bikecrate

I have a 2012 Jamis Quest. For the second time the left shifter/brake has broken (a little plastic piece broke off that controls the up shifting). It got me thinking that I don't really need the smaller front chain rings anyways. The only time I've used the middle ring (never the small ring) is for really strong headwinds. I'm not sure if it was more physiological than actually necessary. 99% of the time I'm on the large chain ring. I live in flat FL so the inclines I encounter are overpasses and bridges. I like the idea of simplifying the drive train setup, but I'm not sure how to proceed. Most of the info I saw on the internet relate to mountain and gravel bikes. I'm sure someone here has tried this.

Current stats on bike:
Shimano 105 5700 front/rear derailleurs and STI triple shifters.
53/39/30 chain rings
10 speed rear cassette
I've changed out the wheels twice. I think they have Mavic Aksium on now, which should be 11 speed compatible.

I'm assuming all of the shifters and drive train items will have to be replaced. What would be the best combination of components? Any thoughts on cassette and chain ring size. This is not a high end bike so don't want to go too crazy on the $$$. I'm pretty comfortable that I can do the work myself. Also, would like to keep the retro silver component color.

Advice, opinions?

joejack951

Just my opinion, 'simplifying' may sound nice but the practical benefit is nil. Buy a 2x11 group with a 53/39 double and have at it. Shimano 105 5800 comes in silver.

joelcool

Should be pretty easy, and why not? I'm on my big ring 99% of the time as well, but for some reason bike manufacturers think 1X is only good if you're off road.

seypat

Why not convert the 3 x 10 to a 1 x 10? Take off the left shifter/FD and be done with it? You said you don't need it anyway. That sounds like the easiest and cheapest solution. Are you going to see a noticeable difference between 10 or 11 in the back?

Steve B.

bikecrate

Just to clarify a few things. The left shifter is toast. My front brake is non functional as well. I will have to replace it with something. I would entertain 2 X 10 setup, but was just wondering if it might just be more elegant to go with the 1 X 11 (or 1 X 10 I suppose). I was thinking a 11 would give me just a bit more range. I would not be interested in leaving the middle and small chain ring on without a front derailleur.

seypat

Put a BL-1055 on there for cheap. See if you like the 1X before spending any real money. If you like the 1X then stay with 10 but get a cassette with more range or go to 11. If you don't like the 1X setup, then you can spend some coin on an upgrade. Lots of brake lever options out there to try out 1X without spending much cash.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-105...0P3H:rk:9:pf:0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-105-brake-levers-BL-1055/113626029233?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160323102634%26meid%3Df19b14 e16f7e48b88c15c7d94ffdcb9a%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D372480474425%26itm%3D11362602923 3&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1

joejack951

The only way to know if you truly like 1X is to start by using a cassette with a wide enough range to accommodate all your riding needs with a single chainring. Keeping the stock cassette in place only tells him what he already knows - that there are times he'll want a smaller chainring.

Maelochs

Define "elegant" and explain how--to you--it would improve the ridability of your bike.

For myself, what happens on thee road is what matters---or at least what drives all the decisions.

What you might find with 1x11:---you would lose all the low end, your new low gear would be 50x28 or 32---whatever you choose. You say you only used that middle ring in a strong headwind, and that the "need" might have been psychological---wait until you hit a really windy day and you will find out one way or another. After all, enjoying a ride is also purely psychological. Quite possibly you would be fine.

Also though---what parts group are you looking at? Are you looking to get a left brake lever and a right STI shifter? Buying single STI shifter is generally pretty expensive, while buying a complete group is generally the most cost-efficient. So you'd likely have a shifter and FD to either EBay or whatever ... you might break even, after the hassles of listing, packing, shipping, and then tracking down a single left brake lever. Of course, you could also sell the 5700 FD.

How "elegant" is all that? Dose "elegance" include having two unmatched levers? Totally up to you---I make no judgments.

To me the easy route is to slap a full 5800 105 group on their and have the best of everything. If you ever decide to leave your hometown for a ride, the small ring might be a blessing.

As to how hard either would be ... negligible. Undo some bolts, tighten some bolts. You have a cassette lockring tool, I assume? Less than $10 anyway.

I have a couple bikes with 5800 and I love it. Maybe Ultegra is incredibly minutely smoother, but maybe that is also psychological. 5800 105 just seems to perform flawlessly all the time.

But ... you know the easiest test. Buy a cheap left brake lever and ride 1x10 for a while. No need to even pull the front derailleur or anything. Just pull the broken lever and slap on the brake-only lever. That would give you some idea of what you would actually be dealing with on the road. If the resulting ride is pleasing to you, there's your answer.

