Tiagra/Ultegra/Dura Ace matching

bluenose

Hi there,

I have a road bike with Tiagra triple groupset on it.

I'm very keen to upgrade. I've just purchased a Ultegra triple crank and
want to purchase a front and rear derailleur. Will my Tiagra shifters
work with Ultegra and Dura Ace or will I have to upgrade my shifters as
well? Also, could I have, say, a Dura Ace rear derailleur and a Ultegra
front derailleur or vice versa?

Basically I'm not entirely sure whats compatible with what.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

Rick Onanian

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 00:29:18 GMT, bluenose
<bluenose@nospamforyou.com> wrote:
>I have a road bike with Tiagra triple groupset on it.
>
>I'm very keen to upgrade. I've just purchased a Ultegra triple crank and
>want to purchase a front and rear derailleur. Will my Tiagra shifters
>work with Ultegra and Dura Ace or will I have to upgrade my shifters as
>well? Also, could I have, say, a Dura Ace rear derailleur and a Ultegra
>front derailleur or vice versa?
>
>Basically I'm not entirely sure whats compatible with what.

Everything you mentioned is compatible in any combination. Front
derailers can be finicky, so it may be helpful to match the front
derailer to the crank (but it probably won't make a difference
either way).

Be sure that your bottom bracket fits the crank -- square taper vs
octalink splined, whatever.

If you're replacing the cassette, be aware of cog spacing (for
indexing) and total width (to fit on the hub).

For all of this, there's loads of info if you google groups or read
up at sheldonbrown.com.
--
Rick Onanian

Jeff Starr

bluenose <bluenose@nospamforyou.com> wrote in message news:<408DA95B.754DFDC9@nospamforyou.com>...
> Hi there,
>
> I have a road bike with Tiagra triple groupset on it.
>
> I'm very keen to upgrade. I've just purchased a Ultegra triple crank and
> want to purchase a front and rear derailleur. Will my Tiagra shifters
> work with Ultegra and Dura Ace or will I have to upgrade my shifters as
> well? Also, could I have, say, a Dura Ace rear derailleur and a Ultegra
> front derailleur or vice versa?
>
> Basically I'm not entirely sure whats compatible with what.
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Many thanks in advance

Hi, any combinations of the above are fine, with one exception, the
front deraileur. The DA FD is optimized for the DA crank, which is
30-39-53, while the Ultegra, 105, and Tiagra are better with
30-42-52. The DA Fd will work, as I used one for a while with a Tiagra
crank, but shifts weren't all that good.
So go with an Ultegra FD. You will need to replace your bottom
bracket, as Tiagra has a square taper and Ultegra has the Octalink.
The shifters are all interchangable, except that the DA left side is
specific to double or triple. Although I believe the 9 speed doubles
are not being made anyore, replaced by the 10 speed double. The DA
triple 7703 is available, which is what you would need if you go with
DA.
This winter I upgrade my Tiagra equiped bike, to mostly DA, including
crankset, STI levers, bottom bracket, chain and rear derailleur. As I
mentioned, I already had a DA FD. Cassette is Ultegra and hubs will be
DA, when I get my wheels built. With careful shopping, there are some
excellent deals to be had.

Life is Good!
Jeff

John Rees

"Jeff Starr" <jstarr@peoplepc.com> wrote in message
news:10c5841f.0404270656.4f217d05@posting.google.com...
| bluenose <bluenose@nospamforyou.com> wrote in message
news:<408DA95B.754DFDC9@nospamforyou.com>...
| > Hi there,
| >
| > I have a road bike with Tiagra triple groupset on it.
| >
| > I'm very keen to upgrade. I've just purchased a Ultegra triple crank and
| > want to purchase a front and rear derailleur. Will my Tiagra shifters
| > work with Ultegra and Dura Ace or will I have to upgrade my shifters as
| > well? Also, could I have, say, a Dura Ace rear derailleur and a Ultegra
| > front derailleur or vice versa?
| >
| > Basically I'm not entirely sure whats compatible with what.
| >
| > Any help would be greatly appreciated.
| >
| > Many thanks in advance
|
| Hi, any combinations of the above are fine, with one exception, the
| front deraileur. The DA FD is optimized for the DA crank, which is
| 30-39-53, while the Ultegra, 105, and Tiagra are better with
| 30-42-52. The DA Fd will work, as I used one for a while with a Tiagra
| crank, but shifts weren't all that good.
| So go with an Ultegra FD. You will need to replace your bottom
| bracket, as Tiagra has a square taper and Ultegra has the Octalink.
| The shifters are all interchangable, except that the DA left side is
| specific to double or triple. Although I believe the 9 speed doubles
| are not being made anyore, replaced by the 10 speed double. The DA
| triple 7703 is available, which is what you would need if you go with
| DA.
| This winter I upgrade my Tiagra equiped bike, to mostly DA, including
| crankset, STI levers, bottom bracket, chain and rear derailleur. As I
| mentioned, I already had a DA FD. Cassette is Ultegra and hubs will be
| DA, when I get my wheels built. With careful shopping, there are some
| excellent deals to be had.

It's your bikes and money, but usually a Tiagra equipped bike is on the low
end everywhere. Unless you're scoring the Ultegra and DuraAce cheap, it
may not be worth the trouble unless you really really like the frame.

BTW, I agree that all the stuff is compatible, more or less.

John

Jeff Starr

John Rees (jrees@jrees.net) wrote in message
jstarr@peoplepc.com (Jeff Starr) wrote in message
>>This winter I upgrade my Tiagra equiped bike, to mostly DA,
including
>> crankset, STI levers, bottom bracket, chain and rear derailleur. As
I
>> mentioned, I already had a DA FD. Cassette is Ultegra and hubs will
be
>> DA, when I get my wheels built. With careful shopping, there are
some
>> excellent deals to be had.

>It's your bikes and money, but usually a Tiagra equipped bike is on
the low
>end everywhere. Unless you're scoring the Ultegra and DuraAce cheap,
it
>may not be worth the trouble unless you really really like the frame.

>BTW, I agree that all the stuff is compatible, more or less.

>John

Hi John, I got good prices on all components and sold some of the old
parts on Ebay. The bike in question is a 2002 LeMond Tourmalet, which
is the same steel frame as the Buenos Aires. So, for me it was worth
it and it gave me an opportunity to do my own work. Which was an
excellent chance to learn more about bikes.
Life is Good!
Jeff