Installed this on my best race bike for Winter/Spring training and to see if my older Dura Ace Di2 rear derailleur could handle the 30t cog in the 11-30 configuration with a 52 x 36 chainring setup. It does reasonably well, and I will likely race this configuration in the late Spring but with a DA cassette. But Shimano HG is Shimano HG regardless of level. 105 is much, much more affordable and quality is every bit as good as Ultegra and DA. Just heavier.
You get what you pay for as they say. I knew this wasn't the top performer and happy becuase the price was right. The cassette performs as expected and value per gram is this probably a very good choice unless you want to shell out for DuraAce.
You won't go wrong with this as a work horse or training cassette.
I bought this to replace an Ultegra cassette that was worn out and giving me shifting problems. Works great, it's a cassette. Although slightly heavier than Ultegra, the lower price was worth it to me. From a practical standpoint, a few grams do not matter. I would rather save the money on the cassette and apply it to a better chain.
Lets face it, the 105 7000 series is above par of the later generation Ultegra items at a reduced cost. Not drilling down into the weeds on weight, but if you are looking for a products to last 10K miles and not a weight weenie than this little guy is for you. I am running this on my SMART TRAINER while the two bikes that get set on it are DA with one being DI (guess I am a weight weenie). That being said both my high end TT bike and road bike components fit fabulously on this cassette for my direct drive smart trainer. I plan on ordering another cassette for my TT training wheelset and know I will not be disappointed.
Shimano 105 range components are always a great value. This cassette works just as smoothly as the Ultegra cassette it replaced. I really like the 11-30 gear range. It is much more comfortable when climbing the 15% grade I have to go up to get home from every ride.
Such a dependable groupset. Happy to have this cassette 11-30 available to give me a little more gearing in the mountains. That's as big as I could go with with the short cage derailleur.