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forum
Help! Groupset Repair/Replace Dilemma (105 9-speed)
Hello,
First post on the forums and I'm already looking for a little advice from the community. Pretty please.
On Boxing Day I took out my Cannondale R700 Stars n bars for a stab at the Leith Hill Octopus. Before we'd even started, I lost all rear shifting. The right shifters seemed to be stuck together.
Anyway, LBS seems to think that the right shifter has gone and don't think spare parts are available anymore.
It is the right Shimano 105 ST-5500 9-speed shifter.
So... what to do?
1) Treat myself to whole new Groupset (maybe even 10 speed!)?
2) Some kind of hack with Sora or another 9-speed option?
3) Source used or NOS 105 right shifter?
4) Some other clever idea from the community? 
Any help or advice much appreciated.
Thanks,
Andy
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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21 comments
If it was me, it would be time I told the wife that she needed to work all the overtime that she cuold, and forego the monthly 'big food shop' and live off chips and beans for a couple of months as I needed to save the money for a brand new, full carbon fibre, shiney new bike, with shiney new Di2 groupset
Nowt wrong with Sora.....
Hi, I have a pair of genuine Shimano hoods for 55xx/65xx Flight Deck (the ones with just one button) still in the sealed original packaging. Let me know if you're interested. The number of buttons only matters if you're going to use the Flight Deck cyclocomputer, otherwise you're good to go, fit is perfect and brakes and shifting work the same
I genuinely cannot think about anything else now. The wait to get my newly fettled bike back tomorrow is excruciating. And there's a funny and as yet unidentified noise coming from my tourer which has been taken all of the hard miles since before Christmas. So the return of the 'Dale couldn't come at a better time!
Result!
What I have done, in the end, is found a mechanic with a spare Sora shifter who was willing to provide, fit etc. for £30 all in.
The way I see it, it's more or less no cost to have the bike available again as soon as possible and I can still move to a 10 speed option in the future.
So basically, thanks to everyone for advice and support. Eventually, most of it will be used so all valuable.
Cannot wait to pick her up on Wednesday. I have a few local hills that have been missing me.
Bargain!
+1 to the person who said you don't need a new rear derailleur. You just need the 10 speed RH shifter and the 10 speed cassette.
Or just buy and fit a replacement for the broken part... http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/shimano-st-5500ca-main-lever-assembly-rig...
Thanks for the advice joemmo.
All things considered, I'd prefer to keep the groupset matching but it's good to hear that if the money isn't there I can compromise without a big loss of... er... enjoyment. (I can't really use the word "performance" about my riding).
If there is a single right shifter going spare on ebay though, maybe it will be a nice cheap alternative before I can persuade my wife that the Ultegra 10sp Group is really the way forward.
In the real world, to go from 9 to 10 speed would you need much other than the obvious new shifters and chain/cassette?
I *think* I would need a new 10-speed rear derailleur...
you wont need a new rear mech, the 9 spd will work just fine
.... so I could just get a pair of 10sp, 105 shifters, chain and cassette? Well that's exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to discover. Excellent - thanks!
No you don't, I ran 5500 9 speed RD, FD & crankset with 6600 10 speed shifters, chain and cassette for years without any issues.
My vote is pair of 10 speed shifters, chain and cassette. I have seen the 6600 shifters going relatively cheap as they are the external cable variety.
10 speed chain and cassette are not that expensive.
Welcome to the world of ebay and last minute bids it is called sniping, lots of automated services that will do it for you. I use gixen.com it is free, but I pay for the premium service.
5500 series 105, Tiagra 9 & 10 speed and the new 9 speed Sora have the same lever & hood shape so could easily be mix and matched matched. I have a tiagra / 105 lever mix on one bike and apart from the gear indicator thing, there is no difference. You could also search for the ST-R600 levers which are the same shape, non-series at 105 level.
I'm pretty sure the new Sora is, to all intents, the same as 9 speed tiagra and you won't notice any difference to the 105 anyway.
I have some 10 speed levers waiting in the wings to replace my old, somewhat woolly 9 speed tiagra lever when it gives up the ghost but having just bought a new 9 spd chain and cassette hopefully it will keep going a bit longer.
Depends on finances I guess, A new set of shifters may set you back £100-150 or £350-400 for the 105 5700 as a complete groupset
Second hand shifter will be a bit cheaper, but if you replace one, you should replace the other for comfort reasons.
Personally I would go for a new groupo
Second hand 9sp shifters (for various groupset levels) turn on eBay turn up regularly. Sometimes they're even new!
True. I did see a pair from the US but somebody outbid me at the last minute in the middle of the night. The only problem I can see (if not new) is that there'll be no guarantee of longevity. I might end up with the same dilemma pretty quickly.
Ifffff it were me I'd treat myself to a 10speed, or even 11 though I'm all a bit dubious over this newfangled extra speed.
But if I were a bit too strapped for that I'd go with sourcing a second hand shifter.
I had sora on my commuter (before I sold her) and it was truly terrible. You can't go wrong with 105 I'd say.
The only reason I was considering Sora was that it would at least be 9sp compatible. But I'm very reluctant to add Sora shifters into the 105 setup anyway. So thanks for ruling out the least preferred option for me!