Switch Out to 11 speed cassette???
 

So, I run an Ultegra (might be DA) 10-speed on my TT bike, 12-23. I use a modern Tiagra RD, because that's likely the best derailleur around is for a 10-speed. Kinda lame by today's high rech gear, I know. But I'm thinking about going Di2 with an 11-speed, mainly to clear out the cables and give myself an extra gear. That gear will probably be a large 25-tooth cog. I really only compete on flat courses, rarely having to hit the large 23T cog that i have. But researching gear and pricing everything out, I'm starting to think that if I go down the Di2 road, I'll be spending a lot of time and money on a project that won't provide much more of an advantage over what I already have. What advice do you all have?

Well, shifting is better. Nobody that has DI2 goes back to mechanical, is a phrase heard often. It’s an expensive upgrade, certainly over a grand. One question is can you a source new 11 spd. rim brake system ?! (making an assumption as you now have 10). You could purchase used, might be worthwhile, you can likely reuse the crank and brakes. As well and if using an aero bar, explore the satellite shifters , which you can place at the end of the aero bar and end of cow horn bars.

Thanks Steve. So, I have DA brake levers on the bull horns and my mechanical DA shifters at the end of my aero extensions. If I go Di, can't I just keep my brake levers in place, install the Di bar end shifters on the aeros and run my derailleurs that way? Im not sure why I would need to disturb my braking system (rim).

I think that is correct. All you would need is the derailleurs, a battery, and the aero bar shifters, and junction boxes, along with wires to connect it all up.

You can do that. Is it worth $1100 to shift a little differently?

https://www.texascyclesport.com/shim...onversion-kit/

I'm conflicted on this. Personally, the $h!t to worth ratio just doesn't seem to be there, particularly on an older bike frame. I know a lot of people just love Di, and maybe I'm missing something because I've just never tried it, but I just can't imagine being out on a ride and not being able to shift because my shifter battery charge died.

I'm not saying not to do it. I'll be very interested to hear if you think the ROI was worth the change.

Yeah, I'm thinking it's not worth the money. My 10-speed is set up in friction mode works very well, and the more I think about it I can't see a reason why I should even upgrade to an 11-speed cassette. I have awesome wheels on it (DT Swiss 1400 ARC Dicuts), and to me that's the most important thing. One improvement I think I can make is to stack my aero risers a bit higher. I saw the riders on the TT portion of the Tour De France and they had lots of height on their risers. There wasn't any daylight between their arms and heads when on the aeros. I can improve my "aero-ness" in that regard. I can also upgrade my entire crankset, shave off half a pound.

For somebody doing triathlons and using aero bars extensively, having the satellite shifter buttons out on the aero bar or at the cow horn end is a functional advantage.

The ONLY advantage I can really see to electronic shifting that I think would make it worth it *for me* is the ability to position shift buttons on both the aero bars and on the base bar. I've not seen that done yet, but I sit up and use the base bar a lot on steep inclines. There are often times when I would like to be able to go between gears and have to take a hand off the base bar and shift from the aero bar. It can make it unstable.

Are there many triathlons where much time is spent climbing in the bullhorns?

All of them with any sort of steep hill ?, no matter how short, where you don’t want to be on the aero bar ?

I've never been in an event with any sort of hill. Maybe some up and down grades, but no hills. But, I'm aware of several that had hills. I showed up for an event with my backup bike, which has a 1x9 drive train and some of the competitors thought I was nuts. The issue was that I was doing a sprint, which was all flat, whilst the Oly took riders through some steep hills. I imagine many of them had to ride the horns on parts of the hills.

Ironman Lake Placid is hilly, especially back up past Whiteface from Wilmington, 1100 ft climb. Tinman in Tupper Lake also has 2300 ft or so in its 55 miles. I used to do a team TRI in Oyster Bay, L.I., had a pissy little climb called Moores Hill, you were not on the aero bar.

Depends a lot on where you are. I've literally done triathlons from Atlantic to Pacific. The ones I've done in Florida were nearly flat. Typically the biggest "hill" you might climb is a bridge, which is what I ran into in Key Biscayne. I was able to leave it on my big chainring but I did drop into one of my lowest on the cassette.

