SHIMANO 105 CS-HG700 11-speed cassette, 11-34T One Size,Silver,ICSHG70011134

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Officially, the RD-R7100 rear derailleur isn’t compatible with the tighter 11-30t cassettes available at the Ultegra or Dura-Ace level. For mountain bikes, 12-speed cassettes are largely the default for higher-spec groupsets, paired with a single-ring chainset. Shimano's SPD-SL system is well-established, and the PD-R7000 pedal is an incremental development over the last incarnation. The new design of the carbon fibre reinforced resin pedal body has managed to shave a bit of weight, though; the weight is down 25g to 265g, only 17g more than the Ultegra pedals. There's a big range of tension available, so you can be securely or loosely held to your bike depending on your preference. The SPD-SL system is my personal favourite for road cycling, but different pedals suit different folks. The pedals come shipped with SM-SH-11 (yellow) cleats, which have 6° of float. There are two other options: blue, with 2° of float, and red, with no float at all. The weight savings aren't spread evenly. If you were looking at getting some Ultegra bits You'd be hard pressed to justify upgrading from a 105 chain, for example, to net the 3g weight saving that gives. The biggest saving in absolute terms is the Dual Control levers (62g) and the biggest in terms of percentage is the cassette (17% lighter). The second is interesting in that the cassette is often a place where bike manufacturers spec down as it's not an obvious downgrade. When he reviewed the Ultegra levers (above) Stu Kerton said, “The biggest difference of R8000 [current generation Shimano Ultegra] over 6800 [the previous version] is the shape of the brake lever. The curve for your index finger is more pronounced and if, like me, you like to wrap your finger around the bar when on the hoods then you'll find it very comfortable.

Beyond weight, there’s not much difference in performance between a Dura-Ace 11-28 cassette and one from a Shimano Ultegra or a Shimano 105 groupset, so you can save yourself considerable expense by down-speccing. However, as groupset manufacturers have jumped onto the gravel bandwagon, there are now gravel-specific gearing options available on the market. we need to be clear what we mean when we write 'gears': do we mean cog and chainring teeth (11-12-13 &c and 52-39 &c)? Cog & chainring combinations (52x13)? 11sp vs 10sp? Gear sequence (1st to 22nd)? Gear relationship (higher/lower; highest/lowest)? Cog number on cassette (1-11)? Gear ratios (1:1, 2.74:1)? Gear inches (30–135")? Metres development (4.56)? 'Gain'? Speed at rpm? Or the whole system (derailleurs, chain, cassette, [internal hub] chainrings)?However shifters, lets call them briftors, are subject to damage more frequently than any other component on a bike, so why go with DA briftors when 105 works extremely well and gets better with the addition of DA9000 cables? The cost to replace DA briftors would make the average person's head spin, and with changes going on all the time, if you break one you'll probably end up replacing both because you more than likely won't be able to find a replacement that matches the unbroken one still on the bike. Unless you’re running a triple crankset, it’s unlikely you’ll want to use a road bike cassette on a mountain bike. Dave Caudery / Immediate Media

Although it might seem straightforward, there’s a lot of engineering that goes into a bike cassette. This shows how far you can push the envelope. I have even run 11-36 using a derailleur hanger extender and nothing suffers except bigger gaps in gears. Longevity of components is not compromised and chain cassette combo is still fresh after 3500 miles. If you’re deciding between Shimano 105 and Shimano Ultegra groupsets, either on a complete bike or as an upgrade, here’s everything you need to know to make the right choice. I'm fully expecting it to survive a third winter though and I suspect it'll be the desire for shiny bits rather than actual need that'll see me upgrade.Like rear derailleurs, front derailleurs have a maximum capacity. Here it relates to the difference in size between the large chainring and the small chainring. So, say you are using 50/34T chainrings: the difference is 16 teeth.