this field. 

He earned the 10th fastest bike split (4:39:51) of the entire field and rode himself into the top 25. He gained more spots on the run to finish 20th overall, including winning a finish chute sprint against the legendary Cameron Wurf. Not bad for a World Championships rookie! Breivold’s bike leg in Nice was seriously impressive. This is the first time that a QR has earned a top-10 bike split at the IRONMAN World Championships, and it was a breakout showing for both Breivold and the V-PRi at the sport’s highest level. 

Breivold gaining positions on the bike leg. Photo: Timotheus Kredel (@_timotheus_)

What’s even more impressive is that Breivold built his V-PRi with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 12-speed drivetrain. Ultegra Di2 is the base-level groupset offering for the V-PRi, with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and SRAM RED AXS as upgrade options. The major advantage of these top-tier groupsets over Ultegra is reduced weight. Weight matters on a hilly course like Nice, but it’s only part of the equation. 

Breivold chose to focus more of his budget on aerodynamics by building his V-PRi with a Vision Metron 60 SL front wheel, a Vision Metron SL Disc rear wheel, Vision Metron TFE Team Edition Extensions, a Vision Modular Aero Crankset, and an EZ Hydro Gains rear bottle cage holder. It paid off for him, as he was able to make up dozens of places on the bike and match the speed of many of the sport’s strongest cyclists. 

The 15th Fastest Woman at Kona Rode Ultegra

Factory Team athlete, Jana Uderstadt, is a newcomer to the Quintana Roo family and another World Championship rookie. At the Women’s IRONMAN World Championship in Kona this year, she didn’t have any grand ambitions. Before the race, she humbly wrote, “The nerves are definitely kicking in, but above all, I just feel incredibly grateful for the chance to be here, to race, and to live this dream.”

Uderstadt absolutely crushed it in her first Kona appearance! She stayed consistent throughout the day, coming out of the water in 30th among the pro women, and then slowly working her way forward with perfect pacing to end the day in 15th. Not only is this an amazing result against the world’s best athletes, but she was also the first among our five Quintana Roo pros to finish! This is sure to boost Uderstadt’s confidence in the future, and we’re excited to see her career continue to blossom. 

When we took a closer look at the V-PRi triathlon bikes our pros brought to Kona, I referred to Uderstadt’s bike as “the people’s champ.” She’s running a Shimano Ultegra Di2 12-speed groupset and a set of DT Swiss ARC 1400 wheels. She has a set of aftermarket cSixx chainrings and an EZ Hydro Gains rear bottle cage holder, but otherwise, her bike is essentially a V-PRi with all of the base-level build options that you can select in our custom bike builder. 

Beyond equipment, her major focus before Kona has been on improving her body. Not just through training, but through dialing in her bike fit (with help from experts at FMAERO) to improve her comfort, generate more power, and fine-tune her position for maximum aerodynamic efficiency. 

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Shimano 105 vs. Ultegra vs. Dura-Ace for Your Triathlon Bike

You might be asking: What’s the difference between Shimano Ultegra vs. Dura-Ace? Why is Dura-Ace so much more expensive? Where does Shimano 105 fit into this whole equation? How do you choose between these three Shimano groupsets? We'll explain the essentials to hopefully make the decision a bit easier. 

Shimano Groupset Hierarchy

Before I explain the key differences. Here’s a basic rundown of Shimano’s current road groupset hierarchy:

Shifting Performance

Quintana Roo is a performance-oriented brand, and every bike we build is designed to help athletes maximize their potential. To that end, the lowest-level Shimano groupset we will offer on our bikes is Shimano 105. 

This is because Shimano 105 Di2 offers essentially the same shifting performance as its more expensive siblings. The motors are the same. The architecture of the derailleurs and shift ramps on the chainrings and cogs is the same. 105 shifts just as well as Ultegra and Dura-Ace. In fact, if I were blindfolded, I’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between any of these groupsets based on how they shift. 

Weight, Materials, and Manufacturing

The three major differences (beyond price) between 105, Ultegra, and Dura-Ace groupsets are weight, materials, and manufacturing. 

