9 speed upgrade - road bike

[Alantravis52]

Hi 

Is it possible to upgrade my old 9spd shimano 105 group set, but still use the same hub, I know the shifters will have to be replaced as well 

Group set is the original 105 9spd fitted to my Giant bought in 1996

Ratio is 50/34 front and 28/11 rear

I'm looking to get a more suitable gear ratio 

[JacBrand]

It is not clear what you mean by a more suitable gear ratio. The ratios you describe are already quite light (I ride 11-28 with a 53/39 crank).

Regardless

Your hub can take up to a 10-speed cassette.

So to upgrade you will replace: Shifters, derailleurs, cassette, crank and chain.

Personally, I would just put an 11-32 cassette on and keep the 9-speed 105.

I recently made a similar change to my father inlaw's old 8spd road bike (I replaced the 11-25 with an 11-32 cassette)

 

[ChrisF]

EDIT .... road bike not MTB .... 

Edited February 15, 2023 by ChrisF

[David Marshall]

Depends exactly what needs upgrading.  The new Shimano road groupsets are not compatible backwards.  For example the new 9 speed Sora 3000 shifters and derailleurs are not compatible with the 9 speed Sora 3500  or any other 9 speed (Tiagra, 105, Ultegra).  You can use a Sunrace, Microshift or L-Twoo shifter or derailleur with the older groupsets. 

[Eugene]

You don't say what you want to upgrade, but if you want to go 10speed, it should fit your hub, you'll just need a spacer (10sp is actually narrower than a 9sp).

You'll need new shifters too. I am not sure about the chain though. 

Considering your chainring size, I wouldn't go with a cassette bigger than the 28 you currently have. Someone already mentioned how easy your current ratio is

[LBKloppers]

If you need to go to 10 speed you can do so easily by just upgrading your shifters and the sprocket. There is a whole lot of wish-wash about shifting systems, but it is all hogwash and sales talk.

The gear shifting system is just levers and ratios. The Shimano systems use a 2:1 pull ratio. This is the reason you can not mix SRAM (1:1 pull ratio) with Shimano shifting. The old 9 speed derailleur will work with the 10 speed shifter, because the freewheel is exactly the same for 8, 9 and 10 speed systems. That leaves the derailleur to move across the same path and distance. The shifters is in control of the indexing and it will compensate for the different steps in the indexing.  You might have  to re-index the derailleur, but it will work without hassles.

I have gone from 8 speed through 9 speed to 10 speed, every time just making the shifter and sprocket mod. Even the 10 speed chain works flawlessly on both the 9 speed and the 10 speed systems.

[Jase619]

1 hour ago, LBKloppers said:

If you need to go to 10 speed you can do so easily by just upgrading your shifters and the sprocket. There is a whole lot of wish-wash about shifting systems, but it is all hogwash and sales talk.

The gear shifting system is just levers and ratios. The Shimano systems use a 2:1 pull ratio. This is the reason you can not mix SRAM (1:1 pull ratio) with Shimano shifting. The old 9 speed derailleur will work with the 10 speed shifter, because the freewheel is exactly the same for 8, 9 and 10 speed systems. That leaves the derailleur to move across the same path and distance. The shifters is in control of the indexing and it will compensate for the different steps in the indexing.  You might have  to re-index the derailleur, but it will work without hassles.

I have gone from 8 speed through 9 speed to 10 speed, every time just making the shifter and sprocket mod. Even the 10 speed chain works flawlessly on both the 9 speed and the 10 speed systems.

Have to second the hogwash and marketing talk that the speeds and makes don't work together within reason. 

My wife's current bike has Campag 10 speed shifters Rear Deraileur and brakes, with a shimano front derailleur with a shimano cassette, chain and Truvativ cranks. Quite the hodge podge, but it works damn well.

Also looking at upgrading my 8 speed shimano to 10 speed, just waiting for the right bargain on the classifieds. 

[David Marshall]

2 hours ago, LBKloppers said:

If you need to go to 10 speed you can do so easily by just upgrading your shifters and the sprocket. There is a whole lot of wish-wash about shifting systems, but it is all hogwash and sales talk.

The gear shifting system is just levers and ratios. The Shimano systems use a 2:1 pull ratio. This is the reason you can not mix SRAM (1:1 pull ratio) with Shimano shifting. The old 9 speed derailleur will work with the 10 speed shifter, because the freewheel is exactly the same for 8, 9 and 10 speed systems. That leaves the derailleur to move across the same path and distance. The shifters is in control of the indexing and it will compensate for the different steps in the indexing.  You might have  to re-index the derailleur, but it will work without hassles.

