9 speed to 10 speed Shimano on a budget...

jomoj

Hi - I expect this question has been asked more than a couple of times so if there is a known previous posting answering it, please direct me to it ( I did search)

I have a 9 speed triple (mostly) Ultegra setup, I damaged a lever and am now faced with 2 options:

replace the levers with Tiagra 9 speed or make the jump to 10 speed...

from web searching I am lead to believe that the chainset and derailleurs will work well enough to be ok so I would 'just' need, shifter, chain and a cassette - Is this correct? And has anyone actually tried it?

thanks

joe

keef66

Yes and yes (but not me personally)

JohnnyAllez

Yes, no problemo. Chainset and mechs will work with 9 and 10 speed.

rake

not worth it on a budget, 0ne gear doesnt make much difference only on very steep hill. get a fresh ultegra shister.

jomoj

rake wrote:

not worth it on a budget, 0ne gear doesnt make much difference only on very steep hill. get a fresh ultegra shister.

Ultegra 9 speed isn't available new any more, its either tiagra or 10 speed 105 and up, hence my dilemma.

Thanks for the positive replies, I think I'll take the plunge. A friend is running 9 spd on a 10spd compact with no probs so they must be fairly close.

schweiz

I've no idea if they've actually got any in stock but.....

RH

http://www.slanecycles.com/shimano-spares-st6500-main-lever-assembly-right-hand-p-9078.html?language=en&currency=GBP

LH
http://www.slanecycles.com/shimano-spares-st6500-main-lever-assembly-right-hand-p-9078.html?language=en&currency=GBP

ugo.santalucia

9 speed systems are faultless, unlike their 10 speed counterparts...

I am very impressed by Tiagra... after 4000 miles in all weathers and roads I haven't indexed the gears yet

John.T

ugo.santalucia wrote:

9 speed systems are faultless, unlike their 10 speed counterparts...

Never had any problems with either 9sp (Dura shifters, rest Ultegra) or 10sp (both Ultegra and Ultegra SL). The 10sp is smoother with a lighter change.
To the OP. If you have to get new shifters you may as well go straight to 10sp as 9sp will get more difficult to scource eventually. The extra gear is useful.

jomoj

John.T wrote:

If you have to get new shifters you may as well go straight to 10sp as 9sp will get more difficult to scource eventually. The extra gear is useful.

Yes, that's my thinking, less concerned about gear range as I'm running a triple. Cheers.

unixnerd

If you have to get new shifters you may as well go straight to 10sp as 9sp will get more difficult to scource eventually.

My tourer and mtb and 8 speed and I'm having that problem. I've ended up having to buy bits from abroad because I couldn't find a decent cassette with the right ratios in the UK. I think 9 speed bits will be around for a good few years yet, but 10 is the way forward whether we want to go that way or not.

jomoj

OK, parts ordered. I will report back once the frankendrive has been fitted and ridden.

I have ordered:
105 5603 Sti Levers - £128
105 5700 11-28 cassette - £31
Mavic chain - £12

which will be matched with
Ultegra 6503 chainset
Tiagra 4503 front mech
Ultegra 6503 rear mech
Dura Ace freehub

fingers X'ed it all works.

jomoj

... and it works!

Only real twiddling required was with the front mech but they are always a bit of faff-on anyway. Most impressed with the Mavic chain (allegedly made by Wipperman) looks like a quality item for the price, runs smoothly and I like the connection link - hope it's as durable and reliable as the sram ones. The hood shape on the levers is a big improvement over my ultegra st-6500s but the lever shape shift action isn't quite so slick - perfectly functional though.

Oh well, wallet is a bit lighter but at least the bike is reasonably well future proofed. I hope. Probably could have done it a bit cheaper with some tiagra but I got the local Evans to price match Ribble's sale and saved a fair bit on 105.

Just to clarify for non-fans of shimano part numbers that's:

9 speed - Chainset, rear mech and front mech
10 speed - chain, levers and cassette