My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed?

Jul 23, 14 15:40

Post #1 of 16 (2632 views)

I have a 2011 Cervelo R3 with DA groupset. I was initially enamored with it but never really loved it, the drivetrain that is. It's finicky, the left brifter has always been difficult for me to shift up, and I would rather have something smaller than standard 53/39 rings.

Well, the right brifter took a dump this weekend. It will no longer shift up. It will shift to smaller cogs but not the other way. Everything I've read points to the fact that this is common and these things aren't serviceable. It's at the LBS now and should be looked at in detail tomorrow but it doesn't look good, so I'm considering upgrading to Ultegra 6800 11 speed due to the rave reviews I've read online and heard at the LBS.

I think I can sell the good remaining DA parts to help offset the upgrade. The new mid-compact option sounds perfect for me as well. I'm a MOP cyclist (FTP ~3.6w/kg) and I can survive with the standard crank but it would be nice to have something lower for my area which is very hilly.

I ride an Open Pro with Powertap Pro + wheelset which would have to be converted. I don't really use the PT very much. I have a KICKR and then another PT on my Tri bike, so was thinking about getting something lighter and selling the PT.

All in all I'd be upgrading the drivetrain minus selling the current DA parts and upgrading wheels minus selling the current PT set.

Am I missing anything? Is there part of the current DA setup that would make sense to keep? I've only researched 11 speed for a few days so I'm still at the overwhelmed stage.

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Loud pawls save lives

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [BionicMan] [ In reply to ]

Jul 23, 14 16:48

Post #2 of 16 (2592 views)

Get Chorus shifters (~$250) and a jtek (~$40) for the rear derailleur so it will shift 10spd S. When you eventually go to 11spd you can get another jtek or buy a Campy rear derailleur. Buy a cassette with larger cogs if you want lower gears.

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [rruff] [ In reply to ]

Jul 23, 14 16:59

Post #3 of 16 (2582 views)

I hoped you would respond! I have read many of your responses and respect your opinions greatly.

I know nothing about Campy. This is a road bike. My google-fu shows the jtek to be a bar-end shifter. Am I not seeing something correctly or not understanding correctly?

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Loud pawls save lives

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [BionicMan] [ In reply to ]

Jul 23, 14 17:05

Post #4 of 16 (2576 views)

i have wrecked a bunch of those over the years, mostly from cyclocross. You can first try removing it from the bike and spraying a can of carb cleaner through the internals, that's often all it needs. For sticky downshifts make sure the cable housing at the RD end is new and free of burrs.

Assuming the thing is just shot, just get yourself a 105 or even Ultegra 10 off ebay and be done with it, the 105 is pretty cheap and works fine. The longer lever throw is a slight annoyance.

Campy is also an option, they make nice shifters. This article explains how to make them work together, me personally I'd like having 8 in the back with a campy 10 ergo and my old shimano RD, cheap, simple and bombproof. I also like the way the campy shifters operate

http://www.cxmagazine.com/shimano-campagnolo-ergopower-compatibility

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [BionicMan] [ In reply to ]

Jul 23, 14 17:09

Post #5 of 16 (2575 views)

Jtek Shiftmate... it's a little thing that fits on the back of the derailleur so you can mix and match components. http://jtekengineering.com/shiftmate.php

I've never used one, but heard it works great. I have a set of Chorus 11 shifters, but I run 9 spd S and don't need an adapter... the ratios are perfect.

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [rruff] [ In reply to ]

Jul 23, 14 17:15

Post #6 of 16 (2570 views)

rruff wrote:

Jtek Shiftmate... it's a little thing that fits on the back of the derailleur so you can mix and match components. http://jtekengineering.com/shiftmate.php

I've never used one, but heard it works great. I have a set of Chorus 11 shifters, but I run 9 spd S and don't need an adapter... the ratios are perfect.

Excellent! Thanks a lot. That was not showing up for me. Thanks!

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Loud pawls save lives

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [jroden] [ In reply to ]

Jul 23, 14 17:18

Post #7 of 16 (2568 views)

jroden wrote:

i have wrecked a bunch of those over the years, mostly from cyclocross. You can first try removing it from the bike and spraying a can of carb cleaner through the internals, that's often all it needs. For sticky downshifts make sure the cable housing at the RD end is new and free of burrs.

Assuming the thing is just shot, just get yourself a 105 or even Ultegra 10 off ebay and be done with it, the 105 is pretty cheap and works fine. The longer lever throw is a slight annoyance.

