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Shimano Ultegra 8000 is out

6K views 38 replies 12 participants last post by  Srode 
#1 ·
Looks like the best bang for the buck in components is disappearing. Shimano improved Ultegra -- especially the price. Ribble has 6800 at $593; 8000 at $991! That's a 50%+ increase in price. For what? My wife has a bike with Dura Ace 9000 and another one with Dura Ace 9100. She thinks there's little difference between the two except for the front derailer. She prefers the shifting of 9000 over 9100.

It's tempting to buy a 6800 group before they go away forever. Maybe one of my kids will need a bike sometime.
 
#2 ·
The big difference is that 6800 will eventually be sold out and if you want new Ultegra, you will have to buy 8000.
 
#3 ·
It has a much bigger number. 1,200 to be exact. It must be 1,200 better. Considering it is only $400USD more expensive-that is a steal!
 
#4 ·
Shimano improved Ultegra -- especially the price. Ribble has 6800 at $593; 8000 at $991! That's a 50%+ increase in price. For what?
I would imagine the current price premium is the cost of having the very latest groupset that has just been released. SRAM eTap was initially insanely expensive when first released and has now come down. I don't see any reason to assume that the current price at Ribble tells us much at all about what R8000 will cost in November or February.

Looks like the best bang for the buck in components is disappearing.
I think it's too soon to jump to that conclusion. I'm guessing that R8000 will be available for around $750 (maybe less) at some point in the next 6 months. And for most of the time it was available 6800 sold for about $650. So maybe a small increases but right now the 50% premium is all about low supply and high (and inelastic at these quantities) demand. The people who absolutely want R8000 right now, will pay the premium; the rest of us will wait. After all, if the new ultegra stayed at a price level near $1000 we know it wouldn't sell well, since that is higher than Campy Chorus, higher than SRAM Force, and not much less than the current dura ace mechanical.
 
#5 ·
Sounds about right, Fron. Price a new product high to lure the "I have to have the latest and greatest" crowd. Reminds me of the people who wait in line for the latest iPhone or latest version of Windows.
 
#6 ·
OTOH...prices only go up and not down. Further, these are the UK prices which are always lower than US pricing.
 
#7 ·
Part of the equation is an increase but part of it is that Ultegra 6800 was crazy cheap. So it's as much a 'return to normal' as it is increase here.

I would guess the first generation 11 speed was so cheap to sway suckers into abandoning perfectly good 10 speed and now that they've plucked all those people they can return to more regular pricing.
 
#10 ·
Was 6800 really "crazy cheap" when it first came out?
 
#8 ·
Dura Ace 9100 is around $1500 (UK price), which is significantly more than $1000 for Ultegra 8000. The new Ultegra is not going down in price. Dura Ace never did after it was "improved". Campy did the same thing with their groups from Chorus on up, but the price didn't change much if any. I have both renditions of Chorus 11-speed on bikes and really can tell no difference. The cranks now resemble Shimano cranks which I don't see as an improvement.

I guess I agree with Jay, Ultegra 6800 was crazy cheap. 105 can still be had for $400.

I remember paying $1000 for Dura Ace 7700 groups 20 years ago. At that time, they came with hubs and a worthless threaded head set. God, I'm old.
 
#14 ·
I still think it will come down in price. I already found a UK site that lists it for $900.

And 6800 did come down in price. When it was first released I was building a bike and looked at 6800 but couldn't get it for less than $800 at the time (just released) and so went with campy Athena.

I agree with Jay about the low pricing of 6800 used to tempt folks to switch to 11s, so it makes since that 8000 will come with a price increase. But I think it's going to be 10-15%, not 50%.

And at any rate, it's too soon to tell, since it's not true that prices only go up. Lots of goods today are at their highest price point when they are just released, and go down from there. 6800 came down, new iPhones come down, in-demand new model cars come down.

At at some point over the winter Ribble will have a sale and people will pick up 8000 for under $800. Still a bit more than 6800, but not the end of the world.
 
#17 ·
*cough di2 cough*

As I was telling a mate thinking about a build yesterday...the bike jewelry is only going to get more expensive the more you wait.
 
#19 ·
ALREADY dropping in price

Ribble's Prices Today, 7 July 2017

6800 – $607
8000 – $867

R8000 is still just-released and in short supply, and Ribble has already lowered the price significantly – it's dropped 15% since this thread was started.

