Art Odd

I've been happily riding a 9-speed rim brake groupset on a 10-year old carbon frame. I just recently found out that there is a Shimano R8150 group, but it was initially released two years ago. Do I need to worry that Shimano will stop making rim brake groupsets in the very near future? There can't be that much demand.

FastJake

I stopped worrying years ago. Pick a system that was popular for a good while (Shimano 9-speed certainly applies) and stick with it. There will be parts available for a long time.

It also helps to pick a system that doesn't have an Achilles heel. For example, if the STI brifters wear out you're SOL and have to find new ones. If your system has an Achilles heel, start hoarding parts now.

I've been on 8-speed Shimano downtube shifters for years and have no reason to change. Rim brakes, cantilever or V. And Shimano 8/9/10 speed rim brake hubs. Any parts that I need will probably be available for the rest of my life.

veganbikes

I don't think there is ever a need to really worry. If Cane Creek and Paul Components stop making quality rim brakes then you know the time is done. However there is so many various group sets out there and still plenty of parts for older bikes.

I think hoarding parts is silly to a slight point unless you have something really odd but at this point I can still get 9 speed parts easily both brand spankin' new and used. I think by the time stuff is worn out to the point that parts are unavailable you will probably want to replace the bike and get something new. Old stuff can be nice but treating yourself to something new is not a bad thing either.

zacster

I ride Chorus 10sp and I'm finding that Campy 10sp cassettes are getting a little harder to find. I still found what I wanted though. Campy was always more of a specialty item than Shimano and you'll be fine.

maddog34

no worries... there's always old guys like me that hoard parts... i just bought ten pair of ultegra brake pads a month ago....

find a local Co-Op, visit often, volunteer if asked, and all will be well.

Art Odd

My groupset does have STI shifters that are nearly 25 years old and with over 30k miles, so, yes, that is my concern. Plenty of reports of short brake/shifter cable life for 10- and 11-speed systems reduced my interest in following either upgrade path, but the 12-speed R8150 group seems compatible with my frameset. Whether it makes financial sense to spend so much on such a niche groupset is another question, but it would still probably be less than a newer used bike. I just wondered how long Shimano will keep making such a beast.

FastJake

If you're worried about the future, your 9-speed group is Shirley a better bet than 12 speed, which will probably be replaced by 13 speed next month and 14 speed the month after that. 9-speed was "it" for nearly ten years and supported for a long time after. It became sort of a "standard" for touring bikes and other bikes that weren't concerned with having the latest gee-wiz parts. There are (probably) literally millions of hubs and derailers that are compatible, since you can mix-and-match almost all of the 7/8/9/10 speed stuff.

Consider what you would gain from the new group. Would three more gears on the cassette make any difference to you?

I setup my MTB 1x11 as an experiment. It's nice and I like it, and I like never shifting the front. But it's not an earth-shattering difference, the setup is more finicky, and the shifter is not as crisp as my 25+ year old 8-speed MTB rapid-fire shifters.

Art Odd

No, where I live, I have no need for either 12 speeds or disc brakes, and my 12-25 9-speed cassette is just fine. But spending money on a used set of DA-7700 shifters seems like a crap shoot.

embankmentlb

One word. Eb@y. Problem solved.

masi61

I agree that spending money on used, Dura Ace 7700 integrated shifters can be a crap shoot. Even new old stock could potentially have dried grease and therefore shifting would not be optimum. These shifters are such high quality, I just wish I did not have to be the one to try to work through them to get them operating like new again. I have recently had 2 of the Dura Ace 7800 front shifters be really hard to click down from the big ring to the small ring and me spraying them out with PB Blaster and shooting compressed air in there and following up with thick oil has only improved the hard down click symptom for a short while only to have it recur later, My theory is that the dried grease is really stuck on some of the parts and spraying WD-40 or PB blaster may not be sufficient. I plan to practice doing more of a disassembly/reassembly and I do pay attention to small details but right now I have never successfully rebuilt one myself and it I did it would be more of a winter project because the work it seems would be quite fussy.

zacster

There could also be some worn parts in there and no amount of cleaning will make it shift smoothly again. I've rebuilt a Campy Chorus 10 shifter and it is very fussy. I must've reassembled 10 times before I got it right. And you have to be really careful when you open it up because springs go flying and the parts are tiny. It's more akin to watchmaking than bike mechanics.

Having done it though, I'm still using it 10 years later.

Iride01 

Shimano hasn't stopped making square taper BB's. IMO, that should have gone by the wayside in the prior Century.

So no, I don't expect Shimano to leave those with rim brakes dangling.

But what support do you mean? Pretty much the only thing you'd replace on them is the pad. And those have plenty of third party vendors that some prefer over Shimano pads.

choddo

Yeah I got 8150 installed earlier this year and love it although the hoods are a bit anaemic for my hands. I see you can get a complete group for £1200 now. Tempting to have a full set of spares.

veganbikes

Technically 5 words ; )

Art Odd

Where did you put your battery?

veganbikes

Not sure wherechoddo put their battery but for my Di2 system it is in the seat post and has been for many years. Though some people put it into their fork steerer as well.

Art Odd

The new 105 groupset is disc only. With nearly all new bike sales being on disc frames, I wondered how long component makers will devote R&D efforts to making their latest tech backward-compatible with rim braking systems. With rim/disc/mechanical/wireless possibilities, I admit I need to be better educated on all the permutations each manufacturer offers, or offered.

Art Odd

My frame doesn't have internal routing, so I was considering putting it inside one of my aerobar extensions. Their internal is ⌀19mm.

choddo

Downtube. There’s access via a cover below the water bottle.

veganbikes

They make (or made) external batteries. Mine happens to have some internal routing but my brakes are external.

Camilo

Microshift shifters are compatible and very nice. I prefer them to Shimano

Art Odd

Thanks for the heads-up on the R9 shifter.

Camilo

I'm glad you were able to easily figure out which one. I knew there was a compatible 2 and 3X 9 speed shifter but was too lazy to look it up to give you a better pointer.

My experience is with the Advent 9 speed (1X9) which is the lesser tier to the Advent X. The Advent 9 is a very nice shifter so I'm going to assume the R9 is also.