105 to Ultegra

Endurance_man

Hi
I am thinking of upgrading from 105 to Ultegra on my Cannondale Carbon.
I have the bike 2.5 years now and the groupset needs some replacing as I have done a lots of miles on it.
With the half price Groupsets on chain reactions. 11 Speed for 637 Euro. Is this a good price?

Also can someone explain the sizing options i.e 11.25t 12.25t etc
And Teeth 53.39t or 50.34T
What would be the best option for someone who mainly cycles in Wicklow but wants setup that would be good for racing.
I would need to get my 105 groupset removed and the Ultergra added. How much would a bike shop charge for this usually, and would they have a problme with me having already purchased the groupset?
Thanks in advance for any advice

seamus

Groupsets are expensive and there's only one step between Ultegra and 105. Tbh, I don't think it's worth spending that money for the upgrade. The bike will seem initially smoother when it's first set up, but this will fade in time. You will get the same nice smoothness out of a full service on your existing 105 setup.

I would always be inclined to just buy a new bike rather than change the groupset, as it would feel like putting makeup on a pig. But if that's not an option, then it's not a bad ideal; these groupsets are going cheap because they're 2013 sets. It would be worth seeing if you can get new wheels in the bargain too, as then with a bit of a polish, it will actually feel like a brand new bike.

You could probably expect to spend a further €150-€200 for a shop to fit the new groupset. So before you order online, ring a shop and see if the price they quote you for the groupset is the fitted price. CSS for example are selling the same groupset for €50 more, but you might get a better deal on the fitting if you go with them.

The sizing options are to do with the front and rear cogs/sprockets/chainrings. For the crankset, the two numbers refer to the biggest and smallest chainrings - i.e. 53/39. That's a standard double. A standard compact has a 50/34. Having a smaller small chainring means the standard compact gives you lower gears to help with climbing, while sacrificing some larger gears, so your top speed is limited.
A standard double is the opposite; you have a slightly bigger top gears at the expense of easier gears.

In the nicest way possible, if you don't know the difference, then you probably want a compact.

Riding a compact will have no impact on racing unless you're racing at the higher levels.

Similar for the rear; 11-25 refers to the range of cogs available. 11 is the absolute smallest you can get. Having a tighter range (e.g. 12-23 or 11-21) means that the difference between each cog is smaller, making gear changes sharper and more progressive (the increase in power required doesn't "jump" suddenly when you change gear)

But same deal as the crankset; the bigger the cog at the back, the lower the gearing available for climbing. So if you don't understand the difference between a 21 and a 25, then you probably want an 11-25 rear cassette.

bikermartin

Would you not have a go at fitting yourself. The bottom bracket would be the difficult but the lbs could fit in for a few euro. Probably would need s torque wrench for that anyway. YouTube is full of videos. I do all my own work except BB and headset . I got my tools from CRC and the torque wrench,cablecutters as I needed them. The right tools are best. We all had tried improvisation at times but can end up with damage to self or bike !

Endurance_man

Thank you for all the advice. Very much appreciated.

Think I will put money towards a new bike in two years time and go from there.

thanks

Zen0

Endurance_man wrote: »

Thank you for all the advice. Very much appreciated.

Think I will put money towards a new bike in two years time and go from there.

thanks

That sounds like a wise decision. However, if you have never changed the chain and/or the cassette, they may be getting worn and would benefit from replacement. Get a chain wear gauge or ask lbs.

furiousox

I recently changed bikes resulting in me now using 105 instead of Ultegra.
Honestly can't tell the difference, 105 is grand.

dave_o_brien

Get new cables, chain and cassette. If you really want to go all out, new grip tape and tyres.

You've a carbon cannondale with one of the most reliable and well thought of groupsets around. Your bike is lovely.

billyhead

Just a little off topic but is there a significant difference between the 2 groupsets to justify upgrading. I was led to believe that if not competing in open races etc its not worth the expense and 105 is more then enough for the likes of club spins and sportives etc

quozl

Tiagra is more than enough for club spins and sportives.

Zen0

quozl wrote: »

Tiagra is more than enough for club spins and sportives.

Moved from Tiagra to 105. Found braking performance with 105 a massive improvement. I also prefer the gear cabling arrangement with 105, but that's more of a nice to have.

FirstinLastout

Zen0 wrote: »

Moved from Tiagra to 105. Found braking performance with 105 a massive improvement. I also prefer the gear cabling arrangement with 105, but that's more of a nice to have.

It's nice to have but upgrading the pads alone will make a significantly more cost effective upgrade.
I replaced the Tiagra pads on my bike with (cheapish) duel compound pads with a huge improvement over the standard set-up which always sucked particularly when wet.
It's worth trying this first, the pads can still be used with the upgraded brakes anyways.

niceonetom

Has anyone pointed out that Simano 11sp requires a wider freehub body and many (including shimano's own AFAIK) 10 speed hubs cannot be ungraded to accommodate? Even a very good deal on a groupset might end up costing a lot of money if you suddenly find all your wheels are obsolete.

Wishbone Ash

Zen0 wrote: »

Moved from Tiagra to 105. Found braking performance with 105 a massive improvement

FirstinLastout wrote: »

It's nice to have but upgrading the pads alone will make a significantly more cost effective upgrade.
I replaced the Tiagra pads .....

Excuse my ignorance lads but I have 105 groupsets on two of my bikes and didn't know there was specific 105 pads. I thought it was just Dura Ace and Ultegra which had groupset specific pads.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance lads but I have 105 groupsets on two of my bikes and didn't know there was specific 105 pads. I thought it was just Dura Ace and Ultegra which had groupset specific pads.

Tiagra pads are generally the integrated shorter type blocks whereas 105 pads are the 52mm cartridge type and offer better braking.

I have 9spd Tiagra on one of my bikes and 105 on the other and there is no noticeable difference in either in terms of smoothness when shifting, the Tiagra is super smooth and precise as is 105. The only difference between both is the braking, tiagra pads are just ok however I changed my 105 pads to Clarkes tri-compound pads and put the 105 pads on the tiagra bike so its much improved.

FirstinLastout

CJC999 wrote: »

Tiagra pads are generally the integrated shorter type blocks whereas 105 pads are the 52mm cartridge type and offer better braking.

I have 9spd Tiagra on one of my bikes and 105 on the other and there is no noticeable difference in either in terms of smoothness when shifting, the Tiagra is super smooth and precise as is 105. The only difference between both is the braking, tiagra pads are just ok however I changed my 105 pads to Clarkes tri-compound pads and put the 105 pads on the tiagra bike so its much improved.

Pretty much the same in my case. Well set up tiagra is as impressive as 105 but the braking offered by the pads ain't.

I too tried the Clarks multi-compound figuring they were cheap and being cartridge I could experiment with other pads but so far I've not felt the need to change them.
Cost something like €14 for 2 pair on CR so great value.

I can't imagine the Tiagra calipers differing greatly from 105 other than weight but I could be wrong.