Claris/105 chainset compatibility

mikelskas

Hi guys, I want to purchase a new road frame for commuting. I only need the frame as I have some 105 to transfer over.

I have my eye on a very basic Specialised Allez E5 that comes with a Claris chainset. Ive searched high and low for confirmation on the spec of the shell but cannot find it.

Would I be able to use a Hollotech 105 chainset on a frame that comes with Claris? i.e. a straight swap

slowbike

I believe so yes.
My 2011 base Alex had square taper bottom bracket - just removed it and put Hollotech on

SME

Hi.

I recently done this, although not on a Specialized - I used a Scott S30 frame.

I had made up the bike with a Claris set on it. When I bought a Trek I upgraded the Shimano RS500 crank to a 105, and the RS500 then 'moved down' to the Scott with the Claris gear on.

The Claris chainring (it was FSA!) was fitted onto a square tapered Shimano UN55 bracket. The bottom bracket of the bike is a British thread 68mm. When I fitted the Hollowtech RS500 this had to be removed and replaced with a suitable bottom bracket - I used an Ultegra 6800 from CRC

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... prod108701

To put this on you'll need a tool...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/park ... p-prod4062
...and the Ultegra unit comes with a plastic adapter to size down the tool to fit it's housing.

If you're removing a square tapered BB then you'll likely need this also...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/weld ... -prod86711
... Once the pedal is off I use a large washer loosely held on with the pedal bolt to stop the tool slipping on the bottom bracket - you have to unwind the bolt with each turn of the crank tool though to stop it jamming.

Hope this helps,
Good luck,
Steve

mikelskas

Sounds good. Thanks for the replies guys.
I have the correct tools for both bottom brackets from working on my bikes over the years.

I just wanted to make sure the bearing shell for the 105 (as linked to by Steve above) is a direct fit for the Octolink that the Claris uses.