Choosing between an 8, 9, or 10 speed drivetrain

I am building a new bike. It will be a bike for long-distance weekend rides. The drive train will be all new parts.

 

I am trying to figure out what drive train I need. The retro-grouch in me says 8 or 9 sped, but it appears that today’s standard is 10 speed.

Any thoughts on why I should go 8, 9, or 10 speed. Durability, weight, cost implications? Impact on chain selection?

Whatever the decision, I will likely go with bar-end shifters.

 

Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on December 11, 2013 at 4:51am

Even if you're going to do some hilly rides it's not clear to me that you would need more than a compact double up front and six or seven speeds in back, current marketing-driven gruppos notwithstanding. My current road bikes have anywhere from five- to seven-speed freewheels in back. All have doubles in front. My "hill" bike RRB has a 13-21 five-speed freewheel in back and 48/30 rings in front. I'll probably find a 13-24 freewheel before next year's Dairyland Dare. I do have a commuter (the one I rode this morning) with three rings in front and eight cogs in back, but it doesn't work all that well (Shimano Altus crap...)

Unless you have an aversion to downtube shifters you can get Dia-Compe ENE shifters from Velo Orange and build with any derailleurs that suit your fancy. I have heard people rave about Campy Ergo stuff. Shimano brifters seem to eventually give up the ghost. You might spend some time scouring Ebay and other sources for used parts or groups.

But that's just me. I like fiddling around in my basement shop about as much as I enjoy being on the bike. I understand that not everyone feels the same way.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on December 11, 2013 at 4:53am

I'd go with nine just on price of parts.  Plus you can scrounge stuff like the shifters easier.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on December 11, 2013 at 6:22am

9spd is your best value for parts pricing right now in my opinion.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on December 11, 2013 at 6:34am

I use eight speed on my friction-shifting commuter and Sram 10sp on my fast bike. 

IMO the best cost to weight ratio is "Shimergo." Run 10sp campy shifters to shimano RD and an 8sp cassette. Works perfect and just happens to be cheaper and lighter than standard 10sp Shimano or Campy groups. 

My favorite group I've used is the current offerings from Campagnolo. I like the thumb shifter, the shifting action, and hood shape. It's much more comfortable compared to Sram IMO. 

Permalink Reply by Duppie on December 11, 2013 at 7:16am

Interesting. Heard good things about Campy shifters, but have never tried them. I have one bike with Shimano STI DuraAce shifters (circa 2005) and I am not a big fan of their shape. And my Surly used to have Shimano R400 brake levers, but I replaced them with Tektro's. I found the Shimanos to be too narrow for comfort.

It might be an option if Campy shifters are a better fit for my larger hands, and I can combine them with a Shimano RD and cassette.



Kelvin Mulcky said:

I use eight speed on my friction-shifting commuter and Sram 10sp on my fast bike. 

IMO the best cost to weight ratio is "Shimergo." Run 10sp campy shifters to shimano RD and an 8sp cassette. Works perfect and just happens to be cheaper and lighter than standard 10sp Shimano or Campy groups. 

My favorite group I've used is the current offerings from Campagnolo. I like the thumb shifter, the shifting action, and hood shape. It's much more comfortable compared to Sram IMO. 

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on December 11, 2013 at 7:24am


Duppie said:

And my Surly used to have Shimano R400 brake levers, but I replaced them with Tektro's. I found the Shimanos to be too narrow for comfort.

I have R400s on my Trek fixed gear commuter. They are indeed narrow. Since I'm often back a bit on the ramps it's not a big deal, but I do have a shorter stem to swap in one of these days so I might need to switch to something beefier.

Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on December 11, 2013 at 8:26am

Going to 11 isn't even an option?

Permalink Reply by Drewbacca on December 11, 2013 at 9:17am

I have a Shimergo setup on my touring bike... 11speed Athena shifters that I bought on sale at Amazon for $104 paired with the stock Shimano LX RD and a Shimano 105 FD. The cassette is still the stock nine speed (I threw the bar ends on my winter bike to make shifting easier with heavy gloves).

With the two lowest gears in the Athena 11 indexed shifter locked-out by the RD stop screw, and tuning from the middle gear (designated by an x) you can see how much each shift is off (in mm; the numbers are compounded from one shift the the next to reflect the total amount off).

                                 -1.0    -0.1       0     -0.3    X    0        0       0   -1.0

It's not noticeable to me while riding, the shifting seems dead on. Using Campy 10 with Shimano 8 (or 9 with what is commonly called the "hub-bub" method, a variation in how the cable attaches to the RD) is also a known working  method. I have the individual cable pull numbers but I haven't compared them like I did with the other combo.

Here's one popular resource: http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/components/transmission-gear...

Kelvin Mulcky said:

IMO the best cost to weight ratio is "Shimergo." Run 10sp campy shifters to shimano RD and an 8sp cassette. Works perfect and just happens to be cheaper and lighter than standard 10sp Shimano or Campy groups. 

My favorite group I've used is the current offerings from Campagnolo. I like the thumb shifter, the shifting action, and hood shape. It's much more comfortable compared to Sram IMO. 

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on December 11, 2013 at 11:40am

I'm sorry but mixing Campy and Shimano drive train like that is just ridiculous.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on December 11, 2013 at 11:53am

Are Shimano bar end shifters really so bad you need to get Campys?

What kind of long distance rides are planned, particularly the load, surface and hills?

Permalink Reply by Duppie on December 11, 2013 at 12:07pm

I do like bar end shifters. The cabling can get in the way of a bag upfront. I also like my Tektro levers. What I don't care for are Shimano brifters, they are too narrow.

So right now I am thinking of bar end shifters with internal cable routing and see how that works. I have heard that it causes extra friction when shifting, but I also read reviews that say otherwise. We'll see

Riding will be anything from a few hours to all-day. Mainly local, and at a relaxed pace.

Tricolor said:

Are Shimano bar end shifters really so bad you need to get Campys?

What kind of long distance rides are planned, particularly the load, surface and hills?

Permalink Reply by Duppie on December 11, 2013 at 12:10pm

I had read that, but somehow forgotten about it. I might just go that route. Thanks.

Jeff Schneider said:

9 is probably best with bar end shifters, since the rear can be switched from index to friction, while the 10 speed bar ends no longer have the friction option.   Friction is nice as a backup on a long ride if your cable adjustment is a bit off and you dont want to stop and mess with it.

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