105 vs Ultegra vs Dura Ace 12s Cassettes: Real Weight & Value

A quick comparison between Shimano 12speed 11-34t Cassettes, 105 vs Ultegra vs Dura Ace. Real weight, and cost/gram when upgrading from 105 to Ultegra to Dura Ace.
105 CS-R7100 Claimed weight is 229g
Ultegra CS-R8100 Claimed weight is 229g
Dura Ace CS-r9200 Claimed weight is 229g

Prices in the video are Amazon US pricing as of Feb 2023.

* Amazon links are affiliated, if you use them a small commission will go to this channel at no extra cost to you, but I encourage you to look around, Shimano products can usually be found on discount around the web.
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These videos are not reviews, nor is it an endorsement of the product in question. Just the checking actual weight of the thing.

[slayerofgrams]

Quick note about the "Cost/Saved g", that's in the scenario of upgrading an existing 105 to Ultegra or DA, hence the full cassette price divided by the saved amount of grams.

[Wlodek]

Everything you need is here. No silly intros, straight to the point.

[chrisko]

Very nice that you weighed the lockrings, so we can see that the Utegra cassette weighs almost the same as the 105 cassette, the lockring makes up for most of the weight difference.

[openwheelracing]

Basically 105 cassette with Ultegra lock ring is almost the same weight as Ultegra.

[ocouture]

105 doesnt have "hyperglide+" tech though, so its not only about weight savings. Ive also heard that dura-ace cassette is also less durable, so ultegra might be the sweet spot

[jojogamin]

descision made! 105 cassette with ultegra lockring!

[stevoc]

Not much in it between the 105 with an alloy lock ring and the Ultegra. The Ultegra weight is pretty poor, but it’s the one most people will buy as they don’t want then 105 poverty spec, and can’t stump the cash for DA. Exactly the same with SRAM

[robotics]

I am quite a bit surprised to see such a small weight difference between the R7100 and the R8100 cassettes. The difference is more than twice as large when comparing the R7000 and R8000 11-32 11-speed cassettes, with 320g and 292g respectively. It's almost as if Shimano intentionally made the Ultegra R8100 cassette heavier than it could have been just so it makes the Dura-Ace alternative more appealing - which would totally make sense given how many people ride Ultegra cassettes with Dura-Ace groupsets.

[mareklesniak]

I think the main reason for such a big price difference between the 105 and the Ultegra is lack of Hyperglide+ on the 105.

[jeffreydeleon]

I just switched over my cassette from the 12 speed 105 11-34 to the Ultegra 11-30 cassette, the shifting is smoother it’s night and day

[thijsbesselink]

Important to mention the upgrade in tech 105 over Ultegra is going from normal Hyperglide to Hyperglide+ for faster en smoother shifting. The lockring is not the only difference.

[Banished]

Could you use the Ultegra lockring on the 105 to safe the same amount?

[justinferguson]

Than you for this video!!
I'm going to give the the 'best of both worlds' combo a try: 105 11-36 lower stack, with an Ultegra 11-34 cassette's top 7 cogs. Should give me the best possible climbing gears, while saving 13g over the stock 105 cassette, while also gaining the HG+ ramps on those top cogs.

[savagewildanimallife]

Just got a used 11-30t cs-r9100. 200g. Claimed is 210. The cs-r8000 11-30 it replaced was 263g. Claimed is 271. Glad they usually come in under claimed.

[rangersmith]

Weight weenies need not bother with Ultegra; just get D-A. But remember, many of the D-A cogs are titanium, which will probably wear faster than steel. If you want the benefits of HG+ and don't so much care about 83g, Ultegra is your choice. Unless spending an extra $42 is gonna take food out of your family's mouths, there really no reason to settle for 105.

[FrancyTheGrande]

On the mtb side, the difference is even bigger, for example: XT vs XTR 470 vs 370 grams (10-51)
(XT only the last 2 cogs are aluminum and all the rest steel while the XTR has the last 3 cogs aluminum, 5 TITANIUM cogs and the last 4 steel.)
Also there the price difference is HUGE

[hughjanus]

So if you want to strip the lock ring go for ultegra. If you like your lock ring to not strip go for 105.

[TheBassallyear]

geesh, most of the minimal weight savings in the ultegra is in the lock ring.

[bikingchupei]

is there really any difference between the shape of the teeth on the 105 and ultegra cassettes? shimano claims only the ultegra and dura ace cassette supports hyperglide plus.

[tommim]

Can you do the same comparison with cranks?