This is just a quick post regarding my experience with my new bike having mostly Shimano 105 5800 groupset. I say mostly, becuase the brakes , crank and hubs aren’t 105, but a generic series from Shimano, which best equate to Tiagra from the 4700 range.
Here are my two bikes old (2011 Merida Ride Lite 94 / white and blue) and new (2015 Ridley Fenix C30 / black and red).
Do you need the 11 speed cluster? That will come down to individual usage but for me, no. I rarely use the upper and lower cassette cogs on my old Merida. I doubt I will on my new Ridley either. So why upgrade?
I really didn’t upgrade my bike for the new 5800 components. My bike being on 4 years old was going to need lots of bits to get it fresh. Normal wear and tear. Over this period of usage, this is fantastic wear for me with little more that a regular clean lube and adjustment. New bike was $1380 delivered from an online store. For full carbon and mostly 105 components, that is only gonna end up costing me a $500-$700 more then fixing individual components over the next year. Plus full carbon frame, new rims, tires, saddle etc, seemed like a better options.
What I didn’t expect is to notice a considerable difference in the shift feel of the new 5800 levers and derailleurs. In particular the rear shifting is sublime. Maybe this is wear and tear and age from usage. But I doubt it. I never recall thinking to myself how light and smooth the shifting was when i first got my 5700 components.
So would I upgrade my 5700 to 5800? Again no. Not worth the coin an old bike. However is there any difference between the two component sets other than an extra rear cog? Definitely!