Groupset advice

[Wankelschrauben]

I have Tiagra on one of my bikes and 105 on another. There is very little difference, the 105 may shift gears slightly smoother. Sora has a thumb operated lever on the shifters to go down a gear, a bit like Campagnola, which is not to everyones liking.

The Campagnolo thumb shift is amazing, far quicker and more direct than the lever shift, absolutely amazing for gaining speed.

I haven't used the Shimano thumb shift so I can't comment but the Campagnolo thumb shift is good.

 

[veloman]

Why not take a look at SRAM, all components can be mixed and matched so you can start off with perhaps some good quality shifters and more basic dérailleurs and upgrade at a later stage.

Note the pro's usually use Red but Contador has just used an Apex rear dérailleur in this years giro to give him a low enough gear to spin up the mountains with (Apex allows for a 32 T cog to be used, Red 28 max)

Order - Apex, Rival, Force, Red.

 

[jay clock]

I have a bike with Ultegra which I love, but also a Trek 1.2 with the 2300 on it (8 speed) but with Sora rear mech, and that is fine too!. If you shop around the upper ends can be got relatively "cheaply".

 

[Alembicbassman]

2011 Tiagra is 10 speed now, so even closer to 105. The old 9 speed stock should be going cheap.

I have used 105 and 2200, both shift fine when correctly set up and will last years if kept clean and lubed.

Currently I have full 105 on my road bike and it's a very nice groupset. But it's combined with a triple butted alu-carbon frame with carbon forks and carbon steerer.

Some bikes are being sold with 105 shifters and rear mech only, which is not a 105 groupset.

I also have Altus on my MTB and SRAM X4 on my hybrid, all fully functional and no breakages/defects.

 

[MacB]

if you look in the sales section Valiant is offering a bike with 105 on it for sale at a really good price. It could be worth buying that and keeping what you don't use for sales or selling on those bits.

 

[Howard]

My kilmeston came with sram rival and I've been very impressed with it, how does it compare with the higher end Shimano? My last bike had Sora.

Somewhere between 105 and Ultegra apparently. Heard differing things about Apex; it's probably 105 equivalent, and - to preempt the flack from pedants - can be had with some entertainingly tripple like ratios on a double chainring. Anyway, I have Apex lying on my workshop's floor at the moment, awaiting a frame. I'll let you know how it compares to the full 105 on my roadbike

 

[Davywalnuts]

For my two pence worth, as Ive run/running, on the full range of Shimano groupsets, but currently use Sora on one, and Dura Ace on another, that there is nothing wrong with Sora at all, infact, I love it. Its cheap and cheerful and gets the job done and replacement parts are cheap as chips. 8 Speed is also very easy to fettle with, 10 is a nightmare.

Ive learnt for everyday use, night rides, day long rides and what not, that they will all get you from A to B. There is, as have been pointed out, differant placement for the gear changing for the differant models, so if you ride and gear change on the drops, Sora wont be good, but on the hoods, alls fine.

You, as you havent said, will know how many miles you do, so feature in your cost per mile ratio, as for example, I brought a SRAM red crankset, which lasted last year, but cost more than the cost of my Sora groupo, including wheels, yet, when I look at my figures of distance/time etc, theres not much between the two bikes.

Expensive stuff feels great, looks awesome and is super light for the weight weeny conscious, but am not a pro and no one set makes me massively quicker/faster/slower than the other, its all about the legs.

Start at the bottom, get your self going, and then change up as you go along if you want..