Upgrading from 7 speed to 9 speed

[the_craig]

Hey folks,

So I have a 2006 Claud Butler San Remo running 7 speed Shimano Sora, which is also 13 years old. I’m looking to upgrade to a 9 speed Sora as I want to tidy up the look of the bike by having my both my gear and brake cables run under the bar tape, whereas just now the gear cables come out of the side of the shifter and it looks dated. Again, the whole thing is 13 years old and functions ok, not great, just ok.

I know I would have to get new shifters, 9 speed chain, 9 speed cassette and front and rear mech, but would l have to change my chainrings and cranks at the front? I have a standard 53-39 at the front, which I like the look of and don’t really fancy paying for new a crankset plus BB if I don’t need to.

My rear wheel is a custom built wheel running a deore free hub and will take a 9 speed cassette no problem.

Cheers for your help. And if anyone has a sora group set, let me know and I’ll happily take it off you.

 

[mcshroom]

I can't see any reason why you should need to change the front. The chainrings are normally narrower anyway so you should be fine. If you are worried, R2000 Claris is also under bar tape routed, and 8sp uses exactly the same width chain as 7sp anyway.

Also, your front and rear derailleurs will probably work fine. All road stuff up to 9sp uses the same cable pull ratio, so should work together.

 

[the_craig]

So if I’ve got you right, I could use the same front and rear mechs and just replace my cassette, chain and shifters?

And that would apply if I went for either 8 speed Claris or 9 speed sora?

 

[mcshroom]

You should be able to.

I've got a mixture of 8sp and 9sp road stuff on my touring bike (R2030 shifters, Sora 3403 9sp FD, Alivio 8sp MTB RD - which replaced a Sora 3500 9sp as I needed extra range) and it all works fine together. The only problem can be a little cable rub on the front derailleur in extreme gears as the cage is a little narrower than an 8sp one, but that is going to be more apparent on my triple than on a normal double. I suppose that might mean your shifting at the front might be a little sloppy with the wider cage for 9sp, but I would be willing to try it out and see myself.

7sp and 8sp use the same chains, so that really should just work.

 

[Tigerbiten]

What's your smallest sprocket size ??
If it's not 11 and the new cassette start from 11 then you may want to fit smaller chainrings to keep the top gears reasonable as I get 53/11 x 27" = 130".
Which is fine if you like descending at over 30 mph, I reach around 35 mph at roughly 90 rpm in that size gear.
But there's no real point in fitting a new cassette and having the new top gear unusable because it's to high.
So you may want to play with a gear calculator just to work out where your new gears are in relation to your old ones.

Luck ............

 

[CXRAndy]

Hey folks,

So I have a 2006 Claud Butler San Remo running 7 speed Shimano Sora, which is also 13 years old. I’m looking to upgrade to a 9 speed Sora as I want to tidy up the look of the bike by having my both my gear and brake cables run under the bar tape, whereas just now the gear cables come out of the side of the shifter and it looks dated. Again, the whole thing is 13 years old and functions ok, not great, just ok.

I know I would have to get new shifters, 9 speed chain, 9 speed cassette and front and rear mech, but would l have to change my chainrings and cranks at the front? I have a standard 53-39 at the front, which I like the look of and don’t really fancy paying for new a crankset plus BB if I don’t need to.

My rear wheel is a custom built wheel running a deore free hub and will take a 9 speed cassette no problem.

Cheers for your help. And if anyone has a sora group set, let me know and I’ll happily take it off you.

No need to change crankset if its not worn. Everything else will work once you replace the parts you listed

 

[raleighnut]

I think you'd get away with the front mech too.

 

[the snail]

Make sure you've got a cassette rather than freewheel, otherwise you'll need a new back wheel.

 

[Ajax Bay]

My rear wheel is a custom built wheel running a deore free hub and will take a 9 speed cassette no problem.