Campy is also an option, they make nice shifters. This article explains how to make them work together, me personally I'd like having 8 in the back with a campy 10 ergo and my old shimano RD, cheap, simple and bombproof. I also like the way the campy shifters operate

http://www.cxmagazine.com/shimano-campagnolo-ergopower-compatibility

Thanks for responding. It may be cheaper to just go to an Ultegra front end. The DA shifter is upward of $300. That is my big beef with this whole thing.

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Loud pawls save lives

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [BionicMan] [ In reply to ]

Jul 23, 14 17:34

Post #8 of 16 (2555 views)

Just go with an Ultegra 10-speed replacement. You can still get them for pretty cheap and they work great.

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [BionicMan] [ In reply to ]

Jul 23, 14 17:37

Post #9 of 16 (2553 views)

i have a right side 105 lever on my one bike, it was brand new $125 off ebay. It's by far the easiest solution, a lazy person (me) can do a direct swap without even untaping the bars and be on the road in 20 minutes. Who cares if they don't match, matching is for chicks.

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [BionicMan] [ In reply to ]

Jul 23, 14 17:55

Post #10 of 16 (2540 views)

if anything like my 10 spd ultegra , it just needs a good rinsing out inside either in a heavy rain and/or wd-40 in copious amounts. mine crapped out twice in one year but came back both times and is still functional, ie hasn't happened in over a year

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [BionicMan] [ In reply to ]

Jul 24, 14 3:34

Post #11 of 16 (1966 views)

My .02
Don't bother throwing money into older components. Use it as an opportunity to get yourself a new 11 speed group set. Just as an example, you can get an 11 speed ultegra groupset from Ribble for less than 700 US shipped.
Oh, and assuming you had 7900, you'll be very happy with the new 11 speed stuff, shifts WAY better than 7900.

Last edited by: gibson00: Jul 24, 14 3:35

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [gibson00] [ In reply to ]

Jul 24, 14 4:13

Post #12 of 16 (1943 views)

gibson00 wrote:

My .02
Don't bother throwing money into older components. Use it as an opportunity to get yourself a new 11 speed group set. Just as an example, you can get an 11 speed ultegra groupset from Ribble for less than 700 US shipped.
Oh, and assuming you had 7900, you'll be very happy with the new 11 speed stuff, shifts WAY better than 7900.

Thanks for the Ribble note.

The guy at the shop said what you did about the shifting, especially the rings. That alone may be worth it to me.

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Loud pawls save lives

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [jroden] [ In reply to ]

Jul 24, 14 4:24

Post #13 of 16 (1934 views)

jroden wrote:

i have a right side 105 lever on my one bike, it was brand new $125 off ebay. It's by far the easiest solution, a lazy person (me) can do a direct swap without even untaping the bars and be on the road in 20 minutes. Who cares if they don't match, matching is for chicks.

*Sigh*

We ALL Know triathlon is 99% show and 1% go. Matching is not for chicks, it should be your #1 priority.

On the internet, you can be anything you want. It is a pity so many people choose to be stupid.

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [BionicMan] [ In reply to ]

Jul 24, 14 10:09

Post #14 of 16 (1855 views)

Just recently bought a bike with the 11 speed Ultegra. You won't be disappointed, I shift just for the joy of it. But yeah, you know the score on the wheel, I'm not sure you can replace the freewheel on the Pro, I know that you can on the G3. . . might be worth a call over to Saris. There is a youtube vid out there on how to do it yourself, didn't look very hard, but I was lucky that I had a newer PT that was already 11 speed compatible.

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [ziggie204] [ In reply to ]

Jul 24, 14 10:32

Post #15 of 16 (1839 views)

Thanks! That's great to hear. The shop just called and it is indeed broken. They are going to work up pricing on several options, including a trade toward a new bike. Who doesn't like a new bike :)

Regardless, I'm leaning toward just selling the PT wheel and getting something lighter and/or more aero.

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Loud pawls save lives

Re: My Dura Ace brifter is toast - upgrade to 11 speed? [BionicMan] [ In reply to ]

Jul 25, 14 14:50

Post #16 of 16 (1777 views)

Went to the shop and came out with a new bike but not an R3 or R2. Test rode a Pinarello Marvel and fell in love. Similar setup to the R3 Ultegra setup but it felt better to me and fit just a bit better. This new Ultegra shifting is awesome. So much better than even my old DA. Anyway, thanks for all the comments and help.

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Loud pawls save lives

Last edited by: BionicMan: Jul 25, 14 14:56

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