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Shimano 105 shifters??

smeevsmeev Posts: 105
edited November 2011 in Road beginners
Hi,

I am looking to buy trek 1.5 2009 which has tiagra components & shifters. Which it be possible to upgrade just the shifters to the new 105 spec???. I just don't like the gear cables coming out of the side of the shifters. Would this be possible or will it be best to purchase a bike with the new 105, SRAM rival or compag xenon, which the gear cables going along with the brake cables

Thanks
Special eyes 4 ever....

Posts

  • Buckled_RimsBuckled_Rims Posts: 1,648
    The 2009 Tiagra is 9 speed and the 105 is 10 speed. You need to buy a new chainset, chain, shifters and cassette....or better and cheaper still, buy a bike already with the 105, SRAM or Campy.
    CAAD9
    Kona Jake the Snake
    Merlin Malt 4
  • smeevsmeev Posts: 105
    Can anybody recommend the Raleigh airlite 400?
    doing some great deals on this at the moment brand new with 105 spec & as low as £579
    On eBay.
    Got the choice of that & the before mention trek 1.5 2009 (upgraded to tiagra) for around £475

    Damn these decisions
    Special eyes 4 ever....
  • flasherflasher Posts: 1,728
    Buckled_Rims wrote:
    The 2009 Tiagra is 9 speed and the 105 is 10 speed. You need to buy a new chainset, chain, shifters and cassette....or better and cheaper still, buy a bike already with the 105, SRAM or Campy.

    No, just shifters chain and cassette.
  • logitech208logitech208 Posts: 167
    smeev wrote:
    Can anybody recommend the Raleigh airlite 400?
    doing some great deals on this at the moment brand new with 105 spec & as low as £579
    On eBay.
    Got the choice of that & the before mention trek 1.5 2009 (upgraded to tiagra) for around £475

    Damn these decisions

    I bought the Raleigh Airlite 400 when Wiggle had it up for £539 when it first went on sale I could not find a better spec'd bike for the money, Its my first road bike so I dont really have anything to compare it to but I am well pleased with it A few of my mates (bike snobs) have said its a little heavier than other bikes and the Raleigh badge looks very dated.

    The 105 group set is very nice and so smooth, the bike is nice a subtle to its not covered in logo's.

    Things I am or have have changed are the tyres the ones supplied are cheap and nasty and it should have come with 25's but it came with 23's, I have put some Cont GP 4000's on.

    The Brake blocks are not good as well, and the supplied pedals need to be put in the bin.

    Overall for me its great Ive done over 350 miles now in the 5 weeks I have had it and have nothing bad to say about it, I have yet to see another one on the roads.
  • WulzWulz Posts: 100
    I have a 1.5 2009 trek and i have recently upgraded to 105 shifters for the same reason you want do. all i did was fit the shiters stick on a 10 speed cassette and off you go. I never even changed from the 9 speed chain and have had no trouble at all. i have read a lot about the new 105 shifters being quite stiff in particular the front one but its not really a problem to me. So go for it but be ready to change the chain if you were to experience issues.

    I also chucked on a set of mavic aksium race wheels i had spare and the bike really feels quite nice now. So much less of a chore when swapping fom my ultegra kuota.

    Cheers
  • smeevsmeev Posts: 105
    Wulz wrote:
    I have a 1.5 2009 trek and i have recently upgraded to 105 shifters for the same reason you want do. all i did was fit the shiters stick on a 10 speed cassette and off you go. I never even changed from the 9 speed chain and have had no trouble at all. i have read a lot about the new 105 shifters being quite stiff in particular the front one but its not really a problem to me. So go for it but be ready to change the chain if you were to experience issues.

    I also chucked on a set of mavic aksium race wheels i had spare and the bike really feels quite nice now. So much less of a chore when swapping fom my ultegra kuota.

    Cheers

    How do you find the trek?? I have seen a lot of people saying good things about them due to the (black) frame & SSR wheel setup??

    I have seen a boardman race 2011 for roughly the same price used & I don't know what to go for. Previously had a spesh allez 16, which I upgraded, but had to sell it due to a nasty leg break, but due to the doctors getting it wrong (noooo) I have made a full recovery.

    Cheers
    Special eyes 4 ever....
  • WulzWulz Posts: 100
    Hi Smeev,

    Sorry for the late reply, the forum had a bit of a hicup. To answer your question, i very much like the 1.5 2009 trek i have. Its lime green and looks very nice indeed. Im no road bike expert but it was quite comfortable over long-ish distances (50 ish miles) and feels good at speed. Im no power house being 70kg but i was able to get the wheels to flex with little effort. When i put the Aksiums on it ,it made a real change in how the bike felt. No more flex from the wheels (or none that i can feel!) and just felt more lively. So i would buy one again under the same circumstances, but this time ih change the wheels sooner.

    The original wheels were the Bontrager SSR`s, be interested to hear how other folks go on with them.

    Cheers
  • smeevsmeev Posts: 105
    Hi,

    After bidding on the trek 1.5 2009 & then going to look at the bike as the sale was quite local to me, it didn't quite live up to the adverts "excellent" write up if you know what I mean. I ended up buying a brand new giant TCR 2 which was on sale at wiggle with 38% off, a brilliant bike to look at to ride.

    Cheers
    Special eyes 4 ever....
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