I have gone from 8 speed through 9 speed to 10 speed, every time just making the shifter and sprocket mod. Even the 10 speed chain works flawlessly on both the 9 speed and the 10 speed systems.

I disagree.  You can hack a lot of things to work together but if you want good crisp shifting you better take care especially with the change in pull ratios with the new groupsets.  Plenty of info online.

[droo]

17 hours ago, David Marshall said:

You can use a Sunrace, Microshift or L-Twoo shifter or derailleur with the older groupsets. 

None of these will be an upgrade from 105. Quite the opposite, actually.

OP - as mentioned you can go to 10sp without changing your hub, but you'll incur quite a bit of extra cost for one extra gear.

For my money, I'd ride it till it falls off or buy a new bike.

[LBKloppers]

1 hour ago, David Marshall said:

I disagree.  You can hack a lot of things to work together but if you want good crisp shifting you better take care especially with the change in pull ratios with the new groupsets.  Plenty of info online.

You can disagree as much as you want. I've been there and I have done it. 

[David Marshall]

1 hour ago, droo said:

None of these will be an upgrade from 105. Quite the opposite, actually.

OP - as mentioned you can go to 10sp without changing your hub, but you'll incur quite a bit of extra cost for one extra gear.

For my money, I'd ride it till it falls off or buy a new bike.

OP is not clear in exactly what or why he wants to upgrade.  I am assuming that something is not working on the 9 speed.  I agree that 105 is much better than any of the others but i would sooner replace a worn 9 speed 105 after X thousand shifts with a new Sora or Microshift with 0 shifts. 

If the OP wants to upgrade to more gears I would replace the drive train complete.

 

[David Marshall]

48 minutes ago, LBKloppers said:

You can disagree as much as you want. I've been there and I have done it. 

Me too.

[droo]

1 hour ago, David Marshall said:

Me too.

As the non-facing batsman said: well left.

[Headshot]

My 2005 road bike has 105 9s and it works great - just the granny gear that is lacking but I can't bring myself to even spend on a wider range cassette considering how little time I spend on it. Imagine if MTB hadn't been invented - most bike shops and repairers would not exist as road bikes just don't wear out like MTB's.

Oh ya, I made it work better by putting some used XT pulleys on the derailleur and it went like new again. Unless yours is totally w#nked out I'd just tweak it a bit and keep on trucking until the cranks fall off.

Edited February 16, 2023 by Headshot

[Wannabe]

Neither here nor there, I got an old loaner bike from a friend to use at this year's CTCT as I do not own a road bike anymore.

It came with a clapped out 8spd Sora group set that shifted and performed like crap.

I proceeded to swop over my trusty old 10spd 105 components from my hybrid gravel bike to this bike. I'm now sporting an old frame and entry level wheels with my 20 000km plus distance done 105 shifters, the old Sora crankset (nothing wrong with it) and a 9spd Altus Mtb long cage rear derailleur with an Ultegra front derailleur. Cassette is a 10spd of unknown origin with a 11-32 range (hence the long cage RD)

It took a bit of fiddling to get everything dialed in properly, but she works a dream, shifting is crisp and precise, even with the slightly worn 10sp Sram chain I fitted (between .50 and .75% on my chain measuring device)

What I'm trying to say, with a bit of research and careful mix and matching, you can easily give an old bike new life. IT NEED NOT BE THE LATEST AND GREATEST STUFF TO WORK GOOD ENOUGH!!!!

[RossTopher]

On 2/15/2023 at 1:12 PM, Alantravis52 said:

Hi 

Is it possible to upgrade my old 9spd shimano 105 group set, but still use the same hub, I know the shifters will have to be replaced as well 

Group set is the original 105 9spd fitted to my Giant bought in 1996

Ratio is 50/34 front and 28/11 rear

I'm looking to get a more suitable gear ratio 

I have a 9 speed 11-34 cassette gathering dust. It's probably done 200km max. Let me know if you're interested, no charge. 

As mentioned by others, it's not worth the hassle to change to 10 speed for 1 additional ratio, just a wider range is needed. Ride it until the day comes for a new bike. 

Ive got bikes ranging from 8-11 speed and the number of clicks has never been a factor, just whether I can get up the hill.