I'm gearing up for my first bike tour. I have an old motobecane cross bike, I think it's a 2007. I need more granny gears. Right now I have a 9 speed 12-26. I'm looking into the Shimano Ultegra 6800 stuff, and so far it seems affordable with great reviews. My question is, I know I need the cassette, chain, derraileur & shifter. Anything else?
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2Sad that a 2007 bike is "old" – Criggie Feb 05 '16 at 01:47
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3Are you sure you're pedalling quick enough? You can likely put a new cassette, chain and derailleur (9 speed) with bigger gearing if necessary for much much less (putting Ultegra on an old Motobecane seems like a waste). – Batman Feb 05 '16 at 02:56
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2Agreed, I just purchased a bigger 9 speed cassette for $20. Maybe I can get away with just replacing that and the chain for now and see how it works. – Jessi D Feb 05 '16 at 03:37
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Do you run triple up front? 6800 lever are incompatible with old front derailleurs. Are you going to replace the front shifter too? – Klaster_1 Нет войне Feb 05 '16 at 04:26
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If cross means cyclocross then you probably have compact up front so can go with 34 on the small up front. – paparazzo Feb 05 '16 at 11:50
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3Possible duplicate of 9-speed system to 11-speed drivetrain upgrade? – Henry Feb 07 '16 at 13:05
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Shimano 11 speed road cassettes are wider than previous models, so you most likely will need a wider freehub body. In some cases it can be bought separately, but given that you have 9 speed at the moment, I find it unlikely, so add an 11 speed Shimano road rear compatible hub to the purchase list.
Klaster_1 Нет войне
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2Be aware the price of a hub plus rebuilding your wheel onto it may be more than a new wheel completely, and just transfer the tube/tyre over. And you can probably sell all the 9speed parts to someone else as an upgrade kit to help pay for it all. – Criggie Feb 05 '16 at 04:28
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http://bike.shimano.com/content/sac-bike/en/home/components11/road/1051/fh-5800-l.html Based on that link I would guess there is some possibility that a "9spd" hub may work with a 11spd cassette with just a freehub change. Whether or not the hub manufacturer has a 11spd freehub body available is a different story. – Deleted User Feb 05 '16 at 18:24
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See Klaster_1's comment.
You could save a lot of cash by going for a 9 speed cassette with a larger large. Something like a 32 or 34 tooth will be available standard. Your rear deraileruer might be okay, and a new chain might be a good idea if the current one is worn. However you could get away with just the cassette.
The other option is to put a triple on the front, but that's a lot more fiddly.
Criggie
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I started looking at 11 speeds because I was actually having a hard time finding what I wanted for a 9 speed. Then some one told me that the way things are headed, like from 9 to 10 to 11 speed. I think I like the idea of lots of gears, so there's not quite the jump between them, as I ride on all different terrains and can expect to where I'm going. Seems like going from 12-26 to 11-32 gives me both lower and more gears, right? I'm just learning... – Jessi D Feb 05 '16 at 01:56
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3He probably will need a new freehub body or even the whole rear hub, because 11 speed road Shimano cassettes are wider. – Klaster_1 Нет войне Feb 05 '16 at 02:35
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@Klaster_1 Good point - edited. Feel free to add your own answer wrapping up all mine and I'll remove mine. – Criggie Feb 05 '16 at 02:55
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So you currently have 9sp, and you want to go to 6800, which is 11sp?
Most likely Shimano would advise you that what you need to do is to buy the entire groupset.
In reality, you could probably get away without replacing brakes and bottom bracket, although you'd probably find it cheaper to buy the set, rather than to buy the individual bits and bobs.
As Klaster says, you'll also need a new 11sp freehub body to bolt onto the hub (if one exists) - although this shouldn't require a wheel rebuild. This part does not come as part of the groupset (as it is hub -specific) so would need to be bought separately. If you can't get a compatible freehub body, you need to get a new hub, or a new wheel.
PeteH
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Not a given you can put an 11sp freehub body on the wheel. As klaster said given it is a 9 speed the hub is old enough that it may not be 11sp compatible. – paparazzo Feb 05 '16 at 13:30
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I ordered 9 speed cassette 12-36 and I'm just going to start with that. My current chain is pretty new, so I'm going to buy 1 piece at a time and see how it fits together. I'm going to do a little tour on it and see how everything feels. If I need to replace a lot of things, I should consider a new bike, but I love my bike and I'm definitely on a budget. Thanks for your input, everyone.
Jessi D
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How did the cassette swap work for you? Update your post with the results and mark it (or Criggie's) as "accepted" if you like how it turned out. – Michael come lately Jan 31 '24 at 15:03