I've also done Santa Barbara, which is kind of a beast as the entire bike course is in the mountains. And I did complete the bike course in St. George. Those two bike courses are comparable in terrain where very little of it could be considered flat, with some inclines/declines being between 8-10%, not an insignificant climb.

Yesterday, I did an Aquabike event out at Lake Mead, which isn't what you might call "mountainous" but it is quite hilly. I took my P2 which isn't set up for hills like my Shiv. I was able to finish the course, but the difference in gearing was pronounced.

I know there is a push in the industry to go to 1x12 drivetrain but with my experience in the hills, I'm highly leery of that. There is a lot of overlap in those middle gears on a 2x system but when you get to the final gears on either extreme, that's a pretty big difference.

Jen, there's always a push to get us to buy the next and best thing. I started this thread, because I was thinking about moving to an 11-speed cassette. But I got to thinking, "what do I really get for the investment?" I already have 20 gears with my 10-speed. 20! And I ride flat areas. And even if I hit some hill, well, I have 20 gears! I think the only things I'll now focus on are reducing the weight of my bike and my body (around competition time), and fitness.

And it's really not difficult to change out cassettes. If you find you're going to be doing any climbing, you can always get a cassette that has a lower gear. My Shiv came with a 26 tooth final gear (IIRC). I have a cassette with a 30 tooth low gear. That in combo with the 36 tooth small chain ring and it's a pretty decent climber. But if I know I'm on flat ground and I just want the option of several gears to put me in the sweet spot of my cadence, I can easily swap out the cassette for a ratio that gives me more options.

My point was: If you have one or two hills, is it really that hard to shift early or sit down for a moment and reach to the aerobar shifter to get into the right gear? You wouldn't want to do that on rolling hill course, but if it is just a few shifts overall, it doesn't seem like you are at much of a disadvantage without bullhorn shifters.

I don't see how it (shifter on the bull horns) can work out. I have my brake levers mounted in the ends of the horn bars. There no where to place the gear shifters.

So, I have to address something. I know that I started this thread questioning whether I should move to an 11 cassette. That precipitated my research into 11-speed crank sets, as I'm set up with a 10-speed set. But I want 165mm arms on any new 11-speed crank set that I get. Now, it's practically impossible to find a used reasonably priced Ultegra or DA 11-speed crank set . A new Ultegra (R8000 or FC 08) will cost about $350. And it's really difficult find a new Ultegra 11-speed with 165 mm crank arms. BUT, I can find the new 12-speed crank sets (Ultegra FC8100) in 165mm all over the place for about $200-$300! What gives here?

Every Triathlon I have done required a lot of shifting and, if I was going to re-do my tri-bike I would have go to DI-2 so I could have shifters on the Bull-horn in addition to the Bar-Ends. For the type of courses @ArgoMan rides, "flat", I would put shifters on the aerobats so I could stay on the bars the whole time. I agree with @vegasjen, I have always chosen my cassette for the course. When I scout the course, I determine the cassette I need, then switch it out to make sure I have the low and high gears I need and the best spacing.

With all that said, I also love to tinker on my bikes and buy new, or in my case really old, components to get the build I want. I would never want to discourage anyone from spending money.....

Ya, thanks for that.

I'm trying to see it in my head, but how would I have shifters on my bull horns if I have my brake levers there? Is there a combo brake lever/shifter? And what are your thought of me possibly installing an Ultegra 12-speed crank, but otherwise with an 11-speed set up?

I’ve seen a setup wherein the person had a 1x system…so no front derailleur/shifter required. They had the rear shifter, and the rear brake on the opposing aero bar ends. The front brake was lower on the horn end.
Dan

If you currently have a 10 speed freehub, you can use that with an 11-34 11-speed 105 or Ultegra cassette without the included spacer.

My new Ultegra R8000 chainring came in. 160mm arms. New 11 Ultegra cassette, chain, and 6800 derailluer (NOS). Even got a new BB and bar end shifters. Gonna throw it all together this weekend and then go break some records!