Make sure you've got a cassette rather than freewheel, otherwise you'll need a new back wheel.

RTOP (Read the OP)

 

[the_craig]

You should be able to.

I've got a mixture of 8sp and 9sp road stuff on my touring bike (R2030 shifters, Sora 3403 9sp FD, Alivio 8sp MTB RD - which replaced a Sora 3500 9sp as I needed extra range) and it all works fine together. The only problem can be a little cable rub on the front derailleur in extreme gears as the cage is a little narrower than an 8sp one, but that is going to be more apparent on my triple than on a normal double. I suppose that might mean your shifting at the front might be a little sloppy with the wider cage for 9sp, but I would be willing to try it out and see myself.

7sp and 8sp use the same chains, so that really should just work.

That’s reassuring. I’ve been looking on fleabay for bits and it would be quite pricey to get everything in one go. Whereas I can get bits and add them to spread the cost and keep the household finance committee happy.

What's your smallest sprocket size ??
If it's not 11 and the new cassette start from 11 then you may want to fit smaller chainrings to keep the top gears reasonable as I get 53/11 x 27" = 130".
Which is fine if you like descending at over 30 mph, I reach around 35 mph at roughly 90 rpm in that size gear.
But there's no real point in fitting a new cassette and having the new top gear unusable because it's to high.
So you may want to play with a gear calculator just to work out where your new gears are in relation to your old ones.

Luck ............

I’m running a 12-32T at the back just now but find I’m grinding or spinning. So was thinking 9 speed with less jump between the ratios. Maybe get the medium cage and the 11-34t for a dece granny gear.

No need to change crankset if its not worn. Everything else will work once you replace the parts you listed

I think you'd get away with the front mech too.

The crankset, indeed the bike is in good nick. The fella I got it from was a student who was looking for some beer money. Again, looking to get maxiumum bang for my buck with upgrading.

 

[the_craig]

So I’ve had a rummage in my shed. My big hybrid was running an 11-34t so I’ve borrowed that, cleaned it up and it’s come up really well. Hopefully I can get a hold of new shifters, a rear mech and a chain and we will be in business.

Thanks again to everyone who got back to me.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

Nice to see Claude Butler`s going strong. Good luck in your quest. I am still running my 9 speed Sora CB Roubaix with gear cables sprouting out from the shifters, maybe one day I will change them too.

 

[the_craig]

Nice to see Claude Butler`s going strong. Good luck in your quest. I am still running my 9 speed Sora CB Roubaix with gear cables sprouting out from the shifters, maybe one day I will change them too.

I had never heard of CB until I picked mine up but it’s a fantastic bike. Sure, it’s not made of obtainium or seen winning the Tour but it’s my pal. It makes me so happy when I ride it. I’m a CB convert. Every so often, I think about a new bike but my San Remo is all I need. And the monthly payment could get me new handlebars and stem, or a new groupset. My ultimate plan is to copy GCN and what they did with that old trek and paint it Celeste green. But with Claud Butler decals proudly sitting on the fresh paint...

There’s someone selling a Roubaix on Facebook and I’m seriously considering buying it so I can have a stable of Clauds.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

I am glad you like the Claude. I am pleased with mine, nearly 9 years on and use it as my winter / wet weather bike. I upgraded the wheels a few years back to Mavic Aksiums and also the bars, stem and seatpost / saddle but that is about it. It runs well. I just wanted to have something different on the road, not that there is anything wrong with that. I suppose I was taken by the history of CB, although not the same as years ago. Post a picture of yours please. We could start up a new fan club !!

 

[the_craig]

A lovely bike @Shearwater Missile

My San Remo.

Since i got it in 2017, I got a set of wheels custom made by the legendary Al at Wheelcraft, Ultegra brakes fore and aft, and the Specialized Targa saddle off my hybrid. Everything else is as it was when it rolled out the factory all those years ago. Same front and rear mech, shifters, handlebars and stem.