Questions for the Shimano Guru's

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi, can anyone answer the following questions please?

Are Shimano 105 chainrings compatible with 10 speed chains? What about TruVativ Elita chainsets/rings? I wouldn’t have thought so, but after checking out FSA’s site (can’t find any useful information on any Shimano sites!), they say the differences are so small between the 9 & 10 speed configurations that they have settled on a happy medium and their chainrings work well for both 9 & 10 speeds.

Will a 105 front derailleur work with the Ultegra 10 speed chain etc? I am assuming that this is a bit of a no brainer, but best to ask the experts!!

Why are Dura Ace 10 speed bar-end shifters so expensive, and are there cheaper alternatives for shifting Ultegra 10 speed rear derailleurs? Will old, ie 8 speed, bar-end levers work in friction mode?

Any help would be appreciated,

Cheers, Scott in NZ

2

I think I can answer most of your questions…

  1. 105 front chainrings should work with a 10-speed chain.

  2. You might want to buy a new front deraileur for the 10 speed chain as the front is narrower. It is supposed to work better with the narrow chain. I just did that moving from DA-9 to DA-10.

  3. You can use a 9-speed shifter in friction mode for shifting a 10-speed rear cassette. I don’t know what DA-10 bar end shifters are so expensive. Probably because they can.

I can’t answer your last question about 8-speed. I would hesitate to say yes because the rear cassette case is the same size for 8, 9 & 10 so the front shifter should pull the cable the same amount.