Shimano hub/gear compatibility

[h90]

I have a trek bike with 11 gear shimano 105, but hub is bontrager.

That bontrager things are crap, bearings aren't smooth, oil is leaking, tires show problems after 230 km.

I thought of replacing them with Shimano Ultegra or Dura-Ace (Dura Ace if I win in the lottery.....)

Can I mount the Shimano 105 "gear" (don't know if that is the right word, these cassette with the 11 gears) on ultegra or dura-ace. So Shimano 105 cassette on Dura-Ace Hub?

(of course I'll also replace the wheels)

[Babooshka]

If your new Ultegra or DA is 11 sp compatible - why not? If they are 10 sp - no way.

[h90]

If your new Ultegra or DA is 11 sp compatible - why not? If they are 10 sp - no way.

Thanks, I thought so, but I wasn't 100% sure.

[bobfish]

Babooshka is correct, you'll never get the lock ring snug enough on a 10sp hub.

Nothing wrong with a 105 hub though, ..... and I'm surprised at the Bontrager failure so soon; maybe it was the way the shop set it up first [as you mentioned before] which caused the damage. ????

I'd be taking it back under warranty!

[h90]

Babooshka is correct, you'll never get the lock ring snug enough on a 10sp hub.

Nothing wrong with a 105 hub though, ..... and I'm surprised at the Bontrager failure so soon; maybe it was the way the shop set it up first [as you mentioned before] which caused the damage. ????

I'd be taking it back under warranty!

Well I may have worded it too strong. Bontrager did not fail.

First one (or both, can't remember) of the hubs were a little bit too hard adjusted. It might not has mattered. After adjusting right, it feels only like 98% smooth. A minor imperfection can be felt in the bearing.

I am sure perfect to use, just not as good as my very old Shimano were. I doubt the additional friction could be felt by anyone.

On the back hub oil is leaking out, which shouldn't be a problem as well, just not nice to see.

On the front tire I see a few small....how to tell it? Cracks? But I had it on 9 bar for 100 km and max is 8.6, so I can't complain about it.

l

As much as I dislike Probike, to be fair this is all isn't a reason for a complain. I just love to have things perfect, more to admire the perfection than for some real technical reasons. And I love screwing on the bike. I recall my old Shimano 600 and 105 bearings felt like butter. 100% perfect. I want the same again. I know it won't make me 0.1 km/h faster......I accept if you call me a fanatic

I must tell the Shimano 105 shift changing works perfect like I couldn't imagine before!

(Not telling Campagnolo is worse, it just happens that all I ever got was Shimano...)

[Babooshka]

If you let me, what would I suggest is:

in case your Feng Shui lets you - go for Italian wheels. Fulcrum (Campagnolo) do many types for every budget (racing 7 - 5 - (Quattro) - 3 - 1 - zero...) which are way better than those Japanese. Racing 3 are already something. Racing 1 are the same as top-end Zeros with one only difference in carbon parts of hubs. BTW I've tried DA wheels, all that I can say - decent wheels, nothing more.

Bontrager are not bad, as I can recall from a test ride on their Aeolus...something (tubulars). The owner, a friend of mine, done thousands of miles on them without any trouble.

My personal choice are ZIPP (101 for training allround, 202 for...), but there are lots of holywars about that make, so I would abstain from recommending.

And remember one thing: the feeling you have when you hold your (spinning) wheel by the axle is wrong. It (wheel, or hub) works differently when loaded with your weight and tightened skewer.

[h90]

If you let me, what would I suggest is:

in case your Feng Shui lets you - go for Italian wheels. Fulcrum (Campagnolo) do many types for every budget (racing 7 - 5 - (Quattro) - 3 - 1 - zero...) which are way better than those Japanese. Racing 3 are already something. Racing 1 are the same as top-end Zeros with one only difference in carbon parts of hubs. BTW I've tried DA wheels, all that I can say - decent wheels, nothing more.

Bontrager are not bad, as I can recall from a test ride on their Aeolus...something (tubulars). The owner, a friend of mine, done thousands of miles on them without any trouble.

My personal choice are ZIPP (101 for training allround, 202 for...), but there are lots of holywars about that make, so I would abstain from recommending.

And remember one thing: the feeling you have when you hold your (spinning) wheel by the axle is wrong. It (wheel, or hub) works differently when loaded with your weight and tightened skewer.

Thank you!!! Great info I'll look into these parts. Yes Italian is very good for my bike Feng Shui (great idea, we should open a bike Feng Shui shop, with a Chinese Feng Shui Master and everything he recommends costs only 50% more).

[moonoi]

Campy wheels are relatively inexpensive, popular ones from a cost/performance perspective are the Scirocco 35mm wheels approx 10-12k THB. I used to have Campy Eurus and they were great but cost around 20-22k.

Even the entry level Vento Asymmetric wheels are far better than the standard ones that come with a bike and come in at 7-8k with a shimano 10/11 speed compatible hub.

Only one word of warning, TCA, the local importer for Campagnolo, don't carry many spares, so if you break a spoke, you'll have a lengthy time getting a replacement.

Another one to look out for is Veltec, not tried them myself, but heard good things about them, and they use standard spokes, so easier to fix if you have a problem.

Mavic have good range across all price points, but suffer from same issue as Campy, have bespoke spokes. Importer is easier to deal with though :-)

Edited February 20, 2015 by moonoi