Groupset Upgrade

cyclingstevo

Hi Guys,

I currently use my Mekk 2G Poggio P1.5 as a rough weather bike (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mekk-2g-poggio-p15-sora/) but I'm getting fed up with the groupset.

Ideally I want to upgrade the whole groupset to something like 105/Ultegra. Can anyone tell me if I need a specific specification for the crank? Is there more than one type?

Thank you.

Cyclingstevo

keef66

Road cranksets generally come in 3 flavours: standard, compact and triple.

Standard typically has chainrings of 53 and 39 teeth, compact has 50 and 36 or possibly 34, and triple has 50, 39 and 30.

There's also the issue of crank length. Commonly offered in 170, 172.5 and 175mm lengths. Smaller bikes / riders with shorter legs generally use the shorter cranks.

Bear in mind if you upgrade to 11 speed Ultegra or the new 11 speed 105 coming out imminently, your current rear wheel may not be suitable for the 11 speed cassette.

Merlin are doing the outgoing 10 speed 105 groupsets at pretty good prices ATM

Matthewfalle

Agree - go to Merlin. Dirt cheap, great service.

Great info above, however if you can't get the same length cranks as you currently have then don't worry about it : unless you're Boonen you won't notice at all.

Also note that the black group set will give you 2 mph more top end over the silver version.

DiscoBoy

cyclingstevo wrote:

Hi Guys,

I currently use my Mekk 2G Poggio P1.5 as a rough weather bike (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mekk-2g-poggio-p15-sora/) but I'm getting fed up with the groupset.

Ideally I want to upgrade the whole groupset to something like 105/Ultegra. Can anyone tell me if I need a specific specification for the crank? Is there more than one type?

Thank you.

Cyclingstevo

What is wrong with the groupset? Sora should function perfectly well, and is ideal for a wet weather bike because it is cheap to replace.

If you are sure that you want to upgrade, then I think your frame has a "normal" English threaded bottom bracket, so a standard Shimano crank with a hollowtech2 bottom bracket will be compatible.

Beyond that you need to decide what ratios you want on the front as discussed above. Remember that if the chainset you buy is 130BCD ("standard") then you can't fit a small ring smaller than 38T.

Matthewfalle

He wants to upgrade because he wants something better. Riding in the rain is rubbish anyway, so let him ride something that is nice to ride.

I'm with him on this. Personally I wouldn't find a problem with running Ultegra in the rain so long as I got it at the right price and did enough mileage. Oh. I do. And I do.

And it means that he can set fire to all the old tat to dry off.

Colinthecop

Matthewfalle wrote:

And it means that he can set fire to all the old tat to dry off.

Out of interest, how well does a groupset burn....?

Matthewfalle

By combining the three elements of the fire triangle in one place.

Colinthecop

Kinda obvious when you think about it...

intheknowcycling.com

Shimano 105 is going from 10-speed (model 5700) to 11-speed (5800) with availability starting October. Improvements from higher-end models in their line will also 'trickle down' to the new 105 5800. But, the Ultegra isn't much more expensive than the 105. I did a comparative review of a dozen Tier 1 and Tier 2 groupsets from Shimano, Campy and SRAM and have best current pricing and availability of top 3 tiers of groupsets from same manufactures up on my blog site.