mdcoram

I think I'm missing the good ol' 10 speed days. I'm riding fewer miles now than ever before but it sure seems like I'm going through a lot of 11 speed chains. I know more is almost always better but other than slightly tighter ratios between each gear are there really any benefits to 11 speeds?

Cypress 

Parts availability.

I had to replace the drivetrain on my 10-sp Ultegra/Dura-ace MadOne last year and it took days of scouring the internet to find parts. I still ended up with some mismatched stuff. That's when I decided it was new bike time.

datlas 

No. I run 10 speed on all my bikes. I suppose some fancy new wheel set may not be compatible but for the most part you are fine. Even 9 speed is ok although I suspect those folks have to look harder for cassettes and other parts.

noodle soup

11 speed shifters work better than 7900/6700/5700 10 speed shifters, but the old shifters(that don't use hidden shifter cables) work the best.

Steve B.

Practically no unless there's a gear you really need.

But as Cyrpress stated 11 spd. (and 9) parts are easier to come by, 10 can be a pain. If you intend to stay with 10 for a while, maybe source the cassette and chain, maybe the most used chainring as well, purchase now and store till you need it.

mdcoram

I've heard this before but man I hate the look of the shifter cables dangling out in front of the bars

Cypress 

This man speaks truth. My 11-sp Shimano 105 gravel bike shifts better (front and rear, but especially the front) than my Ultegra/Dura-ace 10-sp. Better ergos to boot.

caloso

I’ve built up a few 10-speed bikes in the last year: a TT bike and 2 CX bikes. Mostly because I had a bunch of parts lying around and partly because people are practically giving away 10-speed rim brake wheels these days. I guess I’ll start stockpiling cassettes and chains soon.

Cypress 

For me, it was chainrings. The 53t chainring for a 6700 crankset is like a ghost, and the 39 wasn't much easier. Mine are currently mismatched in color because that's all I could find. Added bonus: stores know these are difficult to find, so just the 53t costs $105, and took 20 days to get to me.

caloso

Oh, good point.

noodle soup

Aftermarket chainrings work fine on 6700 cranksets, but they look like crap.

Branko D

You can mix and match and use 11 speed chains and chainrings on a 10 speed groupset.

I use 11 speed chains on a 10 speed bike, no worries. Now, if cassettes start being an issue then you will need to upgrade, but that could only become an issue if you are looking for something like Dura ace 10 speed.

Of course if shifters die, that's it.

Cypress 

Take that function over form stuff to the MTB forum

caloso

Yeah, that's the thing with my CX bike: they're first gen SRAM Red shifters (I made the leap!) and once those crap out I'll need to do something else. On my kid's CX bike, I used Tiagra shifters, and they work great other than the fact that they use 11-speed cable pull so they can't be used with older 10-speed rear derailleurs. On my TT bike, I just use DA bar ends set to friction, so those are simple.

noodle soup

Have you looked to see if JTek makes an adapter that works for you application?

caloso

I did, but it was just as easy to get a 11-speed 105 RD.

noodle soup

Looking at their compatibility charts for a few minutes makes my head spin.

bbbean 

If you can't tell the difference, no.

On the other hand, if you're racing or otherwise performance oriented, then extra gears make it that much easier to settle your cadence/power/form into just the right notch for any given condition at any given moment.

My road bike is 11 spd, my CX bike is 10 spd. I never miss the extra gear when I'm riding a CX course, but on the road, I do find that on the CX bike I'm more likely to end up wishing I could bump my current gear up or down 1 tooth.

BB

Eric F

It will also depend on whether or not you extend your range. Moving from a 10sp 11-25 to an 11sp 11-25 will give you more options in the middle. Going from a 10sp 11-25 to an 11sp 11-27 will give you the same 11-25 gearing, plus an additional lower option.

Racing Dan

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/...00-grey-449154

Steve B.

Only other thing I noticed is my 11spd 105 F shift is superior to any 9 or 10 system I used. Shimano changed the derailer design for the 5800 series, it works very well.

Cypress 

travelerman

It's one more, innit?

Psimet2001 

They used to be so easy....now I have to look it up each time.

Psimet2001 

Yeah... sorry about that. Industry pressure kind of thing. Only now we all lose. Industry and users. The inventory in the US has been horrendous for at least a generation now.