Weight is the key factor. A full Dura-Ace Di2 groupset is roughly 250 grams lighter than a full Ultegra Di2 groupset, which in turn is around 285 grams lighter than a full 105 Di2 groupset. These weight differences are the result of materials and manufacturing differences.     

The top-of-the-line Dura-Ace group uses expensive exotic materials like titanium and carbon fiber more liberally. This is very easy to see by comparing the cassettes: 

The Dura-Ace cassette (223g) features 5 titanium cogs on a carbon/aluminum spider and an anodized aluminum lockring to reduce weight. The Ultegra cassette (291g) has nickel-plated steel cogs on a carbon/aluminum spider and also uses an anodized aluminum lockring. The 105 cassette (361g) also uses nickel-plated steel cogs, but on an aluminum spider with a nickel-plated steel lockring.  

Certain components will feature more extensive machining. This can be hard to see, but the rear derailleur is often a good example: 

If you look closely, the Dura-Ace derailleur (215g) is visibly slimmer, with more beveled edges, because more time and money have been spent to machine away excess metal, reducing the weight. The Ultegra derailleur (262g) features a bit more machining than 105 derailleur (302g), but less than Dura-Ace. The Dura-Ace and Ultegra rear derailleurs also use more expensive and higher-quality pulley bearings that marginally reduce drivetrain friction that might save a fraction of a watt (but if you order a V-PRi, this gets upgraded to a CeramicSpeed OSPW anyway!).

*Note: Listed overall weights are with road-style shift/brake levers. 

Gearing Considerations

One final factor to consider is the gearing each group provides. Ultegra and 105 cranksets are available in 52/36t and 50/34t chainring configurations, while Dura-Ace is the only group that offers larger 54/40t chainrings. Cassette options and compatibility are also different. Dura-Ace and Ultegra rear derailleurs can accommodate 11-34t cassettes, while the 105 can accommodate a larger 11-36t cassette. 

If you need the easiest gearing possible, 105 will allow you to run the compact chainrings (50/34t) with the largest 11-36t cassette. The majority of athletes will be fine with either a standard 105 or Ultegra setup. Only the exceptionally strong need big 54/40t chainrings to hold higher average speeds. That doesn’t mean you need Dura-Ace, though! Breivold swapped to a Vision crankset while Uderstadt swapped in a set of aftermarket 54/39t chainrings onto her Ultegra cranks to get a bigger gear. 

Which Shimano groupset is for you?

Breivold and Uderstadt make me feel confident about choosing Ultegra on my own bike. Photo: Timotheus Kredel (@_timotheus_)

So knowing the differences, how do you choose between these three groupsets? 

First and foremost, your budget is the biggest factor. If 105 is the only option that fits your budget, then it’s a great option that provides the same shift feel and technology as more expensive groupsets. You may sacrifice some weight and aesthetics, but I don’t think you should lose any sleep over it. It allows you to have the same amazing riding experience as the other groups, and in the end, it’s the ride that should matter most.

For me, though, Ultegra represents the best balance of high performance and value. It saves a bit of weight, and as our athletes Jon Breivold and Jana Uderstadt showed, it’s also more than good enough to achieve amazing results at the highest level of the sport. With my budget, I’d personally build my bike a lot like Breivold’s. I’d choose Ultegra and put more of my money toward an aero wheelset upgrade.   

For those who must have the best-of-the-best, though, Dura-Ace is Shimano’s no-compromise, highest-performance groupset. For riders who want every performance advantage possible, it is the ultimate option. It has the lowest weight, the most prestige, and it inspires the most lust. For some, those are the factors that matter. 

In my mind, a top-tier groupset won’t make your bike “better,” but it will definitely make it “nicer.” I like to compare choosing between Ultegra and Dura-Ace to buying a banana in the grocery store. The organic banana might cost 20 cents more than a regular banana. Organic bananas are probably a bit healthier. But if you gave me both and didn’t tell me which was which, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. They taste more or less the same. But the label and the extra work put behind it are what make the difference. Some people just prefer the organic option.

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