SRAM Force vs Ultegra vs 105

Trying to decide on a 10 speed compact groupset with the best price/performance/weight ratio. Originally I was looking at the 105 5700 since there's lots of inexpensive groupset takeoffs on eBay, or maybe an Ultegra 6600 setup (harder to find compacts), but after looking at this comparison of 2014 groupset weights, saving around 500g (1 lb) by going to SRAM Force GXP is pretty significant.

http://www.totalcycling.com/en/ca/Component-Weights/cc-8.aspx

I'm kind of curious to try out a SRAM set, seem to be a lot of happy converts out there. Crisp is nice.

I would seriously consider going 11 speed, though it depends if your freewheel hub can handle it. Luckily my Fulcrum/Campy wheels can hold an 11 speed cassette, so I'm looking at upgrading my Ultegra drivetrain. Theoretically I should be able to do it with only a new right shifter, chain, and cassette (which will be 11–32T!).

Looks like you can replace the freehub body on the Powertap G3 with an 11-speed compatible freehub pretty easily. Haven't decided on a wheelset for this new build yet, decisions decisions. I guess the rear derailleur doesn't care if it's 10 or 11 speeds since the range of motion is almost identical, just a little tweaking of the H/L screws.



Nice that you can fit a 10 speed cassette on an 11 speed freehub with just a spacer. I'll have to remember that they're backwards compatible when I'm looking for wheels.

Quote

Shimano 8, 9 & 10 Speed Cassette Compatibility With 11 Speed Freehub

The Dura-Ace CS-9000 & Ultegra CS-6800 HG-EV 11 Speed Cassette is 1.85mm wider than a 10 speed HG cassette, therefore the freehub dimensions have been adjusted accordingly. In order to mount a CS-9000 or CS-6800 HG-EV 11 speed cassette, an 11- speed wheel must be used.

When mounting a 10 speed cassette on the new 11 speed freehub design 2 spacers are required. Firstly a 1.85mm spacer which is supplied with the wheel, secondly a 1mm spacer which is supplied with the cassette.

To run a 8 or 9 speed cassette, only the 1.85 spacer is required.

Nice. And yes the rear derailleur should be just fine, unless it's Dura Ace. I did some reading up on this last night, came across this, an ongoing series of Q&A on upgrading with detailed discussion around drivetrain compatibility/:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/07/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq/technical-faq-1011-speed-compatibility_337803

And this piece has a sweet historical overview of the evolution from 8 to 11 speed over the past 20 years:

http://www.roadbikereview.com/reviews/do-we-really-need-11-speed

Thanks that history article was very interesting. Number of gears seems to be a little bit like the number of blades on a razor - one more is always better right?

I'm all about buying into the "obsolete" previous generation of tech, got a 10 speed SRAM Force groupset in the mail.

I'll post my experiences after I get the new bike built up, I've only used Shimano up to this point.