On 01/14/2018 10:35 AM, Bill Lindsay wrote:
The OP is thinking about switching from 2x9 to 2x11 with brifters. If you want to do it because you can afford it and you think it will make you happy, go for it If you want to do it because it will make your bike look more contemporary and that appeals to you, go for it If you want to do it because it will make you ride more or ride harder and that will improve your fitness and speed, go for it If you want to do it because it will instantly make you faster, without requiring you to train smarter or improve your fitness, then prepare to be disappointed. Your proposed drivetrain change won’t change how fast you ride. It’s up to you to decide how fast you are going to ride. If 2x11 helps convince you to commit to riding faster, then I’m sure you can do it.
While everything Bill says is true, the same could be said of a sugar pill or an all-day-sucker lollipop (or insert your favorite placebo here ___).
But while true (especially the part about training to improve fitness!) it ignores the actual, factual differences between 9 and 11 speed drive trains. There may be differences in range (I don't think there's any way to get to 40T sprockets and above with 9 speed) and there will almost certainly be differences in the size of the steps between the gears. There may also be differences in cost, and it's possible that there may be differences in the shape or feel of the brifter hoods (which was the biggest reason mentioned on the forums for upgrading Campagnolo when they changed either to 10 or 11 speed) or the tactile feeling of the shifting.
For some riders, those things may make a difference, one way or the other. For some fraction of those riders, one or more of those differences may be in speed or distance.
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