Going from 10 speed to 11 speed? Same cassette?

[Globalti]

Shimano's 10 speed Ultegra 6700 wasn't its finest effort where shifting is concerned so when the March divvy hits my account I'm going to treat my bike to 11 speed Ultegra 6800 gears and brakes and flog the old stuff on Eblag.

I'm guessing the 11 speed cassette will fit my existing Ksyrium cassette minus the spacer, right?

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Shimano's 10 speed Ultegra 6700 wasn't its finest effort where shifting is concerned so when the March divvy hits my account I'm going to treat my bike to 11 speed Ultegra 6800 gears and brakes and flog the old stuff on Eblag.

I'm guessing the 11 speed cassette will fit my existing Ksyrium cassette minus the spacer, right?

Yes, Ksyrium's are 11 speed compatible.

I wonder why the 6700 wasn't its finest when shifting..... the difference between the 6700 and 6800 should be minimum but you might notice it if the 6700 wasn't set up properly and the 6800 is.

 

[Globalti]

I've used both and they are worlds apart. I have spent hours fettling my 6700 shifting, replacing cables, adjusting, messing around, I've even polished the inner cable. I've found that it works better for longer if you use genuine Shimano cables, which seem to be a little more flexible than cheap shop bulk buy cables. Gti Junior's new Tarmac has 6800 and it's a revelation how different it can be; the shifting is much more accurate and the brakes are superb.

Edit:

Just placed the order with CRC for the groupset including chain and a full set of cables but minus the chainset for a pootling £360. I even paid £2.60 or summat for a quicker delivery. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

 

[Joffey]

I concur - having had both 5700 10 Speed and 5800 11 Speed the difference is staggering.

 

[fossyant]

Yup. Mavic decided to make a slightly wider freehub even before 11 speed came out. Even the older wheels are compatible. Shimano screwed everyone there, as their wheels need changing.

 

[fossyant]

6700 was the first gen internal cabling, so I guess it's been sorted for 6800.

 

[Globalti]

So all the bits have arrived and this afternoon I'm going to start stripping the old 6700 off the bike and fitting the 6800. The front derailleur looks a nightmare! Has anybody done this yet? Do I really need the cable alignment gauge?

 

[Oldbloke]

Fitting is a doddle, did the same in December after years of hassle with 6700 on my Roubaix.SL3 The improvement is massive.

Found it much easier by ignoring the Shimano fitting manuals except for torque settings, they were far too overly complex for me. You don't really need that gauge, it just gives you the best position to set the F/D up.

If your bike is an SL3, do you have the cabling upgrade kit from Specialized? Essential IMHO

 

[Svendo]

Last generation 10 speed which was also first generation under-bartape gear cabling, retained Shimano's traditional 1.2 pull ratio (for each 1.2mm of cable pulled RD moves 1mm). As I, Globalti & others have found this only works well when everything is perfect and shiny and new. First blob of dirt or bit of wear and it deteriorated. The 11-speed systems have a 1.7 pull ratio, which is much more tolerant of the extra friction in the gear cable routing and as the system wears. Also the new polymer coated cables help a lot too I think. This does mean RDs are not backwards compatible.

 

[Globalti]

Well the job is done and I've just been out for a short spin to try to shake off a lingering cold and test the setup. In the end it was easy to fit and didn't even require much adjustment; the FD worked pretty well as long as I kept my mind on what I was doing - start by setting the travel limits then get the cable length right and the trim settings take care of themselves. The brakes are better than 6700 and the gears shift easily and accurately and I like the closer ratios of the 11 speed cassette. Luvverly!

I'll offer the old 10 speed to my cycling buddy then advertise it on here.