Originally Posted by
cvrle1
As an example I have 9 speed cassette right now, and would really like to swap it for 11 speed. But to do that I need to swap a lot of other parts as well to make it work. Was told dont bother, just get bike with 11 speed cassette, it will be easier and cheaper. It seems that there are always going to be more than 1 schools of thought, if you will, about upgrading vs buying newer or building from ground up vs buying new.
Ah, I see you've been introduced to the compatibility curve. In terms of Shimano (I don't use Campy or SRAM) the compatibility follows the number of 'speeds' in the cassette. If you have a 9-sp cassette, you need a 9-sp shifter; doesn't matter if it's Sora, Tiagra, 105 or Ultegra, 9-sp is 9-sp. Now, you can also use a 10-sp derailleur with a 9-sp cassette and shifter; you'll still only have 9-speeds but it works fine. Likewise, you can put a 9-sp cassette on a 10-sp wheel, but not vice-versa.
So, in your example, to fit an 11-sp cassette on your bike, you'd need an 11-sp compatible wheel, an 11-sp shifter and RD, as well as cranks / chainrings to fit the super-narrow 11-sp chain. I haven't priced it out, but i'm guessing it's more than you paid for that R-600?
What was driving the want for 11-sp? More climbing gears? Bike not 'fast' enough? If it's speed, there are still new and NOS 9-sp cassettes readily available; Maybe a different spread of gears would be more to your liking. You can also try swapping the triple crank for a road double with bigger chainrings. Either of those could be done without disrupting the rest of the drivetrain.
Another way to look at upgrades, is to ask "What do I want this bike to do (differently)?" rather than "I want to put X part on my bike. Will it fit?" Otherwise, you're just throwing parts at it, to see what sticks.