Monday 9 December 2013

Dura-ace resolution

Here’s my new resolution – I’m not going to use road (or ‘cross) bike parts other than Shimano Dura-ace.  Honestly in the last decade, if I made a pie chart of how much time I spent dicking around with parts that creaked, failed, busted, shifted like crap, created headaches, etc., I know it would look like an infinitesimally small slice dedicated to Dura-ace “problems”, and the rest emanating for “component groups other than Dura-ace”.  It’s not so much as a bike parts snobbery thing as it is a headache reducer.  I bike to reduce stress, hence this conclusion.  For fulfilling lack of stress reducing riding, I will spend my beer tokens, err money, to buy such stress reducing parts. 
 
SRAM stuff is light, and it has become quite inexpensive.  But for a few grams lighter per gruppo, I’ve had maintenance beyond what I want.  Non-drive side cranks coming loose, then coming off 100km from home in the winter, cause no multitool has a hex key that big, is not cool.  Shimano chainrings last inordinately long, as do cogsets.  I’ve never snapped a Dura-ace chain, which I can’t say for others.  The bikes I have with Dura-ace on them feel immensely pleasurable to shift every time I get on them; the contrast is stark to my other bikes.
 
Some things in life are certain – death and taxes come to mind.  Some are certain, and happiness inducing – such as the sun rising in the east every morning, and Shimano Dura-ace. 
 
That’s it, that’s all.

2 comments:

  1. With you, although I think a shout-out to Dura-ace's younger brother Ultegra is in order... Sure it weighs a little more, but for the cost it can't be beat (in my humble opinion).

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  2. Hoop is right. I had a set of Ultegra that did 7 years of 4 season use here. It's now via ebay in Peurto Rico for only a couple bucks to be rebuilt onto other bikes.

    But from day one to present, it didn't shift quite as nice as Dura-ace. Robust? Yes. Just as luxurious? Close... but not quite.

    Electronic has the chance to change all that.

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