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I've done just over 4000km on my zwift bike, it had a new cassette and chain when I got it but all the other parts are original from 2016 - it's on 9 speed Shimano Sora at the moment - so it's on a good few thousand km at least.
Shifting has gotten bad recently, I'm constantly having to use the barrel adjusters mid ride to get it to stop skipping/change gear.
I spotted a 105 full groupset on Wiggle for £350, Inc a bottom bracket and brakes which I don't need. Buying the rear mech, front mech, chainring etc separately comes to way more than buying the entire groupset.
Is there any benefit to upgrading to 11 speed 105 for a used cheap Zwift road bike? Bear in mind I think I'll need new chainrings probably next winter, chain stretch is fine at the moment but I'd probably replace at the same time.
Or do I just buy a new 9 speed rear mech and some cables and hope that refreshes things back to crispy shifting? It's a little annoying when I'm trying to do a sprint and the gears start skipping! 9 speed stuff is dirt cheap I'll admit! 17 quid for a rear mech, 22 quid for a cassette!
I put Rival AXS on my donar steel trainer bike, bit ott, but just to replicate my good road bike, couldn't be doing with switching between different groups (everything else I have is AXS) then used that to upgrade the frame eventually, and ended up with a nice nice gravel bike and now use the nice road bike on the turbo 😂
I've got my old 105 10speed on my turbo bike, and newer ultegra on my road bike... I kinda wish I had the newer 105 11sp on the turbo.... But I guess once I get back into training programmes you don't use gears anyway ...
DrP
Yeah I don't think I could quite justify AXS wireless on the zwift bike 🤣 the shifting is perfect though!
I'm doing less erg mode training and more normal riding/racing in Zwift now though so do need to use the gears.
If this bike strictly lives on the turbo, it might be work looking at the Rival and Force hydraulic shifters in the clearance section at PlanetX.
~£160 for 2x11 Force and ~£110 for 2x11 Rival for both shifters.
~£120 for 1x11 Force and ~£85 for 1x11 Rival.
Some bundles have calipers too for a few more squids.
No idea on compatibility, but guessing you might need to source SRAM front and rear mech at least, if currently on Shimano 11-speed.
My 2013 Defy sits on the turbo. In that time its needed 1 x 10sp cassette which I replace with a sale Tiagra and I changed the chain to a wipperman chain to cope with my massive power 😀
Weight doesn't matter, its just reliability. My cables and outers - despite being greased on installation - usually need changing annually as sweat and moisture affects the shifting.
Yep it lives on the turbo so I could technically use hydro shifters and just not plumb in the brakes.
Mine is a Defy too, it's actually a 2014 model so the shifters/mech etc are getting on for 10 years old!
Tbh I might get some new outers/inners and a new rear mech, should be about £30 all in, and see if it's any better.
Yep it lives on the turbo so I could technically use hydro shifters and just not plumb in the brakes.
I’m contemplating this on my Zwift bike, I have a set of hydro 105 I could put on there to replace whatever 9speed bobbins the donor bike came with but it’s a rim brake bike so that would definitely mean it’s staying on the turbo (unless there are hydro rim brakes compatible with shimano 105?)
My Zwift bike....
2005 Bianchi 928L Ultegra.
Frame failed but still rideable since 2012 when it was retired the first time.
The groupset was fitted to at least 2 bikes since then and was until last summer still going strong on my winter bike.
After using R2W to buy a new winter bike I thought I would rebuild the Bianchi as it's such a lovely looking bike.
Old winter bike retired (again) and now I have a lovely carbon/Ultegra 10spd Zwift bike permanently attached to the trainer.
Shifts perfectly that's really all you need.
I'm not sure I could justify buying new for zwifting, save the spend for an outside bike!!
My Zwift bike is stripped as well. Mechanical 105 11spd, no brakes at all.
The only concession I make is that the bars, tape, saddle and pedals are the same as the outdoor bike so I can get my position exactly the same.
My Zwift bike is stripped as well. Mechanical 105 11spd, no brakes at all.
The only concession I make is that the bars, tape, saddle and pedals are the same as the outdoor bike so I can get my position exactly the same.
That's the may I'm heading. I've just got an old Spec Allez, with clapped-out Sora on it. But the position is very similar to my road bike and I'm sure I'd find untold, sweat related, horrors if it ever got maintained. Plus, it's only worth buttons anyway. Will need to keep an eye out for a cheap Tiagra/105/whatever groupset
Right then, brand new Sora 9 speed mech along with a new inner and outer cable. Also, a mech hanger tool delivered today and hanger straitened out, it was a bit out.
So, it now shifts perfectly, right?!
Does it ****!! 😭
I've removed the chain so there's nothing stopping the mech from shifting up and down, yet the amount it distance it shifts up and down are different on seemingly every 5th or 6th shift, even in the same gear!! On some shifts it'll barely move a couple of mm, up and down - the cable goes a different tension on the 2 gears when it does this. Shift up a few then back down and it's back to normal, until a few shifts later... 😫
There's no binding anywhere in the cables either, that's all smooth and drag free.
I hate cables. Honestly, so tempted to slap an AXS set up on it.
I feel your pain! If it's not the cable run and there's a new mech then it points to the shifter doesn't it?
Could it be the shifter internals are corroded from all the sweat generated by riding indoors?
Yeah possibly - although it feels like I'm moving the cable the same for each gear within the shifter.
When shifting with the chain on I'm basically having to do an extra half shift to get it to shift to a lower gear (to a bigger sprocket on the cassette) if it's adjusted so that it shifts up the cassette correctly.
Even then, on some shifts down the cassette (to a lower gear) it's inconsistent in the distance it's moving.
Oh, and b-tension. Why the hell is it not the same as on MTB where b-tension in the biggest cog at the back has a direct impact on where the jockey wheel sits. On my bike, it just seems to change the tension but that has zero effect on where the mech sits, and you can change this by pushing the mech back or forward by hand...
I've found this with the b tension too... Does nothing to move the upper jockey wheel near or further from the cassette!
DrP