davidrichman

I am riding a Specialized Sirrus Comp Carbon which comes with a Shimano Tiagra groupset and Axis 1.0 wheels. I'm not happy with the Tiagras and want to upgrade to a 105 group set. I'm getting conflicting information regarding the need to upgrade the wheel in order to accommodate the 11 speed cassette that comes with the 105s (the Tiagra is a 10 speed). Can someone clarify whether the wheel needs to be upgraded or whether the Axis 1.0 can take an 11 speed cassette. Thanks.

HTupolev

What about the Tiagra setup are you unhappy with?

Depends on the cassette. Shimano's 11-speed cassettes are wider than their 10-speed freehubs, but for sizes 11-34 and larger, the big cog "overhangs the spokes" instead of sitting on the freehub body, so you can mount it on a 10-speed wheel. If you use a cassette where the big cog is smaller than 34 teeth, you'll need a wheel with an 11-speed freehub.

davidrichman

Thanks. Very helpful. Much appreciated

surak

You'd probably be better off upgrading the wheels before the groupset if you want a noticeable difference in ride quality. The only thing about Tiagra 4700 that I notice at all when riding are that the levers are slightly less ergonomic than those from higher tiers. Having an extra cog or saving a little weight from the drivetrain is less significant compared to getting lighter and/or more aero wheels (or heck, even better tires if you're running stock). Especially since stock wheels on bikes that aren't top-of-the line tend to be overbuilt boat anchors.

Leinster

All of this. I had 9 speed Tiagra on an old bike, my wife has 10s Tiagra on hers, and any differences I've noticed between their performance, and that of my 105 and Athena groups on my newer bikes, wouldn't be significant enough to justify the extra spend.

Upgraded wheels, on the other hand, do make a big difference, and tire upgrades make an even bigger difference in terms of bang for the buck.

Doomrider74

There is a weight penalty with Tiagra, though: The crankset on its own is nearly 200g heavier than 105, so over a whole drivetrain the weight saving could be significant. I do agree wheels are the best place to start saving weight, but you can't go wrong with 105, which is the best value drivetrain out there, IMO.

Iride01 

Most bikes with Tiagra 4700 10 speed will work with most 11 speed cassettes. But you do need to check on what freehub is on that wheel to be certain. A older version of Tiagra is definitely a maybe.

So what is the issue with the Tiagra that bothers you? I wouldn't upgrade 10 speed Tiagra to 11 speed 105. Tiagra shifts good enough. At least Tiagra 4700 and above does.

I did put 105 5800 on my son's Tiagra 4700 equipped Trek Emonda. I had the 105 components sitting on the shelf for a bike I dicided not to build out with it. He says about all it did for him was give him another gear between the min and max cog. Shifting is about the same which is very decent IMO.

Kimmo 

See if you can spot a spacer behind the cassette. If so, it's an 11s freehub.

But as others have said, Tiagra works pretty nice, and aside from the boat anchor crankset you're talking some pretty incremental gains across the whole groupset if you want to upgrade.

The smartest way to do it, if you want to enjoy a nicer groupset, is buy a bike with a nicer groupset. Way cheaper than upgrading piece by piece...

Last year I found a bike (minus wheels) for a mate, with 10s Ultegra Di2 for au$900. I just went looking at Dura-Ace and Ultegra Di2 gear (first gen 11s stuff) and the DA derailers alone run to au$1100...

Doomrider74

I have Tiagra on my gravel bike and 105 on my roadie and I would say there is a definite improvement in shifting with the 105. The Tiagra is good, but the 105 is better, IMO.

Would I go further up the food chain than 105? Probably not as a whole groupset, unless I wanted to go to Di2: I had an Ultegra chainset on my old road bike, which I had to sell when I moved to Canada, but that was only because I found a good deal on it which made it only marginally more expensive than a new set of chainrings for the 105 chainset I already had, and it came with a new BB.