It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Actually it's looking more like Hanukkah: new gifts everyday for a week!

Today saw the arrival of a 12x27 Ultegra 10 speed cassette, Ultegra 10 speed rear derailleur, Ultegra chain and DuraAce 10 speed shifters. I know what you're thinking: "I thought you were going the traditional route?" Well, I am. The DuraAce shifters are downtube shifters! Yes, Shimano still make downtube shifters. It's funny how people like to rip on Shimano because they keep changing things and yet Shimano is the only major company still doing downtube shifters. Campy appears to have dropped theirs from the lineup. Furthermore, Shimano downtube and bar-end shifters still feature a friction option. I chose them simply to be different and also to go old school. As crisp as DuraAce STI shifters are they don't come close to the precise, snappy feel of downtube shifters. The one odd thing is that the front shift lever doesn't rotate all the way forward. Tradtional downtube front shifters would lay flush with the downtube when you shifted into the small ring. The Shimano models stop about 30 degrees above the downtube. Shimano claims this improves operation of the lever. Odd thing is the right lever for the rear derailleur still lies flush with the downtube. Go figure.