Valsgarde

Looking for some advice from the mechanical minded members here.

This was the first road bike I ever bought, nearly 10yrs ago.

Specialized Bicycle Components

I sold it 5yrs ago and today I seen it up for sale on a local Facebook page...............so I bought it back! £150

It's obviously been well looked after as it's in immaculate condition, so delighted to have it back again.

Here's where I need the help! I want to swap out to the triple chainset and put a double on. I might as well swap out the BB as well but have no idea what I need to buy as replacement as far as correct size etc. Also, moving to a double will I have to change up the rear derailleur?

My current bike has a 50/34 chainring and a 12/25 cassette so pretty much wanting to keep it the same all round.

Any help very much appreciated.

Wingsprint

You will need to change the bottom bracket, front derailleur and crank set.

jerrycan42

That is the old hollowtech, so you have a couple of options....

Cheapest:
- Just remove the granny gear and get a new bottom bracket to correct the chainline. Your triple should fit fine with the Granny removed (68 x 109 to replace the existing 68x 118.5). (Shimano 105 5500 Octalink Bottom Bracket | Chain Reaction Cycles)
- If you really want, get a new chainring (50) to replace the 52 or 53 that bike comes with. ( I think the smallest ring you can put on that existing crank is 39, so if it is already that, just leave it.)

Or you could just get a new crank and BB.
This Tiagra bb/crank combo is ~100
- Shimano Tiagra 4650 Compact 10sp Chainset | Chain Reaction Cycles (this is a 50/34)
- Shimano Tiagra 4600 Bottom Bracket | Chain Reaction Cycles

Also, you may want to get a Short cage rear derailleur and a double front derailleur to clean up the look. (even though the ones on there will work fine still)
Shimano 105 5700 Double 10sp Front Mech | Chain Reaction Cycles
Shimano 105 5701 10 Speed Rear Mech | Chain Reaction Cycles

by all means, look for cheaper sources... (BTW, even though all this newer stuff is listed as 10spd, it should still work find with those 9 spd shifties)

Valsgarde

Thanks jerrycan42!

Would quite like to fit a compact 105 or Ultegra double crank so would need a BB to fit that? Are their options for each of them? Definitely will change up the front and rear mech also so thanks for that.

Sorry, absolutely useless with the mechanics of a bike and don't have an LBS to help me. I'll be able to fit and tune everything myself with no problem its just knowing what to get that stumps me, especially on a 10yr old bike.

dtrain

Huge sale on 4600 Tiagra at Ribble. Might actually make sense to do that, and list the 9-speed original parts on ebay (or a few of those and the unused 4600 bits).

Valsgarde

Thanks dtrain, will look at that but 105 would be the minimum requirement grouping. In saying that, is there a huge jump in quality and shifting between the 105 and Tiagra? From what I gather the difference between 105 and Ultegra after cost is weight. Not fussed about weight savings just quality of component.

roccobike

You really need to give this some serious thought. One item that has not been mentioned. On some of those older groupsets, when you change from a triple to a double, the left triple shifter has been known to freeze up after some time. A slight change in cable length due to stretch can cause it to occur. I was on a ride with a friend when her OEM left shifter froze in the middle of a shift. Upon investigation, we found this occurred with some frequency. Even though she was not the original owner of the bike, Shimano replaced it free of charge, no questions asked. I think dtrain has the best recommendation, replace the entire group. BTW, I had one of those older Allez too. Sorry I let it go.

Valsgarde

Thanks roccobike, that's a quality bit of info right there.

dtrain

The 5600 left shifter (1st gen 10-speed 105, which could shift 2 or 3 rings) had a pretty bad reputation in terms of defaults and Shimano replaced many of them. Double (5601) and triple (5603) specific ones came out pretty quickly afterwards.

To the OP: I'm surprised that you write off Tiagra and then ask if it's any different? Yes I think 105 is better and worth the difference, but that also typically means a new rear wheel is required. I think 4700 Tiagra will be pretty darn nice if you aren't in a huge hurry.

topflightpro

Really, to do what you want to do properly, you will need a new crankset, bottom bracket, rear derailleur, front derailleur and front shifter. If you stay with nine speed, the rear shifter will still work. If you go 10 or 11, you need a new rear shifter too and possibly wheels.

Front shifter: People have made triples work with doubles, but it does not work well. Problems do happen. It's better to change the front shifter. Also, triples tend to shift like crap.

FD: Triple FDs don't shift particularly well and have wider cages that double FDs. The FD tends to be the cheapest piece, so you might as well replace it.

RD: The RD is long cage. It will work OK, but not great. A medium cage will shift better.

Rear Shifter: This only needs to change if you are going to 10 or 11 speed.

Wheels: Shimano was notorious for not making its wheels backward compatible. 10-speed DA wheelsets, for example, did not work with 9-speed. I do not know if 9-speed wheels could accommodate 10-speed. I think they can, but you will have to check. I can guarantee that your wheels will not handle 11-speed.

Really, your best bet is probably to buy a new complete groupset and swap everything over at once. You can get a Shimano 105 10-speed groupset for just over $300 from Ribble.

dtrain

5800 = just over $350 (and only available in silver right now from Ribble). Closer to $400 at other retailers. Requires 11-speed compatible rear hub (to get full effect) which OP most likely does not have.
5700 = not a bad idea, but not in stock at Ribble (and over $400 at Merlin)
4600 = under $240 on will work with 8/9/10 speed rear wheels.

ColaJacket

Yeah, but you should be able to use the Tiagra with your current back wheel hub. You might have to do some more work to get an 11-spd to work with it.

A new tiagra will work better than a 10-year old 105.

Ultegra does have better components than a 105. DA is where you really get to the weight saving parts. This article tells you where the quality difference is versus the weight difference, as it tells you how to mix 105/Ultegra/DA to get the best quality for the price.

GH

Valsgarde

Thanks @ColaJacket, will look at that when I get time.

Apologies for not stating before but I'm not going to use the original wheels which came with the Allez.

I have a set of Mavic Askium S WTS which came with my new bike I bought at the beginning of the year. I upgraded to a set of carbons so the Mavics are laying in a corner gathering dust. No point in them not being used so was hoping to put them on the Allez. They came with a Shimano Ultegra 6800 11 speed cassette which I took of and put on the carbons.

dtrain

^ is the rest of your new bike fitted with 6800 Ultegra? If so (and given the new info about the Mavics), I'd change my vote and point you towards a full 5800 group for the Allez. It might end up costing ~ $200 more than just trying to do the crankset + BB + odds/ends. But in my mind, that is money very well spent. Plus it gives you a complete group to unload for a few dollars buck (or quid, as the case may be).

Valsgarde

Sorry guys, my fault.

Yes dtrain, my new bike is a Hoy Sa Calobra 2014 model. It is full 6800 Ultegra. It came with a Mavic wheelset which had an 11spd cassette, I took the cassette off and put it on the carbon wheels.

The Mavics are now laying around gathering dust and have about 100 miles on them.

Money is not really an issue luckily but at the same time I suppose there's no need to be ridiculous with the Allez, it is a 10yr old bike after all, it was my first bike so would just like to give it some tlc and the triple is not something required any more.

dtrain

Yup - do the full 5800 then if you can swing it (or leave the Allez exactly as is until you can). You get nearly the exact same feel/function to the shifters and brakes, wheels are interchangeable, etc.

Valsgarde

Apologies topflightpro, I didn't catch this post earlier.

Valsgarde

Thanks dtrain and everyone else for the suggestions and help. First class! I will order a 5800 groupset tomorrow