Downgrading from 10 speed to 8 speed?
 

I've been riding with Shimano 105 groupset 5703 3x10 speed setup for the last year. Looking at the prices of 10 vs 8 speed cassettes and chains, there is a significant price difference. 10 speeds is also more sensitive to set up for crisp gear changing (when it is nice and clean it works wonderfully). I'm a recreational rider, seldom use the 11 and 28 on the rear.

So - I was thinking of swapping my 105 10 speed groupset, for a cheaper Sora groupset. Triple if possible. I'd rather pay under 10 e for a chain, than over 20. Cassettes are also pricey: 30 e for a Tiagra, compared to some 15 e for an 8 speed sora. The 8 speed group on my "treking" bike was very reliable and cheap to run - hoping to have the same effect with the road bike.

Does this make any sense? Are there any drawbacks except the less gears and bigger gaps?

I'm looking to swap with some mate - 2nd hand decent 105 for a smiliar condition Sora. So downgrade won't cost me, but I won't make profit on it definitely.

Not really seeing where you expect to make an overall saving, you currently have a 5703 groupset, you would need to sell all of this, (less the brakes?) than purchase a replacement groupset, what value does you old groupset have? probably less than the cost of a replacement.

Sora also isn't 8 speed, it's 9 speed, and only Claris is left as 8 speed, you will find less choice /options for 8 speed as time goes on, and the higher end parts are discontinued. How many cassettes & chains do you get through? is it really worth a huge amount of work for something that gets replaced once every other year or so?

For cassettes & chains, have you tried sourcing these from cheaper suppliers / online, plenty of companies ship to Serbia, although not sure of the customs/tax implications are you are not a EU country yet.

I'm considering swaping for an older 8 speed Sora. No selling - just swap. I'm also expecting not to pay for the job of replacement.

You want to swap simply because of the price difference of cassettes and chains? As a recreational rider, how often are you actually wearing those parts out?

I hate the thumb button on Sora. It's in the wrong place and makes it uncomfortable to ride on the hoods. I also find the ergonomics on x700 much better than the x600 groups.

2 -3 chains, one cassette per year. Plus while the 8 speed takes almost none maintenance even in bad weather, this 10 speed often needs fine tuning of the rear derailleur - and cables and housing are new and clean, since it's not ridden in poor weather.

Also I heard that 8 speed chains and cassettes are more durable.


I believe I'd be happy with bar end shifters - non indexed ones - simpler, cheaper, less fragile. Am I wrong here? Having tried the 105 and road cycling, I found out I love the seating position (or better 3 differen ones drop bars offer), the "quickness" of the bike, but I really hate having to pay like 100 euros for a broken STI lever.


Does this all plan sound crazy and do you think it is a step in the wrong direction? Most... all the roadies I know praise the 105 and 10 speeds, but they also never ride in the rain and snow which I regularly do (on a MTB equipped hybrid and MTB bikes though - but I'd like a less fragile and expensive road bike to ride in the rain too).

Dude just ride your bike.

10000+ miles annually would not be considered recreational to most cyclists

+1

The other issue you may find, maybe not today but eventually, is the availability of the 8 speed parts. Manufactures of these parts will eventually stop making them and prices of existing parts will begin getting more and more expensive.

A Shimano 4600 10spd cassette is ~$30, and works w/ any Shimano 10spd set-up. Get one w/ appropriate gearing.
A Sram PC-1031 10spd chain is ~$20. works fine.

Consumables are consumables, sounds like a lot of monkey-motion to change over for little if any financial benefit for a $70-90 per year expense.

Yep, with Tiagra moving to 10-speed, the component prices are coming down. The cassette works fine, I'm using one with 6700 on a trainer wheel.

It IS cheaper to have 8-speed chains and cassettes, and like you I go through at least 2 chains and one cassette every year but have you done the calculation?

(cost of downgrading)/(price difference in 2 chains + 1 cassette) = number of years needed to break even

It seems like it will take several years before you see a savings. If so I'd just keep the 10-speed.

The whole point of a properly geared bicycle, whether it has 3 or 30 gears, is to have the range of gearing that an individual needs for terrain & conditioning.
A top gear that's too high and a low that's too low should be replaced by a tighter more useful range that will also have smaller more efficient steps.
When you purchase a fresh cassette get one w/ gearing that you'll use, 12-25?

You'll then have the benefits of the 10speed set-up that you paid for.

-Bandera

Somewhere, Sydney is smiling.
:)

So get a 12-25 cassette next time you replace it. You'll have a 16 and an 18. You won't know yourself.

You're quibbling over the $10-20 difference in chain and cassette prices, but you'll spend a lot more than that on new Sora 9-speed (I think Claris is 8spd now) and you won't get what you think you'll get when you try and offload your old 105 gear on eBay (especially now that new 105 11spd is coming out).

The idea is to do a swap in a local club bike shop. Find a serious training cyclist that needs the 10 speeds and has an 8 speed Sora on their bike.

How about finding someone who has a stash of NOS 10-speed chains/cassettes that they don't need anymore after going 11s? Seems just as likely, in fact...

I think you might be trading drivetrain life for shifter life, or might wind up with barcons. But it's absolutely true that it's cheaper to buy an 8-speed cassette and chain for <$20 apiece (or whatever they cost in Novi Sad) and they will always be available because there are millions of workaday 24-speed mountain / hybrid / trekking bikes in the world.

First of all this argument does not make sense. 10 speed lasts longer than 8 speed.

Regarding cassette life: you have 25% more gears, so they should last 25% longer. If you don't use the 11t and 28t, get a 12-25 as someone suggested.

Regarding chain life: It is a missconception that 8s is more durable than 10s. see: Bikerumor Shimano Chainwear Challenge: The Results

Newer chains have better design, materials, and better coatings, so they last longer.


Finally, this is only a $100 per year question. A tank of gas is $60. If you are riding enough to wear out 1 cassette and 3 chains per year, I think $100 is a fair price to pay for such fun.

10 speed stuff will continue to get cheaper, also. Once 12-speed hits the 10-speed should get nearly as cheap as 9-speed stuff is now.

You're talking about saving maybe 35-45 Euros per year if an 8 speed chain gives 10 Euro saving and an 8 speed cassette is 15 Euro saving.

Also, there is something wrong if you are constantly having to tune your rear derailer. I pretty much tune it once when I install new cables and housing, and then maybe once more as the housing settles into the ferrules.

I'd probably only do the 8-speed swap if you were trading your 10-sp brifters for two sets of NOS ST-1055 brifters, or ST-6400, or the like.

Ribble has 10sp Tiagra cassettes for $19 and 10sp 5701 chains for $17/ea. Seriously OP, do the math and you'll figure out you won't be saving much money. Espeically relative to the cost/hassle involved in swapping out to 8sp.

There are no 8-speed chains in that test, however. Maybe 9-speeds are crap. I know I snapped one 9-speed chain in no time. I put a Sram 830 chain on there cuz I had one on hand, been running it ever since. I now have a 9-speed to replace it with but haven't bothered.