It is on tiagra 4700, but before you needed a shim. Dont know the part number though.

Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France running an 11-32 cassette in the mountains.

So what you're saying is you should be excited about the short-reach levers?

That sort of gearing is popular on the gravel bikes, 1x, and for very unfit people. Remember there are people who will casually ride around the neighborhood once a week for an hour, possibly with their kids on kiddie bikes. Not everyone is a "casual" roadie who trains to any degree.

And then there's touring.

Part of the issue is simply watt/kg. Lots of people are reasonably fit in the aerobic sense of the word but may be 20-30 lbs over weight. Combined with a steep 8-9-10% hill they quickly run out of low gears, if they are on 34/28 or 34/25, unless they can dish out some real power.

For reference it takes ~260w to maintain 60 rpm on 9% incline in the 34/28 combination, if you are 200lbs. If instead you have 34/34 it only takes ~210w to maintain 60 rpm under the same circumstances.

You are right.

I didn't know that the Ultegra version fit 10 speed hubs.



-Tim-

If i'm maintaining 60 RPM, then I'm very near the end of my rope and need a lower gear.

Maybe it's an old person thing. I remember as a teen and young adult mashing high gears at low cadence all day long.

But now low cadence means too much power on my knees and less at the pedal which equals pain and more stored energy wasted. I'm climbing hills looking to maintain at least 80 RPM or more. If the hill gets so steep that I get down in the low 70's, then I'm worried I won't make it. 60 is just an indication that I'm about to grind to a halt if the crest isn't a couple bike lengths away.

edit.... sorry... causing the thread to continue off topic. Let's not get into this here.

I didn't know they had reworked the front derailleur. The old one with the tall arm ... well, I won't speak ill of the terribly designed, tire-rubbing, hard-to-adjust piece of crap here.

I've set up 6 bikes with the long arm and never had an issue setting them up or adjusting. It is different than all previous fds but if you followed the shimano instructions it is straightforward. Tire rub is the only potential issue for wider tires.

My daughter has small hands and I was thinking of trying to adjust the reach on her tiagra 10 speed brake levers. (i believe that's the 4700, but not positive). Can I adjust the reach without a shim? I think I did that on one of my old 105 sets and it was really easy, just using a small hex key.

I might be in if the price hovers around the 5800 range. The R8000 being almost couple hundred CAD more than 6800 put me off it.

Looks like you are better at climbing than you think.

Im building a frame that will have a 48/32 crank and an 11-32 cassette. Ill ride it for a season and see if i can drop to 11-30.
I want to ride it everywhere and have come across some hills where my touring triple granny was helpful. Perhaps not technically needed, but certainly used.

Going to 34 you can have a 1-to-1 with a standard compact crank. If 105 would introduce a 48x32 compact crank for this group it might even work well as a road tour bike crankset...

I know this is a 105 thread, but my Ultegra 8000 hydro set up will let me shift and brake at the same time. Im curious if this is something new for Shimano or if it is reserved for the higher end groups only. I don't have much experience at all with road shifters as I have been a MTB rider for many years.

need to pedal when you shift but... while you brake too? When would that need arise...?

Usually I downshift when coming to a stop at a traffic light or slowing down because of traffic ahead of me.

Yes, I was wrong, sorry. Its the little paddle that disengages when the brake lever is (unintentionally) pushed a bit to the side, not back. You can brake and shift at the same time. Im sure 105 is the same.

When you're in a line and you want to slow without creating a yo-yo effect. You keep pedaling but apply the brakes gently. Is that what you meant?

I'd like to think that's true. My climbing "problem" is all about weight to power. No surprise there. At age 72 I am 10 lbs. overweight and have lost a lot of my power. I ride with my club's B ride and everyone else in that group is 10-20 years younger than me. Our rides usually have about 60-70 ft of climbing per mile. And over 40 mi. w/say 2500 ft., of elevation, we get as high as 15 mph. I usually find myself dropping back on the climbs and then catching everyone on the flats. Frustrating. I can still go pretty well on the flats so climbing is the thing to conquer. Feeling optimistic this year though. My weight is about 6 lbs lower than usual at season's start. Been running a 12x28 (10 sp) but set up a second wheelset with a 11x26 in hopes I'll be able to actually use it.