10 to 11 speed upgrade

Sipha

Hi guys,

slightly newbie question. but what parts would I need to upgrade from my 10 speed Tiagra Groupset to make it 11 speed ?

I have 11 speed compatible wheels already so that's sorted.

I'm only really concerned with the neccesary parts, the Tiagra will suffice for the rest.

I'm guessing it's:

Front shifters
Rear Mech
Cassette
narrower chain ??

Many Thanks !!

rafletcher

Front mech, and yes an 11sp chain. Plus what you listed. And probably new cables while you're at it, and maybe new bar tape.

deadly radish

You'll be able to get away with a 10 speed front mech, the chain-line hasn't changed. You'll also be able to re-use your 10 speed crankset which will reduce the cost of an upgrade significantly (the crankset is second only to the shifters in terms of price). You'll need a new chain to fit through the rear mech but it's only 0.4mm narrower so still fully compatible with 10-speed cranksets.

You'll definitely need a new rear mech, cassette, shifters and 11 speed chain though. As rafletcher says, probably also new bar tape - in theory you can unwrap only down to just below the shifters if the tape was in good condition, but it is unlikely to go back as cleanly as it came off and tape benefits from being changed frequently.

New cables would enhance that new-bike feel of a new groupset but it's going to be a big job changing them, especially if they are internally routed. If they are old (> 1 year or so) it's worth changing but if newer or internally routed I'd probably not bother unless you have a full weekend clear or they feel spongy (a result of grit build up meaning the springs are less able to overcome the cable friction).

Sipha

Thanks guys,

The cabling is internally routed so I'll probably leave it as is, plus its pretty new (less than 6months old) so I guess it will be fine. Bar tape isnt a problem. I'll change that. Great to hear the crankset is fully compatibile !

No issues with an 11 speed front shifter with 10 speed crankset ?, I'm guessing not but I better check !

Thanks

trailflow

No issues with an 11 speed front shifter with 10 speed crankset ?

It'll be fine.

If you buy new 11 speed STI shifters,gear and brake cables + outers are included with them. i think they are the new polymer coated cables which are great and worth using.

Its worth buying the 11 speed front derailluer too,to benefit from the longer lever arm. It really does improve the shifting. Its alot snappier and requires less effort.

dgunthor

the 11 speed mechs have different cable pull, so you may well need a new front mech - can try it though

arlowood

trailflow wrote:

Its worth buying the 11 speed front derailluer too,to benefit from the longer lever arm. It really does improve the shifting. Its a lot snappier and requires less effort.

+1

I've just completed a build moving from 5700 10-speed to 5800 11-speed. I'd get the new FD5800 mech - it's not that expensive and the smoothness of the shifting is a world away from the 5700 model. A little bit more fiddly to set up but once there it's superb

Bobbinogs

OP, you might want to stop for a breather and ask yourself why you want 11 speed and is it worth all the expense? You certainly won't go any faster and you won't suddenly find yourself leaping up hills at an uncontrollable rate.

I still run 9 speed on my 3 road bikes and don't have any problems running either Standard Double or Compact. Folks talk about wanting close ratio, which is a reasonable objective but just how close is close given that you are already running 10 speed? Most of us have no need for an 11 cog on a Standard so something like a 12-25 should be ok without any big steps, same goes for Compact even running something like 11-28.

dgunthor

good point above, 11 speed isn't going to make much difference in the grand scheme of things - i'd wear my tiagra 10 speed out first or if you have a winter frame great, maybe put the 10 speed on that

Smokin Joe

I'd agree that it simply isn't worth the expense of an upgrade just to add an extra sprocket to the ten you already have. I'd only bother with an eleven speed setup if I was building a new bike and needed the parts anyway, spend the money on upgrading the wheels and tyres instead and you'll feel a real performance benefit.

MisterMuncher

The real advantages in Shimano's 11 speed groups are the revised front shifting and new brake caliper design. The extra cog is nice to have but mere sparkle.

Unless you have another bike running 11 speed and want to consolidate spares, I'd leave it be until the Tiagra shifters wear out at least.

First.Aspect

I'm running 10 of 11 speeds on a 10 speed hub, and full 11sp di2 on another bike. I'd agree that the extra gear is neither here nor there. To be honest I didn't really notice when I moved from 9sp either.

Front shifting is definitely worth the investment. I'd also say that by moving the shifting mechanism into the hoods, they've significantly improved rear shifting, which is now back to the same quality they achieved with the 9sp groupsets, imo. Perhaps groups above the 105 I had were better, but I found the 10 shifting to be vague at best.

Matthewfalle

deadly radish wrote:

You'll be able to get away with a 10 speed front mech, the chain-line hasn't changed. You'll also be able to re-use your 10 speed crankset which will reduce the cost of an upgrade significantly (the crankset is second only to the shifters in terms of price). You'll need a new chain to fit through the rear mech but it's only 0.4mm narrower so still fully compatible with 10-speed cranksets.

You'll definitely need a new rear mech, cassette, shifters and 11 speed chain though. As rafletcher says, probably also new bar tape - in theory you can unwrap only down to just below the shifters if the tape was in good condition, but it is unlikely to go back as cleanly as it came off and tape benefits from being changed frequently.

New cables would enhance that new-bike feel of a new groupset but it's going to be a big job changing them, especially if they are internally routed. If they are old (> 1 year or so) it's worth changing but if newer or internally routed I'd probably not bother unless you have a full weekend clear or they feel spongy (a result of grit build up meaning the springs are less able to overcome the cable friction).

Why does tape benefit from being changed frequently?

Why do you need a whole weekend to change some cables?

Just wonderin' like ........

ElectronShepherd

deadly radish wrote:

New cables ... If they are old (> 1 year or so) it's worth changing).

:shock:

I've never considered cables to need replacing after a year!

keef66

ElectronShepherd wrote:

deadly radish wrote:

New cables ... If they are old (> 1 year or so) it's worth changing).

:shock:

I've never considered cables to need replacing after a year!

I change cables when they fray, snap or get too sluggish. I've some that are 8 years old and still working well.

Bar tape tends to get replaced when I've removed it to swap bars, shifters etc. It never looks like it would be easy to reuse.