** 11 Speed modding update **

Started this over the weekend and it didnt go too well. Firstly the 9-32 cassette turned out to be the standard birdy 10 speed version due to a labelling error at the shop. So on went the 9-36T one. The good news it that fitting the cassettes is trivial if you have the Capreo lock ring tool and chain whip. The 11 speed cassettes come with a 1.85mm spacer which is usually used for converting 11 speed freehub bodies for 10 speed cassettes, there was certainly no room to include the spacer on the Birdy hubs. I wonder if its for spacing out the fractionally longer road hub bodies? Any guesses?

So second bad news of the day - I bought too short a 11 speed chain - a 114link kmc one. The standard touring has a 115 link chain, and going from 32t to 36t at the back probably requires one more to make 116 in today. Oddly enough I noticed for the first time that my original birdy chain already had 2 speed links in, which assuming 1 was fitted in the factory then suggests another was fitted later, given my birdy was bought new I suspect its because I ordered the chain ring upgrade.

Fitted an SLX trigger shifter and got a rough n ready set of shifting going with the original Deore Trekking rear mech. So the good news is with more time to fiddle I could probably keep the 10 speed rear mech if I was willing to settle for non-quite precise shifting. More mech experimentation to follow.
*
Last bad news of the day I have a 56T chainring and with it and the 36T sprocket at the back in "Big-Big" the chain rubs the near the top of the suspension pivot at the start of the swing arm this will lead to friction and a broken swing arm which is a bad thing! There is a little triangle shape where the swing arm flares out slightly wider and the chain was rubbing there. I will try to upload a photo later.

*Not really big-big as there is only 1 ring at the front.

Fortunately I have several cunning plans.... tune in in the next couple of days for part 3.