Originally Posted by
TenGrainBread
I think he meant upgrade to a higher level of component, not to a new speed. I guess the next level up in Shimano is 10 speed so it would probably necessitate a change to gearing.
I'm sure he did but I am guessing he wants road components and the next up, which is Tiagra, is a ten setup. He could always go for a mountain bike RD I guess, but I don't know if it would be much of an improvement, don't really know much about that side of things.