I personally have never known anyone to change out a groupset because they wore it out; if they change one out, it's because they want to upgrade. But as Ghost Ryder says, the 105 groupset is a great product and has been for some time. I have bikes with both 105 (the 2008 version, at least) and Ultegra components and I honestly can't tell much, if any, difference in shifting and performance quality.

I got back into riding after a long layoff with my 105-equipped bike and I didn't get nearly the wear out of a cassette and chain with that group that I have with my Ultegra, which has more than 3,000 miles with no new cassette or chain. But that very well could be due to "operator error" when I was riding my 105 bike as my primary. Now, it's largely my "messy weather" winter bike.

Yeah, I'm starting to clip out well in advance now. It usually happens now when I have one foot unclipped and lose my balance to the clipped side (which is just stupidity )

Homebrew, I was trying to say that I don't think I'd ever shift under full load even though I know I could. I haven't had to shift while out of the saddle though yet.

One of the appeals of SS over MS was coming from my unicycling background. I can climb just fine in my 50/19 combo, but haven't decided if I'd want to push that all the time even on the flats. But I think I'd take Ghost Ryder's advice and convert an older bike on the cheap to do that. May be a good summer project.

I have 5 unicycles, why not 2 bikes?

Anyways, I'm headed out tomorrow to do a bit longer ride (60 miles unless I get tired and turn around). Got to decide if I want to put my new tire on (the back has a very small section between the tread and sidewall [doesn't touch the road and isn't bulging] where the outermost layer of rubber has come off exposing the protective layer). LBS mechanic said it's not a safety concern, but maybe it's just time for a new one.

This'll be a good ride with some up and down and a lot of flat riding to experiment with shifting/trimming/cadence/etc. I'll probably try a few sections in a single gear as well to see if I like that at all.

Except paraffin!

Well, so far I've been lubing my chain every other week, and had planned to degrease every few rides (prolly once a month or so). Actually, I lubed my chain today before I went out and forgot to wipe the excess before I left. Oh well. I wiped it after I got back, better late than never I guess.

I never degrease any more. Just add a little lube now & then.

So since I forgot to wipe after I lubed, and then rode, should I at least degrease then? Or was I fine to just wipe it after I got back? I know that the excess oil can attract more gunk and cause more wear, but is one time that big of a deal?

Thanks!

Just wipe any extra off with a rag. Lean the bike up against the wall with the chain on a middle cog, hold a rag in your left hand and grab the chain lightly. Pedal backwards 4-5 revolutions. Done. No need to overthink.

Lube & wipe every now & then and you will be fine. It's just a bicycle.

Wax is supposed to be better than most-does it actually NOT get gritty with black grunge?
Why is it not the favorite lube?
The main downside to lubes is they grind away at what they are supposed to be lubing with their grit load-
and the grit and lube-make EVERYTHING they touch filthy
so why isn't it the predominant lube?
Lubes that attract grit-border on pointless harmful
especially since modern chains last a long time-lube no lube

PS I couldn't find the original VELO friction/drag lube test.
Referenced to it said paraffin was the best for actual lubrication-lowered drag the most.
According to various posters-it has the shortest "life"-have to reapply it most often-
and depending on how compulsive you are-you might actually have to clean the chain-strip it-then REDIP it in hot wax!!
SOB who does that??
Still I would love to see a longevity test-nothing vs something-
I really really hate that grunge-especially since I have an add on 41 tooth rear "sprocket"-sitting inboard of my cassette
my old rapid rise won't push it up to the 41-so I do it by hand before spending 25 minutes climbing the levee
I usually grab a leaf-use it to handle the chain-so I barely get any grunge on my hand
but I still Hate that GRUNGE- brush it with your pants shirt-and they are done-never get that stain out-more work or wear around the clothes
Next chain-Teflon wippermann- SS chain now-which I occasionally lube- something squeaks -sometimes-if I don't-probably rear derailleur-but not sure on that.

I shift under heavy load all the time. I know it's not ideal, but I climb a lot of steep hills. If nothing else, there's 2-3 gears between my ideal sitting cadence, and my ideal standing cadence.

The trick is to soft-pedal for just an instant while the shift is happening. Sometimes I don't, or can't for whatever reasons. Then I hear those sounds coming from the cassette that the machinist in me can tell are metal rubbing metal too hard. I just chalk it up to the shinola that happens when you actually get out and do something that's hard. Shimano will make me new cassettes.

Don't be afraid to ride your bike. I had no real experience shifting when I started cycling again, and none of the groupsets that I have used even blinked an eye when I made shifting mistakes. The only problems I had were preexisting issues that were present before I took ownership of any bikes I've owned, problems that I quite easily learned myself and haven't had any troubles since. I've been using both friction shifting and indexed shifting as well. I've made mistakes shifting under all load ranges and everything has held up well. It really doesn't take long to get used to it, especially if everything is already in good alignment and good shape.

By the way, I've never been able to unicycle. I can't manage to find a happy medium for balance and speed that will keep me on the things.