Hey Les,

You didn't say what you don't like about the current shifting. Is it sloppy? Slow? Front derailleur? Rear? Both? Did it ever shift well? It is possible your chain is worn? Or your cassette/chainrings?

Shimano 105 should shift well if everything is aligned and adjusted properly.

If you slap an Ultegra derailleur on a skewed hangar, it's still going to shift poorly.

If your cables are sticky (and you don't replace them), it's still going to shift poorly.

That said, I would say you will notice a tighter feel on the system when shifting Ultegra over 105, but it's not a huge difference. I also much prefer the feel of the Ultegra grips, but that is subjective. The shifting might be a bit cleaner, all things considered, but it's not going to be a huge difference. The best change in my mind is going from the triple to the double compact, which is my preferred setup (this is a value judgement... some people think I'm crazy ).

You should not need to change your BB. Both spindles are 24mm.

As I noted above, if they haven't been replaced lately, you might consider new shift cables in your budget.

There is no way to tell you if it's a good value (to you). I have Ultegra or better on all of my bikes, but I have a decent toy budget and can afford it. How important is your money to you? How important is your bikes performance relative to the money? Do you think You'll keep this bike (frame) for a while? Do you plan on an upgrade? If so the money you have here might be better saved and put towards a new bike in a year or three.

Good luck!

Edit: I should add that I'm not entirely sure about going from a triple to a double in terms of bottom bracket compatibility and any spacers that might be needed. I've never done that. Hopefully someone else will be able to chime in. Definitely verify this before you place your order.

 

My biggest problem w/105 triple is the sensitivity on shifting where front derailleur is very tough to keep tuned, often moving toward the outer derailleur cage on the 50/28 or 50/30 gears. I am expecting to keep this frame for a good deal of time, since I expect that the drive train is the most important thing for me, not overall bike weight. Thx for your insightful questions.

 

Keeping a front derailleur on a triple shifting well is very tricky. I do believe a compact crankset is a better option. I am running a 46-34 crank with a 12-28 10 speed cassette. I can handle pretty anything with this set up.

 

Probikekit does not get the best reviews. I have never ordered from them. But, there are a lot of complaints about them. Maybe look elsewhere.

Re: 10 to 11 speed. Don't know whether your rear wheel can fit an 11 speed cassette. You need to figure that out.

Re: BB. A shimano crank will not work in BB30 without an adapter. So, either buy a bb30 crank or buy a praxis bb.

chain reaction ultergra group $599 here
excel sports 5 piece ultegra $372 here (also check out their component kit builder)

 

Do you have an 11spd rear wheel?

 

What makes a wheel 11 vs 10 spd? My wheels are FSA 23, 28x700 rear

 

The freehub on the rear wheel (the splined part that the cogs attach to) are either usually 9, 10 or 11 speed freehubs. Newer wheels are 11 speed compatible, but you can still put a 10 speed cassette on an 11 speed wheel with the addition of a spacer, but an 11sp cassette will not fit on a 10sp wheel.

11 speed cassettes are wider than 10 speed ones as they have the extra cog.

I've not heard of FSA wheels before?

 

t

email response from seller of FSA wheelset, November Bicycle, was that Novatec hubs in my wheel build would not fit the 11 spd cassette, I love these wheels so I will look into upgrade to Ultegra 10 spd drive train, I believe that is the 6700 series of components.

 

Les C,
Hola. Depending on your version of Shimano 105 (5600? 5700?) you may need to replace your brake calipers as well. Shimano changed their brake pull ratio when they introduced the Ultegra and Dura Ace 6700/7900 series groups and this new ratio was carried forward on the 6800/9000 series groups. I'm not sure how that related to the 105 series, but I'm sure someone on this forum will have the answer.
Very respectfully, Tim

 

I would say switching to a double chainring crank would improve shifting , just stick with a 105 10 spd part, 5700. Not sure if you need to change the shifter but I don't think you would notice a difference between 105 and Ultegra when it comes to functionality

 

As you see, going from 10 speed to 11 speed requires an all new drivetrain, and in your case, new rear hub or wheel.
Here's what I would recommend to stay 10 speed and improve shifting -
1) Replace shift cables
2) Go from triple to double in front - but use the Ultegra 6850 crank and praxis BB30 adapter. The 6850 crank works superbly with 6700 10 speed chain etc. This sets you up for 11 speed later.
3) Consider Dura-ace 7900 front derailleur - they are cheap now (look at Nashbar). Art's recommends using these over 5700/6700 for shift quality (look for their video). They are more rugged for a few bucks more.
4) Depending on mileage, I'd consider a new chain (6701) and cassette (if over 3-5K miles on what you have now)
5) Likely you can keep you current 10 speed shifters, I would save the $ for now. But I would consider going to 6800 brakes, depending on what you have now - again setting you up for all 6800 later

