Ultegra triple to Wi-Fli style compact

Seeing as I was pulled up on this by my old LBS mechanic, I think I'm right in saying it's the hangar, rather than the cage on the deraillieur that affects the size of cassette sprocket you can use.

On a side note, when my chainrings wear out (new dura-ace chainrings cost HOW MUCH?) I'll get the Praxis ones, quite probably in 50/36 - giving me a bit more leeway in the inner ring and hopefully allowing for less cross chaining. I guess I'll stick that 12-30 block on the back to give a hand up the 20%-ers....

I don't think you'd need a rear mech. If it works with a 50 - 30 triple, I guess it's a long enough cage. I don't know about the front, but my guess that it would also be ok with it's limit screws set. You could possibly get away with the front shifter, just trying to shift into the smallest ring would release the cable with no effect (assuming the limit screw is set right). Just seen odd by default post - dead shift is a neater way of saying what I was trying to

Oh, and you can (probably) keep the triple shifters and just swap out the cassette, chainrings, front mech - and rear mech if required.

I've been using my 8 speed compact setup with a triple front shifter for nearly a year, and apart from the fact that the shifters are now worn out and iffy anyway, it works(/ed) fine. You just get a dead shift. Takes time to set up properly, but certainly do-able.

shimano tiagra rd-4600 rear mech will handle up to 30t

12-30 is 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27, 30
That's a pretty even spread.
11-32 is 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 22, 25, 28, 32
Can't see much wrong with that either, the only jumps are at the bottom end. With a 34t chainring the difference between adjacent ratios isn't that big anyway.

I find 12t is tall enough for most things, including descending hills in TTs. The people who can genuinely push 50x11 do not need a 32t cassette!

I did this with my 8 speed after getting fed up with a triple and wanted simplicity. Got a MTB rear mech and whacked on an 11-32 cassette. It works wonderfully, although the 32 is very very low. (Option 1 right there).

Next bike I went straight for SRAM's WiFli Apex, and bought an Ultegra cassette for better gear spacing (12-30 vs Apex' WiFli 11-32, plenty of people aren't happy with the cog choices of this cassette, it's not just the range). Check your rear mech for its tooth capacity - I haven't looked into it, but considering you can buy the Ultegra cassette, Shimano must make a rear mech that's long enough - your bike might not come with that particular model though.

Good luck! Anecdotally - it changed my riding for the better, and I enjoy being able to scale 20%s 'on a compact' whilst others are walking.

I believe the Ultegra rear mech will work with a cassette of up to 30 teeth, so you could fit the Tiagra 10sp 12-3. with a compact chainset. The 11-28 gives a fractionally higher bottom gear. Not sure about whether you can retain your front derailleur and LH shifter.

If you know you're hamfisted isn't the answer to work on that? After all, you only get better at something by practising it. I'm sh*t at wheelies and would probably not be great if I spent 4 hours a day on it but I bet I'd be better at it than I am now.

Are you cross-chaining? The diagonal chain line can make front mech rub appear worse.

If you're confident the front mech is set up correctly why not practice shifting somewhere quiet where you can spin the pedals gently (and not too slowly) and get a feel for how much lever travel the mech requires to swap chainrings smoothly. Always ease off on the pedals a bit as you make the shift as putting the chain under too much tension doesn't help it move as easily.

You could splash some money on new cables and a proper LBS service and that could potentially be less than a cassette and chain alone.

Well all you could really keep is the rear shifter.

You would need a new front shifter, front mech, rear mech, chainset and cassette.

WiFli is only really of use if you have a double or compact up front already. Else its just money to have something your don't really need