Can a 9-speed cassette be upgraded to 11-speed?

[RegG]

My daughter has a Liv (Giant) Avail 3 with Shimano Sora components and a SRAM PG950 cassette.

Would it be possible to replace the 9-speed SRAM cassette with a Shimano 105 11-speed cassette to give her more gears? The bike is equipped with Shimano Sora shifters and front/rear derailleur mechs.

Or am I right in thinking that the shifters would also need changing for compatible shifters?

Thanks as usual for any replies to what is probably a silly question!!

 

[RegG]

It is not a silly question. You would need to replace loads of stuff, including as you say the shifters, the whole drive train in fact.
Is the underlying issue a need for more gears, or different gears?

She is after a new bike really with more gears. The Avail was bought as a starter to see if she got into cycling. Now she has she is wanting a better bike basically but I thought it may be possible to make this one last a bit longer by upgrading the gears. But if it needs the whole drivetrain changing then a new bike would be the best route.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[vickster]

Is it a double or triple? Swapping to 11 speed double would give less gears if she has a triple. If not I can't imagine switching from 18 to 22 would be worth the extra cost

11 speed 105 group set is £400 odd I think

Planet X have a wsd carbon with 22 speed rival for around £800. Keep the avail for winter or sell to fund

 

[Citius]

She is after a new bike really with more gears.

More gears is not the answer. Different gears maybe. But if she is developing an interest in cycling, you need to snap her out of the mindset that more gears = better. It doesn't.

 

[Sharky]

More gears is not the answer. Different gears maybe. But if she is developing an interest in cycling, you need to snap her out of the mindset that more gears = better. It doesn't.

+1

Last year I "downgraded" from 18 gears (2x9) to 9 gears, by ditching the front changer and switching to a single chainwheel (40t ) on my winter/training bike. Haven't missed the higher gears and the mechanics of just one lever to bother with, makes it so much simpler and no fumbling going up/down etc.

 

[Specialeyes]

A full 11-speed 105 groupset is currently about £280 from Wiggle, Chain Reaction and probably a bunch of other places. I recently fitted one as an upgrade to my my Tarmac - which was always a quality frame with price-point components waiting to be upgraded. It's a relatively simple process if you're confident, and it does make the Tarmac feel like a new bike, which of course, it isn't. By the looks of the spec, the Giant already has a broad range, from a 34/32 bottom to a 50/11 top, so 4 extra ratios would certainly smooth out some of the gear jumps, and the 105 shifters are generally smoother, a little classier and easier to adjust for reach.

Some wise advice up-thread though. More doesn't necessarily mean better. Better-suited = better.

 

[lpretro1]

She'd probably need new wheels too for 11 spd

 

[RegG]

Thanks for all the replies. This idea is clearly a non-starter from a cost point of view. She is hanging her nose over a Bianchi Intenso DamaBianca with Ultegra groupo so will probably let her go with that eventually. She does live in Nth Yorkshire so plenty of hills!