EDIT: I see @seypat actually listed the levers you would need. I say, risk the $25 and see.

You can also add a Wolf Tooth Roadlink and use a rear cassette up to 42 teeth probably ... but for your daily riding you might not need to spend more than $25 for levers.

base2 

gear-calculator.com

Plug in some numbers relavent to your bike. There is an option to compare setups.
My personal preference to get the data in a form I can wrap my brain around is gear inches, miles per hour.

If you never use any gears lower than X, then why would you need to keep them? Likewise for gears taller than Y...

IMO 1x is a trendy fad. But it's a welcome one. Who needs a 3x10 or 3x11 system? 30 gears? Really it's not needed except for a few select people or a few select uses.

The loss of total range is something to consider, but in super flat Florida I can't imagine that would be an issue. Here in the Pacific Northwest 28-ish or lower to 125 gear inches is pretty much necessary & will all get used. Florida, probably not so much.

Elvo

48 narrow wide front, 11-40 rear

bikecrate

For the purpose of this discussion...elegance means something like having the right equipment on the bike to do the correct function I want and nothing more. Aesthetics would be another separate consideration.

Probably the cheapest and safest thing to do would be to go with 2 X 10. Just wondering if 1 X 11 (or 10) would simplify things. One less thing to worry about as far as maintenance and adjustments. Some weight saving I suppose.

I do have all the tools I need, so okay there.

In some ways I have already been trying out the 1 X 10 setup. I really almost never use the smaller chain rings. I could count the miles per year on my fingers and toes.

redlude97

how did a small plastic piece in the shifter mess up the braking? The brake lever uses a simple pivot point and strightforward brake cable routing independent of the shifting mechanism

Maelochs

Possibly the OP could open up the shifter, shake out the broken parts, and sue the existing body

As @redlude97 points out, they two functions are entirely separate. The only way the brake would not be working is if a broken piece fell and jammed the lever. Remove that piece and everything should be fine.

fietsbob

Middle chainring of a triple = the same chain line as a single, IE the middle , then new rear wheel + shifter etc.

stick a bash guard on where the outer chain ring was ..

rms13

I got a SRAM 1x11 group from Aliexpress for about $200 total for crank, levers, rear derailleur, brakes, cassette and chain. If you search around there you can probably find some cheap options. There aren't a ton of options as far as gearing because they are probably grey market left over parts from OEM builders in China. Mine came with 44t crankset and 11-32 cassette. A similar set up should cover all of the riding you'd do in FL. There are a lot of ways to do 1x road set up with non 1x specific parts but I think having the narrow wide chainring and clutch deraileur is helpful in keeping chainline correct and keeping the chain on the bike without having to add extra parts

Maelochs

I didn't want to get into the whole "narrow-wide" or chain retention thing, but those are real concerns if he goes for a super-sized cassette. I think with a 50 front and a normal 11-2x whatever 10-speed cassette he ought to be alright, and get himself a feel for what gearing he might want if he decided to go 1x permanently.

Did that SRAM set-up include a brifter and a brake lever?

Steve B.

HTupolev

How badly do you need the 11T? Shimano still makes 12-25 cassettes, which trade the 11T cog for a 25T.

It's actually technically a tighter cassette than the 11-23, since 25/23 is a smaller ratio than 12/11.

rms13

Yeah. It has the brifter and just brake lever for front brake with no shifter

Steve B.

bikecrate

After poking around on the internet to see what was available it seems the easiest/cheapest thing is to go 2 X 10. I found a pair of Shimano silver 105 shifters on Aliexpress:
105 Shifters

I assume I would need a new 2 X front derailler:
Front Derailleur

Does it really take 23 days for it to arrive for Aliexpress (ouch)?

Can I just unbolt the smallest chain ring to convert it to 2 X configuration? Other than new cables anything else I need?

fietsbob

Cyclocross racing has long had a single chain ring option for some of their courses... no lower gear needed if running is faster..





....

Maelochs

You can use the existing FD. Bump stops control max swing, the FD has no idea how many rings you are running. 3X fFD might have a slightly wider cage which might makes shifts a millisecond slower or might not. Buy the 2x if you like---or not.

So yes, no reason not to just drop a ring and roll.

Aliexpress ships the cheapest rates from China ... i think they might wait until they have enough of a load to stick it in a shipping container, instead of shipping each piece. Whatever ... Lo-budget freight from China is always slow ... I have waited weeks for an iPhone cable

In terms of engineering elegance and also economic elegance, this seems a decent solution. It won't hurt to have the small ring just in case.

bikecrate

Thanks, I'll hold off on new FD. I can always get one later. As previously mentioned I don't use it very much.

Time to get that order in and start the wait. There will be plenty of time to start breaking down the bike anyways..