Hello All. First post here. Excited to find this community of enthusiasts. The title is a bit odd. I'll set context, then ask for input.
59 yrs old; ~180 lbs. Long (very long) time road rider. Recreational - nothing real serious. In the last few years have changed to riding exclusively paved trails, as I had a couple of close calls as well as friends with very severe injuries from car/bike accidents. All that got into my head and I can't ride on real roads anymore. But fortunately where i live (CO) we have fantastic trails and I can do long-ish rides on paved trails. I ride probably 2,000-2,500 miles annually.
I'm riding a Roubaix Triple that's probably 11 yrs old. Came outfitted with all Shimano 105; 10 speed. A couple of years ago left shifter broke. In the interest of saving $ I had the shop put on a *2* speed shifter. As you can guess that incompatibility with the rest of the drivetrain is causing chain rubbing on the front derailleur and the annoyance has now pushed me over the edge and I want to resolve it.
I think I see the following options. I'd like any comments anyone might have.
1. Get a 3-speed front shifter. My shifters have the shifting cable that comes out the side of the housing....not under the bar tape. I can get a new Shimano Sora 3-speed shifter. But even that has shifting cable under the bar tape. I've looked a bit on eBay, but either I'm not looking in the right way or there isn't much out there. (BTW, I've seen a few that say "2/3 Speed". Are there shifters where you can set which one you want?)
2. Can I convert the triple to a double (new chainrings, presumably new crank) and leave the cassette / rear derailleur as they are? Or does the front and rear need to be swapped together?
3. Get a new Roubaix.
I've been looking at them, and emotionally there is no doubt that would be the most fun.
I figure number 1 above would solve my current problem. I know number 3 would solve it. LOL Is number 2 even feasible?
Thanks.
Jim