If you’re looking to build a new bike, one of the biggest investments can be a new groupset.
After you’ve bought a frame, one of the latest electronic, disc brake road groupsets can cost close to or more than £2,000, which is quite the investment.
That’s why the Sigma Sports January sale has piqued our interest. The online retailer currently has Shimano Ultegra Di2 on sale with 47 per cent off.
Sitting just below Dura-Ace in Shimano’s road bike groupset hierarchy, Ultegra costs £2,259 at full price, but you can currently get it for as little as £1,119 from Sigma Sports.
This cheapest option comes with 50/34-tooth chainrings, which is what you’ll find specced on many of the best road bikes.
The compromise is for this price you have to settle for cranks that are 175mm long.
Crank length often corresponds to the size of the bike frame. Larger bikes are typically specced with 175mm cranks, while smaller bikes are specced with 170mm or 172.5mm cranks.
If you tend to use 170mm or 172.5mm cranks, you can still save a fair amount of money on Ultegra. Sigma Sports is selling the electronic groupset with 172.5mm cranks for £1,234.09, which is a 45 per cent saving.
The latest version of Shimano Ultegra was launched at the same time as the newest Dura-Ace groupset in 2021.
When our senior technical editor Warren Rossiter reviewed the groupset, he described it as “slick and dependable” and praised its shifting and braking power, querying whether anyone would need to spend the extra money on Dura-Ace.
“If you’re looking to upgrade your current drivetrain, or you’re buying a complete bike equipped with the new Ultegra, you can do so knowing you’re getting top-tier performance from a simply brilliant groupset,” wrote Warren in his review.
The one true advantage of the latest Dura-Ace over Ultegra is its weight saving. The top-spec Dura-Ace saves roughly 200g over Ultegra, depending on specification.
If that sounds like a must, you might be pleased to know Sigma also has a big reduction on Dura-Ace.
SQUIRREL_13180382