I buy a lot of tires, cassettes, etc from Probikekit, shipped to USA, no problems.
Be aware many times the packaging for cassettes, shifters, cranksets etc from the UK sources, especially Chain Reaction is not the full Shimano deluxe blue wrapper package, but a plain brown box or plastic bag full of parts. The parts are genuine, but are bulk purchased.
Also beware shifters in full Shimano packages usually come with a complete set of shifter and brake cables/housings/fittings, whereas most UK suppliers give you shifters and inner shift cables only (no housings or brake cables) in a plastic bag. Make sure you know what you are getting to avoid surprises.

 

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Z'mer again.

Nice post Z'mer

 

It's amazing how people skip right over the "tune it properly" option and skip right to a new group set and all sorts of wacky things when turning a knob or a screw is probably the answer.

OP, there's not reason a triple shouldn't shift just fine. Shifting like crap is no inherent to shimano 105 triples.

 

The price seems almost too good to be true. What is their shipping cost? Unless you are going to do all the work yourself, you may want to price the whole package (parts & labor) at your LBS. If you take a box of parts into them and ask them to do the installation, they will make it worthwhile to make money back that they didn't get selling you the parts. Also, it pays to develop a good relationship with your LBS. Sooner or later, you will need them.

It's amazing how people skip right over the "tune it properly" option and skip right to a new group set and all sorts of wacky things when turning a knob or a screw is probably the answer.

OP, there's no reason a triple shouldn't shift just fine. Shifting like crap is no inherent to shimano 105 triples.

^^^This^^^ It could be just a simple adjustment. If that doesn't work, most often, poor shifting is caused by worn cables and housings. Replace those first and you will notice improved shifting.

My biggest problem w/105 triple is the sensitivity on shifting where front derailleur is very tough to keep tuned, often moving toward the outer derailleur cage on the 50/28 or 50/30 gears.

This is not a gear combination (large/large) that is meant to be used. What you are doing is cross chaining. This is normal. You can achieve this gear ratio easily through other gear combinations. If this is your only complaint about the shifting, I would leave well enough alone.

 

i recall reading that ultegra and dura ace are made in the same factory while 105 is made elsewhere. I don't have experience with 105, but when I switched from ultegra to dura ace the shifting felt slightly better. Shimano decontents a little when going from Dura Ace to Ultegra and again at the 105 level.

 

Apologies for hijacking the thread, but I'm looking at a new bike, Norco Threshold, and it comes with the FSA Gossamer crank. Everything else in the drivetrain is 105. The guys at the lbs described the FSA crank as "piggy" though I haven't checked the specs, and because I weigh 200 Pounds, don't worry much about grams and ounces here and there. But what do you mean by "smoother" here? I'm trying to de Ide if a crank upgrade would be wise.

Thanks,

 

Whether a crank upgrade would be "wise" depends on how nit-picky you are. There is nothing really wrong with the FSA Gossamer crankset, but I found it to be less refined. The Ultegra crankset shifts smoother and is much quieter - especially when the chain is in the large ring. I don't care much about the tiny bit of weight savings. I'd rather take some weight off my engine. :wink5:

 

I'm with you on where the reasonable weight savings can come, right around my belly. But I'm also pretty nit-picky. The bike I'm looking at will be my day-to-day bike, logging over 2,000 miles a year in commutes and extended rides on my commutes, plus some trail and dirt road riding (going for Norco Threshold). That's about half my annual riding, the other half being on a Felt F2 with Ultegra 11.

 

But I'm also pretty nit-picky. The bike I'm looking at will be my day-to-day bike, logging over 2,000 miles a year...That's about half my annual riding, the other half being on a Felt F2 with Ultegra 11.

My problem with the FSA Gossamer compact crank was an unexplained chain suck problem on an almost brand new bike. Shifting from big to small in front, the chain would not release from the bottom of the big ring, sending it into the side stay.

Poking around the web, I started to see other complaints from people having similar problems on other brand new bikes, Cervelo, etc. using the same crank. Also direct reports from people riding the same year and model 2013 Felt Z4.
Not sure if it was a chain / crank problem, or adjustment issue. Replaced the crank with a 6800 50/34, chain with CN-7901, made some adjustments to the front der, and it's been solid ever since. About 9000 miles later.
I can cross chain in both rings and use all 20 gears, with some noise in the 2 extreme cases. Shifting is fast and crisp. I'd never go back to a Gossamer, with 6800 cranks going for ~$150., it's a no brainer.

Especially if you are picky.