CrewFan

I have a 5 year old bike (bike's direct Cafe noir) that has a barely been used 105 group set. The bike is too small and I ended getting a new Fuji Absolute 2.1 (used my points to buy). I was thinking of taking the 105 group set and putting it on the Fuji, which has entry lvl Shimano parts. Would this be worth the trouble? I would also move the cassette (probably just swap the wheels too) and shifters as well. Would this really be much of an improvement?

Thanks for your thoughts!

nfmisso

not worth the trouble.

Tourney stuff functions well and is reliable. The downside for Tourney is a bit heavier.

Andrew R Stewart 

Will you keep that old bike anyway? If so then use the new Tourney till wear/problems develop, then swap over the old 105. Andy

CrewFan

I was thinking of selling it since the bike takes up space ( the boss doesn't appreciate my bike collecting habit). Not 100% sure at this point. The new Fuji bike is basically a 'ride around the neighborhood with the wife' bike and maybe commute to work (20 miles round-trip) now and again. I have a nice road bike and I Breezer hybrid with racks and stuff to commute on. My thought was to take the "better" parts off the barely used bike (less than 200 miles) and put the new parts on the old bike and sell it for 100-200$. The old bike is decent, but just not name brand, so not sure if I could really sell it for much.

Viich

Exactly what are each set? I use 1056 and 5700 105. Honestly, the 1056 runs better (8sp downtube) than the 5700 - problems really just going out of adjustment more often. I've never seen Tourney work as well as either.

veganbikes

When the question is get rid of Tourney the answer should always be yes. Shimano should be ashamed of making it just so they can put their name out there more. Even a vintage 105 would run a lot better than the tourney stuff and be much more reliable and durable.

CrewFan

The old group set is the 5600 105 9speed. The new set is listed simply as Tourney (8 speed).

Retro Grouch 

"Is it worth?" is a question that only you can answer.

Two questions: How much work is it going to be? How much is pride of ownership worth to you?

1. Look at where your rear derailleur attaches to the frame. Your 105 bike will have a finger sticking down from the bike frame where the derailleur bolts onto. On many bikes, the derailleur attaches to the rear axle. You can certainly work around that, but it's a work around. Second: Carefully measure between the rear dropouts on bot bikes. Are those measurements the same? If they're not the same (my bet) that's another work around.

2. How thinly can you slice the baloney? Shimano makes many different levels of components. The truth is that, as you move up the price points, the components really do get a little bit nicer. On the other hand, the gradient of difference from group to group is so subtle that I can't tell any difference if I move up or down just one group. The price, however, shoots up exponently. Shimano wants to extract the absolute maximum before each rider reaches their price gag point so that's why they have so many component levels. Even the lowest level Tourney components work surprisingly well, they just have no style points.

It's January. It's cold outside. If they were my bikes I'd probably cobble them together to create one bike with my unique stamp. I wouldn't expect significantly improved performance and nobody else would probably even notice. If you try to sell it in the market value will probably actually be lower. It's something that I put together myself, however, I'll know the difference, and I'd take pride of ownership in that.

It would be worth it to me.

fietsbob

4 th, suggests you sell the bike as is ... Do you gain from it when you Itemize deductions on your taxes ? then you can gain when you donate the bike.. .

CrewFan

So if I am picking up what you are putting down, is that there would be a benefit (great or small ... It's debatable), but it may take a bit more effort than originally anticipated. I'll look at the old and new bike's set up and see how the derailleurs attach, and what the axel width is. Lots to consider!


Also, I doubt I would get much of a write off for these.


Thanks for all your help!

robertorolfo

Hmmm, lots of mixed messages here about the Tourney stuff.

I don't have any personal experience with it, but I would suggest you simply try riding with it for a little while. You have a few other types of bikes, so you should be able to feel whether or not it is functioning well enough for you.

I'm definitely not a fan of Shimano, but I actually think the Tourney rear derailleur is kinda nice looking. Almost elegant. (Edit: I guess I should add that I really hate the overly futuristic look of modern high-end derailleurs.)

Also, I agree with you 100% about the good feeling of having something unique and personalized that you did yourself.

wphamilton

I have no issues with Tourney but I would do the swap, no hesitation even. Why not, what's to lose?

Ironfish653

I think the bigger factor would be how much of the rest of the running gear you would want to swap over (or would fit the Fuji)

The 5600 DR's are nice enough, especially if they're the silver. Dunking them in black paint makes the aluminum 105 body look like the stamped-steel and plastic of the cheaper RDs like the Tourney. The shifters that they put them with are probably nicer, too.
Rear DRs are pretty much interchangeable, but make sure the front mounts are compatible. Braze-on -vs- clamp, and what size clamp.

Looking at the spec for the Café Noir, it's got a more sport-oriented wheelset, w/ 28mm tires, a Sora-level off-brand crank with bigger rings (but still a triple)

I'd say it'd be worth it if the rest of the stuff fit, and it was the kind of changes you were looking to make on your new bike.
The only thing it'll cost you to try is time.

KLiNCK

If the Cafe Noir is too small for you and you are thinking of selling it anyway... sure, swap out the 105 / better parts to the Fuji!
The Cafe Noir will still have components (new!) that function "A-OK and will be appreciated for many miles by the new owner... and you will gain the benefits of a better component group that a new rider might not yet fully appreciate. Win/win!