Shimano Dura Ace vs Shimano Ultegra

Despite this vast difference in weight, both groupsets offer very similar shifting performance out on the road. This is because Shimano has manufactured the ramps and pins on the chainrings and cassette sprockets in precisely the same places. Similarly, the shape of the levers and hoods are also almost identical offering a very similar ride feel.

But you can’t have it all. Although Dura Ace is considered to Shimano’s out-and-out performance groupset, surprisingly, Ultegra is generally deemed to be much more versatile, mainly because of the lower range of gears that it offers.

While Ultegra cassettes go all the way up to 34 teeth, Dura Ace cassettes only go up to 30 teeth. Similarly, Ultegra chainsets come with the lowest chainring combination of 46/36 teeth, compared with the smallest chainring combination of 50/34 offered with Dura Ace chainsets.

As a result of these smaller gears, Ultegra is a much more suitable groupset for gravel and cyclocross riding, as well as road racing. Dura Ace, on the other hand, is only really suitable for riding on the road.

In summary, there are two primary differences between Ultegra and Dura Ace. Firstly,  the materials used in each groupset are slightly different, which results in Dura Ace weighing appreciably lighter than Shimano’s second-tier Ultegra.

Secondly, an Ultegra groupset offers much lower gears than Dura Ace. This, in turn, means the second-tier groupset is much better suited to a wider variety of riding styles, such as cyclocross and gravel, and not just road racing.