Hi everyone,

I was hoping you guys could help me out. I managed to find a 2008 Jamis Aurora Elite for 300 on CL, and one of the things I might want to change about it is the fact that it's a 10-speed and not a 9-speed. I currently ride a VO Rando that's 8 speed with bar ends and the chain and cassette are going strong after 2600+ miles.

Would "downgrading" to 9 speed make it cheaper to maintain my Aurora? Or has chain/cassette tech improved to the point that it doesn't matter anymore? Also, would I be able to get away with changing the chain and the cassette to 9 speed or would my 10-speed Shimano 105 brifters be incompatible? Clearly, replacing the brifters would cost a lot and probably cancel out the savings of having to replace the chain/cassette more often.

If it is currently working why downgrade it? A matched system that is operational is going to be easier to maintain than having to retrofit it.

You wouldn't be happy using 10-speed brifters with a 9-speed drivetrain.

I've been getting around 2000-2500 miles out of SRAM 10-speed chains, and I ride in a lot of rain. Now that Tiagra has gone to 10-speed, there's a relatively cheap source of cassettes, but I have yet to wear out a cassette (though my tolerance for cassette wear seems to be significantly higher than average -- as long as everything shifts fine I keep my cassette).