Converting Ultegra to GRX Hoods
 

Have a 2020 Trek Checkpoint SL6 that I'm loving but after a gnarly crash on some downhill am realizing that (among other things) I'd love some sturdier hoods. People are raving about the GRX hoods (especially the di2 ones) so I'm wondering how much a PITA and $$$ it will be to convert just the hoods. Rest of my groupset is in great condition and works like a charm.

Am running two sets of wheels, one road set with the Ultegra CS-HG800 11-34 and a gravel setup with a Deore XT CS-M800 11-40 [thank you wolftooth roadlink for making this setup easy!]

So three questions are

1-is it worth what looks to be $500 just to get into the GRX800 series mechanical hoods.
2-OR do I just wait until it's time to start replacing components and perhaps upgrade the entire groupset on my bike to the GRX Di2 series
3-should I just keep my bike as is and get better riding, eventually getting another dedicated gravel bike and a dedicated road bike and selling this.

thank you all.!

Shimano has a post about mixing GRX and Shimano road components: https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/infor...ad-compon.html

That isnt something I would find value in, but i like my 105 7020 hydraulic shifters just fine for feel and function.

Sure? Maybe? No? Nobody here knows if you should spend a ton of money to get di2. Do you want di2?

Ding ding, here is what I mostly think. Keep riding, get more experience, and improve before spending the equivalent of a new entry gravel bike on changing components.
I dont understand your view that a Checkpoint isn't a dedicated gravel bike. It is. You already have one so you don't need to get one. By all means buy another bike if you want, but what you have is purpose built for gravel riding.



If you are riding loose downhill sections on the hoods, then either wrap a finger around the hood so your hands stay planted, or use the drops. The drops are where I go when a downhill section is loose because the wider stance slows down steering, stabilizes the front wheel, and your hands dont bounce off since you have 4 fingers wrapped around the bars and 1 available for each brake lever.
It doesnt matter what shape your hoods are when you dont rely on them for loose downhill riding.

nailed it ! Hadn’t really thought that part through !

I’m on Dura-Ace mech/hydro hoods which are not as grippy or contoured as GRX. I concur with the above advice - use the drops on rough or loose descending. It REALLY helps to have a dropper post to get low, comfortable, float over the saddle, move center of mass backward, more force and modulation on the brakes, and still have a heads-up view ahead. With the post, the shape of the hoods hardly matters. I know you didn’t ask but if you’re willing to spend money to make descending better, there you go.

Droppers still seem controversial in the gravel world but where I live most gravel rides are steep up and steep down, seldom level, so I use the post CONSTANTLY. Maybe it’s similar where you live.

For me personally it also really helped to double-wrap the bars on my XL, so the skinny road bar diameter doesn’t rattle around loose in my big hands so much. Better grip in drops (and tops) but simultaneously looser and more relaxed.

Is the whole shifter ruined, or just the rubber hood? I'm pretty sure the R7020 (105), R8020 (Ultegra), RX600, and RX810 shifters are all the same shape body that can use hoods from any model. If you look closely at the R7020 and RX600 for example, they use the same hood, and the bodies of the R7020 / RX600 and R8020 / RX810 look the same, except for the changes Shimano made for the GRX brake lever (wider, textured, higher pivot point). The Di2 shifters for Ultegra and GRX are both different shapes from their mechanical counterparts, and each other though.

I actually ordered GRX 810 hoods (P/N Y0JK98010) to see if they will fit on R7020 shifters because everyone seems to like the added texture.

keep me posted on if they work! good idea.

OP- are you actually wanting to just replace your hoods? Those are like $12. Just buy another and call it a day.

It's going to be 2-4 weeks before I get to try them since they are coming from Taiwan (just ordered the other day), and it's for a bike that I don't have yet. Unless I'm missing something, they look identical though.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7cdef45fda.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3236d0e92f.jpg

I shall indeed, but my understanding was the the whole grx hood mechanism was more ergo for gravel etc

Hood = rubber things in that photo
Brake/shifter = everything under the hood.

The pivot point for the brake lever is slightly different for GRX.

I've been using Ultegra Di2 on gravel with no problems. The GRX might be better (I haven't had a chance to try), but road-specific designs shouldn't hold you back.

Ok, after reading the initial post again, I see you are actually asking if its worth $500 to get some rubber hoods.
No, thats nuts to do.
Aa mentioned, just hold the drops. You will be secure and its free.

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

from my Trek rep re using the GRX hood covers on 105/Ultegra Shifters

"For the shifter hoods they are unfortunately not compatible with each other. The design is subtly different and would potentially shift around while riding. "

I did buy a set so will give em away or sell.

FWIW - only the GRX Di2 version has a revised pivot point. The mechanical versions are very similar to Ultegra, with just a different texture on the rubber.

Bummed to report firsthand that the GRX hoods are not compatible with the 105 R7020 levers at least. The outer shape is identical, but the Trek dealer was right about the inner moldings being different to the point that it doesn't fit on the lever body correctly at all. The left is the inside of a 105 hood, the right is the GRX. Someone would have to post a similar photo of an Ultegra R8020 hood to see if it's completely different as well.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c5bda8d7c0.jpg

Hey, if it makes you feel any better, my left Ultegra hood hasn't fit properly since 2015.