will it work....?

knownothingbozo

I am currently running Shimano 105 (5600) 10 speed, and would like to upgrade to Ultegra. The front and rear mech seem to be available without robbing a bank, but the shifters seem expensive. One option would be to just buy the mechs, but will Ultegra mechs work with my 105 shifters?
I suppose the next question would be, is there going to be any performance gains by swapping?
I have seen other bikes specced from new with a mixture of compenents and always wondered why.

jomoj

yes the mechs will work, as for any performance benefits - if you're upgrading because the 105 parts are worn out then you'll probably feel like you're getting a benefit, if you're upgrading because you fancy the cachet of the next groupset up then you'll probably be disappointed. I have Ultegra mechs on one bike and 105 / tiagra on the other, they both work equally well.

You're more likely to get a (cheaper) improvement from good quality new cables, a new chain and for the rear mech; some new jockey wheels.

Yossie

Or shop around in the January sales, wait for the discount vouchers to hit your in box and buy Dura Ace for a real upgrade worth doing.

Agree completely re new cables giving the same feeling as 105/Shytegra swap

knownothingbozo

Thanks for the answers, so same question with shifters and dura ace mechs? It seems to be that the shifters are very much the bulk of the cost. Good tip re cables and jockeys.

Yossie

Yup - the shifters will work with D/A mechs but to get the full D/A feeling ypou'll need the shifters as well.

Only problem is once you ahve them anything else that isn't top tier (ie Red, Records, Super Record) feels rubbish.

knownothingbozo

Aah! I feel another descent into madness and excuses to the wife coming on! Thanks for advice, I think step by step upgrades are the way to go.

Yossie

Yup - step by step upgrades but as per posts passim buy it over the winterm keep it all in a big box hidden from the wife and then fit it all at once - feel the full lushness of brand new top tier groupset with new cables etc etc.
You may as well go for top of the range cables (Gore Pro sealed, that sort of thing) at the same time and fit some new tyres at teh same time.

A week or two before you fit the whole lot, strip all the old stuff off, spend a good couple of hours degreasing, washing, polishing, greasing, tweaking etc etc so it gleams: then fit everything, and ride off into the sunset with a big smile.

jomoj

..or if the current stuff works, just ride it until it stops working then replace it.
Plus - Dura Ace shifters, mechs etc. won't make you go faster and you'll cry if / when they get scratched. The main reason for rear mechs degrading in action is the pivots getting worn so that the mechanism gets a bit sloppy and imprecise so check yours for play. As for front mechs - they are a crude brute force mechanism and there is absolutely no point, other than cosmetic, for spending a fortune on one.

All that said, I have a pair of 'classic' 7700 DA hubs and they are the smoothest & shiniest thing going...

Yossie

jomoj wrote:

..or if the current stuff works, just ride it until it stops working then replace it.
Plus - Dura Ace shifters, mechs etc. won't make you go faster and you'll cry if / when they get scratched. The main reason for rear mechs degrading in action is the pivots getting worn so that the mechanism gets a bit sloppy and imprecise so check yours for play. As for front mechs - they are a crude brute force mechanism and there is absolutely no point, other than cosmetic, for spending a fortune on one.

All that said, I have a pair of 'classic' 7700 DA hubs and they are the smoothest & shiniest thing going...

But they will make you happy and make your ride all lovely and make you smile and more likely to ride after spending day after day after day after day after freakin' day surrounded by imbeciles at work who you want to bludgeon with a pick axe handle.

It's the same as having a burd who isn't a munter: it isn't obligatory (there are plenty of blokes with munters out there and I am sure that they are happy although they do have to have sex with a munter while all their family and mates laugh at them behind their backs for going out with a munter) but why do that when you can have Nina from Nina and the Neurons?

I know it's a moot point but I graft my backside off every day: I have Red on my good bike, with Zipp carbon this and EC90 carbon that. And do you know why? Because I'm worth it

ChrisSA

I have DA shifters on my winter parts-bin special bike. But I wouldn't replace them with DA due to the cost. 105 is fine.

Yossie

ChrisSA wrote:

I have DA shifters on my winter parts-bin special bike. But I wouldn't replace them with DA due to the cost. 105 is fine.

But why would you want to replace them with DA if you have DA already? I no geddit? I simple man of simple brain sometime .......

And no, 105 is not fine. If you want it, buy it. That's why it's available to the public. 105 is commuterville. D/A is pukka mint lush kinda fly. Like Red, but not as nice.

akcc05

As far as I can recall, 5600 shifters is only "B" compatible with 6700 Ultegra front mech because of the wider hollow chainring that 6700 Ultegra has. The rear mech will match perfectly fine though.

IMHO, you will only notice the difference if you upgrade to the full 6700 groupset. I reckon the biggest improvement over 5600 and 6600 is the substantially more powerful braking with better modulation which is especially noticeable when braking from the drops, and super smooth front shifting that will blow you away due to the stiff hollow chainring and bigger front mech pivot bolt. I upgraded from 6600 about 2 years ago and I remember that's how I felt at the time, but I must admit that rear shifting isn't as smooth as 6600. I have tried Sram Force since which is excellent apart from the front shifting performance, it's s**t compare to Shimano.

5600 105 is still a really good groupset and unless you are the kind of rider who is always shifting between your 39 and 53 ring under heavy pedal load, it's probably not worth the extra $$$.

knownothingbozo

Having made my mind up, it's now unmade. I think I'll let them wear out, then no excuses needed, big upgrade when it happens and hopefully the popularity of the elctronic stuff will make the mechanical stuff slightly cheaper. Wishful thinking maybe, but fingers crossed.
Happy christmas one and all!

davebc

If you give it a few months the price of the electric stuff will drop by atleast 20% due to campy releasing theirs resulting a price war.

Yossie

DaveBC wrote:

If you give it a few months the price of the electric stuff will drop by atleast 20% due to campy releasing theirs resulting a price war.

Agree completely - and by the forces of supply and demand and market economics, the prices of mechanical will also fall as demand for cheaper electronic rises so therefore throwing yet another conundrum your way

jomoj

Those fancy chainrings on ultegra and DA chainsets will also blow you away when you see how much it costs to replace them. That's why I prefer sram chainsets.

I agree that high end stuff is lovely to use and own but it breaks and gets worn out just like the midrange kit for only a marginal gain in performance. But then it's often about cachet more than cycling so if that's more important to you then spend away.

tim_wand

Nina from Nina and the Neurons, Christ Yossie, you need help mate! agree with you about the satisfaction of spangly upgrades but the quality control has slipped a bit there, Youll be lusting after Katy from I can cook next.