[masraum]

I'm not about to spend several hundred (more) dollars on bike stuff, but...

I test drove a bunch of bikes recently, and one of them, had an SRAM drivetrain with "doubletap". You use a single lever for up and downshifts. If you push the lever over a little, it upshifts, but if you push the lever over a lot, it downshifts. I REALLY liked the way they worked.

It seems like all of the manufacturers want their drivetrains to be matched up, ie, shimano tiagra comes in crankset, cassette, brifter/shifter and derailleurs. But, I suspect, you could if you so desired, use a 105 rear setup with a Claris or Sora front setup or maybe a 105 front with an Ultegra rear. There may be some that don't mix/match, but I suspect some would.

So, with that in mind, could you take a bike that had a 3x8 Shimano setup (like mine) and upgrade just the rear to say 10 or 11 speed shimano?

And even whackier, could I take my bike that has Shimano Claris 3x8 and turn it into a hybrid with an SRAM doubletap 10 speed rear cassette, derailleur and brifter and leave the front Claris triple chainring and derailleur in place? I'm sure at some point, the chain width might change which may be a problem, and like I said, I'm not planning to do this any time soon (we've spent a fortune on cycles and cycling gear), but I'm curious if it's possible and if it's "possible but not recommended because..."

I'm thinking that as long as the shifter/brifter and derailleur match, then you should be good.

My bike does have disk brakes, but they aren't Shimano brakes, and they aren't hydraulic.