At the moment R8000 is just barely higher in price than 6800 was when it was first released. And $867 is NOT the lowest price we'll see for R8000; it will drop more.
 
#20 ·
Ribble's Prices Today, 7 July 2017

6800 – $607
8000 – $867

R8000 is still just-released and in short supply, and Ribble has already lowered the price significantly – it's dropped 15% since this thread was started.

At the moment R8000 is just barely higher in price than 6800 was when it was first released. And $867 is NOT the lowest price we'll see for R8000; it will drop more.
Catch being...UK dealers seldom ever have Shimano in stock...for good reason given their export pricing.
 
#22 ·
Over a year ago, Shimano lowered maximum retail prices dealers could charge across the board. However, Shimano did not lower wholesale prices charged to dealers. This is putting the squeeze on retailers to the point that some try to shy people away from Shimano because they make little profit.
 
#25 ·
Fast Ferd,

In all defense of brick and mortar bike shops, they are already at a severe disadvantage over internet vendors who have much, much lower expenses. Sure, everybody loves a great bargain, but in the end, there are really no free lunches.

Some bike shops are starting to price match internet stores on parts. They are making next to nothing by doing this, but it is more of a way to keep satisfied customers coming back for things like repair and future bike purchases.

How will the internet service your bike when all the bike shops go out of business?
 
#26 ·
I hear ya, pal. I'm all for keeping them in business.
In my case, a shop would not need to price match the lowest internet amount. Paying, say, $20 more for a $500 wholesale cost item is not the issue; it's when they want $200 more for it. I'd gladly pay the small premium all day long. But when they refuse to take a more generous offer of, say, $40 profit, they only hurt themselves.
 
#30 ·
Just updating this thread as it had been tracking pricing on R8000.

As of today, 17 August, Ribble is selling a full carbon road bike with all Ultegra R8000 for $1080.

I realize that most folks want to buy the groupset itself so this isn't a practical option, but it is an indication of the price trajectory on R800. This bike is only $80 more than the same bike with 6800 from earlier this summer.
 
#31 ·
OEMs are not dealing with a price increase at all.

r8000 is the same price to them as 6800 was.

r8000 will not be an expensive groupset, no more than 6800 was, prices will adjust in short time.

The only thing r8000 has against it right now is that 6800 is a solid groupset on it's own. 6800 was a Huge jump over 6700, r8000 is not a huge jump.
 
#32 ·
Does anybody know how big the differences are in performance between the two?

I pulled the trigger on 6800 a couple weeks ago because, like at the beginning of this thread, it was $400 more. Now it has come down and Excelsports.com is offering an upgrade package for $500. Just missing the crank and BB. I was able the 6800 for under $500, but now feel like I should try to get the 8000. Is it worth trying to rid the 6800?

https://www.excelsports.com/upgrade...0+11+Speed+5+Piece+Upgrade+Kit&groupType=road
 
#33 ·
Does anybody know how big the differences are in performance between the two?

I pulled the trigger on 6800 a couple weeks ago because, like at the beginning of this thread, it was $400 more. Now it has come down and Excelsports.com is offering an upgrade package for $500. Just missing the crank and BB. I was able the 6800 for under $500, but now feel like I should try to get the 8000. Is it worth trying to rid the 6800?

https://www.excelsports.com/upgrade...0+11+Speed+5+Piece+Upgrade+Kit&groupType=road
IMO, no, it's not worth it. The 6800 is an awesome set.

If you are really wowed by some of the newer features with the 8000, I would wait awhile for others to work out any possible growing pains.
 
#34 ·
It might be worth it to you if the features are something you are interested in.

The derailleurs are probably the biggest change, with the rest having more capacity and the "shadow" design.

The front derailer had the new internal design that replaced the long lever arm of the 6800.

I saw someone online advertising a 3 piece upgrade. Two derailleurs and the 34 tooth cassette.

I personally won't benefit from these features, but some might find them "worth it".

"Worth" is a value judgement. How much you need/wany those things vs how much you value your money is going to be unique to you.



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#37 ·
Does Shimano really not offer an 11/23 cassette in the R8000 line up or is it just nobody is stocking them?
 
#39 ·
Thanks, that's what I thought - why in the world would they drop that? I ordered a couple to hold me over till they come to their senses.
 
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