67tony 

...a nice gathering of Shimano 105 5500 bits...the year of the yellow label. I only lack a 32-hole rear hub, but half the fun is in the hunt! None of my bikes sport brifters, so I'm keyed up to ride something different. The reviews for this group are less than stellar, but for recreational miles I'm hoping for the best.

Now, I'm looking forward to happening upon an era-appropriate frame, hoping for high quality steel and a classic provenance. I've been less than successful locally, but I peruse CL and sometimes the auction site. And, I'm patient!

I have a '93 https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...zed-allez.html, but I'm not overly excited with the color, and the frame is 6 years off the 5500's 1999 production year.

Anything stand out in your experience from the 5500 era? Any suggestions for something under the radar that might be had for reasonable money?

Thanks in advance for any input offered!

ryansu

I had a 105 group on my 1999 Cannondale R800, the shifters worked fine but the rear shifter did give out after about 4 years of decent use, I was not aware of the WD40 flush trick at the time or I might have gotten more miles out of it, no real complaints about the group.

OldsCOOL

I have the earlier series. The ‘87 Miyata 712 Competition has a full 105 group right down to the 105 hubs. Occasionally I take it out for a ride and wonder why I dont ride it more often. Bought the bike for 20.00 at a thrift shop. The legendary Miyata frame and the durable dialed in goodness of that 105 group really gives an incredible ride.

clubman 

' Any suggestions for something under the radar that might be had for reasonable money?'

Maybe take a membership and post a sale ad and I'm not trying to throw you shade
It's cheap and worth tenfold. Just trying to support the forum.

curbtender

https://richmond.craigslist.org/bik/...005238691.html

Duell Columbus EL-OS Frame Set - Vintage - $325 (PROVIDENCE FORGE)

Kuromori

Where are you finding negative reviews of 105 except by DA/Ultegra/Campy gear snobs? Really, the only problem with the 9 speed generation is the hood shape doesn't really have a flat area that blends into the ramps.

73StellaSX76

Funny you should mention that, when I was running 9 speed Ultegra I taped some shims that I carved out of 1” PVC pipe under the hoods to create that desired flat area. Helped the comfort level a lot as I have larger size hands. - Sorry, this isn’t helping the OP much.

RiddleOfSteel

As 105 has never been top level, for Ultegra and Dura-Ace reasons, just about any decent frame is a worthy match. If anything, just find a classic steel frame like you already have,if not a little bit older, and hook the 105 components to it. Another Ironman but with 5500 would not be a bad decision.

5500 STIs had the same hood shape as 6500 Ultegra (same 9-speed era). 7700-era Dura-Ace (9-speed, all same generation here) had a different hood shape--more rounded--which I find much more comfortable.

It would take Shimano all the way to the 2nd generation of their 10-speed offerings (5700 105, 6700 Ultegra, 7900 Dura-Ace) to create an STI lever body that was long enough to accommodate most people's hand width fully, rendering bar angle/position issues largely moot. They were also the first generation of STIs to have the shift cables go under the bar tape. It works just fine. 9-speed era Shimano STIs, like their 8-speed predecessors, still adhered to the older brake-lever-to-handlebar interface paradigm (10-speed was a little better, but still...). The short-and-shallow compact bars that are (thankfully) ubiquitous today were not present in the '90s and '00s. We did get threadless stems, which now pointed up...and were attached to drop bars that angled down...which had STI levers whose bodies faced up... It was a rough time for front-end aesthetics, IMO. Got that 'mountain range' cockpit aesthetic (when viewing from the side). Ugly and un-ergonomic. I have used bar tape to "fill in the ditch" left by the STI lever and handlebar angle/interface. Worked very well.

I think 5500 as a whole is a very serviceable groupset and if found in decent or better shape, will/should last a while still and look handsome doing so. 6500 Ultegra is even better (and lighter, etc etc), and of course 7700 Dura-Ace is the 9-speed standard of beauty and function (for Shimano)...minus a single internal metal shift plate that can have a critical corner round off and ultimately kill shifting ability all together. I personally think that the next generation of 105 (5600), and well, everything else (6600 Ultegra and 7800 Dura-Ace) is a tremendous value. Considerable capability with all those 10 gears out back, still available with a triple crankset, strong and capable derailleurs, brakes too. And it looked mature. 7800 is some of the best stuff around.

There is plenty of ragged-on 105 stuff out there, and it always seems like the STI levers bear the brunt of the mass market implementation of 105 components (entry level racing groupset, midway up through Shimano's entire lineup, put on bikes that competed in hotly-contested market segments). I see the 10-speed stuff picking up in price (for nice condition examples), 5600-era 105 included (at least the shifters). For 9-speed, unless it's Dura-Ace, the slope to "no one cares" as you look down range is pretty steep. That's what we call a prime opportunity. We have, I think, a long while before people really start caring about 5500 in such a way as to covet them and bring prices of nice examples up considerably, if really at all.

67tony 

Left side shifters failed...apparently prevented by frequent flushing & lubrication?
https://www.roadbikereview.com/produ...5-st-5500.html

67tony 

Thanks for the replies!

That Duell is gorgeous, and the yellow would go quite well with the 5500 colors.
RiddleOfSteel's summary of STI offerings, and hood talk, is very thorough...really good information.

I'll keep my eyes open, and hope to run across a legitimate classic steel frame.