Upgrading Alivio components
 

I currently have one of the BMW Cruise hybrids that is equipped with Shimano Alivio components. The bike has been great for me, and fits very well.

Having beat on it fairly hard for 8 to 10k over 3 1/2 years a few things need to be replaced, such as the rear cassette and front deraullier (dented - don't ask).

I've gotten a little spoiled with the components on my MTB SRAM / Deore, and the CAAD SRAM Rival. As such, I am thinking about upgrading the drivetrain to something like a Deore XT or XTR. I plan on leaving the brakes, as they are good. A few questions:

- has anybody had experience with buying these groupsets new, and can recommend a good online source?
- are there any other groupsets you could recommend?
- what measurements should I look at to make sure cassettes and other components would fit? (The bike does not have braze-ons for the front cage)

I enjoy the bike, so I am not as concerned about resale value, but more functionality. Nothing wrong with the Alivio, but the better shifting and gear spacing would make the ride more enjoyable.

What's you end objective with this? Upgrading to XT/XTR won't give you significantly better shifting, and could give you a worse choice of gearing, these groupsets are designed for racing, not cruising, from what you have said, probably all you need is a new front mech, chain, cassette and cables an the drivetrain will be back to it's original condition.

If you intend you keep your current brakes, are you shifters brakes levers separate, if not, you need to budget for brake levers as well as new shifters.

What type of rear wheel do you have, if freewheel, you will need a new one if you are looking to go to XT/XTR, if freehub, the cassette is just a swap. For your front mech, you need to ID if it is a top or bottom pull &, the clamp diameter / fitting.

I have to disagree that it won't provide better shifting. I did a similar swap and found the shifting improved to an extent that it really was more enjoyable to ride.

I'm happy with Acera, no problems. Alivio should shift VERY nice. If you need "better shifting", perhaps all you need is clean, re adjust and perhaps new chain and cassette.

If you really want something more expensive, do not go over Deore. Unless you're racing that is. Also, I'd suggest you stick to 9 sprockets in the rear, or use a chance to downgrade to 8 if you're changing it all now. More reliable and cheaper in the long run to maintain.

Hope much longer do you expect to get out of 8 speed components compared to 9 speed? I've been using 9 speed for many years and nothing has failed on me yet.
Also, why do you suggest anything over Deore is suited to racing? It's a fact that as you go up the grades of Shimano, the smoothness and crispness improves. Why would commuters, recreation riders etc. not get a benefit from this?

All,

Thank you for the advice and recommendations, and apologies for not providing more information. As you can see I am a bit of a noob in terms of component replacement or selection. Next steps:

New chain, cassette, and front cage for now, stock components. I got bored watching the storm coverage and checked the chain and it is marginal, and cassette is worn enough to maybe miss shifts. Let's see how this works.

In terms of cables, any particular type other than basic bike cables and a Park cutter and stretch tool?

My goal - no racing, but I do like to use the bike for Centuries in the NYC area. Speed is less of an issue, but rather smoother shifting. This is NOT a "make it go faster" but rather a more pleasant ride with less "klunk" in the drivetrain.

Again, thank you for the advice and forcing me to think more - any day where I can reduce my ignorance is a good day!

your alivio system is almost certainly 3x8, no?

deore XT these days is 2x10 and regular Deore is 2x10 or 3x9. any of these will require new shifters in addition to crankset, cassette, derailleurs and chain.

if you're not climbing up big hills, try switching to a narrower range cassette with your alivio and dial the shifters in carefully, and you'll find it quite clean and smooth. I went from an 11-32T 8 speed to a 13-26T 8 speed HG50, and found the closer gear spacings much nicer, and I still have a 28:26 low gear which will get me up most any hill.

re: measurements, you'll need to know if the Front derailleur is a top pull or conventional bottom pull (eg, does its cable come from under the bottom of the bottom bracket, or down the seat tube from the top tube). and you'll need to know the OD of the seat tube where the FD clamps on. 28.6mm is a common size. most newer clampon FD's come with spacers for 3-4 commons izes.

Now that is interesting, had not thought about the gear spacing. I very rarely use the lowest gear, since one of the things I dislike is the wide spacing. I haven't really got my hands as dirty as I should, and this could be a good solution. Plus, with the upright position on the bike, pulling the 11 is hard to do. Yes HTFU applies, but it really isn't a big deal given that I dont blast at 35 with this bike.

Dumb question - different chain length required for this swap?

Completely unrelated, I also just put a pair of the Ergon grips in and that made a huge difference in comfort - oddly enough on hills!

chains always come too long, you measure to just fit the biggest gears (that you're not supposed to use together) and shorten the chain to one link more than that, then reassemble.

easily done with a chain punch.

9 speed chains are THINNER than 7/8 speeds, and 10 speeds are even thinner than that.

48:11 is a really tall gear. I find 48:13 is plenty tall for anything short of spinning down 35+ MPH hills

afaik, the 13-26 is the ONLY one I found with a 13 high gear in 8 speed, there's more choices in 12-xx.

here's some
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-ICSHG5...=hg50+cassette

[those are really road ratios, not mountain, this cassette is part of both the Sora/Tiagra road gruppe and alivio mtn groups)

here's some more 8 speeds...
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-HG-CAS...ef=pd_sbs_sg_4
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-HG50-C...=hg50+cassette
http://www.amazon.com/SRAM-PG850-8-S...ef=pd_sbs_sg_3

(note each of those cover several different ratios)

warning, some HG50s are 9-speed, its downright confusing.

I recently upgraded by Fuji Absolute to a Shimano Sora and Tiagra triple mix, with Sram twist shifters. And it has worked out pretty good.

This grasshopper has much to learn...


So I spent about three hours on Saturday.

1) tightened and adjusted the cables at the front and back
2) went through the limit screws carefully
3) went through each gear with the front and the rear deraulliers

So at the end of the day, it still need a new cassette and chain, but a few hundred miles away. I re-learned the same lesson I did at 18 with my '67 Firebird. Stop, think, and fix before you replace.

Thank you for all of the suggestions and advice!