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I've just bought a 2012 giant defy 5 road bike, had it 3 weeks now. Having never ridden a road bike before(mtb'er) I'm smitten with it, got an exceptional deal secondhand.
Now it's the compact version which is a 16 speed,
I want to upgrade the mechs but can't seem to find 105/ultegra etc in 8 speed for the rear?
Do they make them?
Everything seems to be either 10/11 speed,would I need to change my wheels in order to move to 10 speed??
Snap! You just need to change the shifters and rear cassette. The Giant SR-2 wheels are not bad and 8-10 speed compatible.
To save weight, I am upgrading the forks to some Ritchey monocoque carbon, which I have spare. I'll also trickle down some old Ultegra.
For you, a good upgrade would be just 10 speed Tiagra shifters, and an Ultegra 12-25 or 12-28 cassette. A new 105 groupset and Defy forks off Ebay.
I think moving to 10 speed would require shifters, wheels, chainset, chain and you want new mechs. If you can source 2nd hand parts then perhaps not too pricey. The only negative about the defy 5 is that it has an alu fork I think?
Funnily enough I'm thinking of getting a 2014 Defy 1 but only really want the frame/forks.