How much of a difference is going from shimano claris to ultegra gear set?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
OP
OP
O

oreo_muncher

Guest
Re speed, do you mean average speed?
What do you currently achieve and what is your target.

Terrain and weather conditions will dictate what you can achieve more than other factors.
I'm stuck at 20km/h, I want it to go up to 24km/h so I can actually do a group ride with my uni cycling soc and not embarrass myself by my poor abilities on the bike.. and there are people in that club that do that route at 30km/h....
 
OP
OP
O

oreo_muncher

Guest
The point is that well-made equipment is nice to use, nice to look at and light in weight. Ultegra is good but Dura Ace even nicer, people say it's the same but it's not.
What gear set do you have?:becool:
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
I'm stuck at 20km/h, I want it to go up to 24km/h so I can actually do a group ride with my uni cycling soc and not embarrass myself by my poor abilities on the bike.. and there are people in that club that do that route at 30km/h....
I think in mph, but if you are achieving 12mph on solo rides, you would easily achieve 14mph in a group ride. Drafting other riders can reduce the effort needed by 30%.

Just do it. On my first few group rides, I used to get dropped, but a year later, I was one of the stronger riders.
 
OP
OP
O

oreo_muncher

Guest
I think in mph, but if you are achieving 12mph on solo rides, you would easily achieve 14mph in a group ride. Drafting other riders can reduce the effort needed by 30%.

Just do it. On my first few group rides, I used to get dropped, but a year later, I was one of the stronger riders.
I'm so intimidated by these people and my confidence is already low in my cycling abilities that I haven't been to a single group ride and now they're postponed till after lockdown- probably till january.
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
I'm so intimidated by these people and my confidence is already low in my cycling abilities that I haven't been to a single group ride and now they're postponed till after lockdown- probably till january.
Look outside your uni cycling club, for an established cycling club with mixed ages and mixed ability. All good clubs will have runs at different speeds and one is bound to match your level. The uni cycling club is likely to be full of riders who have come from a serious competitive level already and are into training rides, rather than club runs.

Good luck
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
I am going to say i notice fark all difference between my claris on the commuter and the tiagra 4700 on my best bike , i also have sram force on the winter bike and they all do the job perfectly fine once they were set up right.
The only thing that slows the commuter bike down is the rack, panniers, lights , etc etc that push it getting on for 15 kg but once up to speed its not enough of a difference to notice its when you hit a hill that the extra 6-7 kg make a difference
 
OP
OP
O

oreo_muncher

Guest
I am going to say i notice fark all difference between my claris on the commuter and the tiagra 4700 on my best bike , i also have sram force on the winter bike and they all do the job perfectly fine once they were set up right.
The only thing that slows the commuter bike down is the rack, panniers, lights , etc etc that push it getting on for 15 kg but once up to speed its not enough of a difference to notice its when you hit a hill that the extra 6-7 kg make a difference
Think I'll need to get a new bike if I decide to do bike touring. Don't think I want to convert my current one to one, rack, panniers, sturdier wheels etc. Unless I got a better bike.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
One of the best geartrains I found to live with was the old 2300 Sora. It needed to be set up on an absolute knife edge (not a problem if you know how to set up gears properly) or it could be clunky, but the thumb buttons for up changes were brilliant and much nicer to use when on the hoods, which is fantastic on real roads with real traffic and a real need to turn your head occasionally.

And my absolute favourite was the 10 speed Tiagra, I've got big hands (take note ladies ;) ) so the longer lever throw felt much more natural to me. For all the fancy mech geometry and fluorine coated pivots, none of the higher ranked gear trains suited me so well,

Some depleted uranium and platinum Dura Ace looks absolitely lovely, but brings nothing to the party that helps me personally. You're just going to have to ride and ride and ride, get those miles under your belt on as many different bikes as you can and you'll soon figure out what it crap, what looks great, what costs a lot, and what actuslly gives a tangible benefit. The sweet spot is different for everyone, and time in the saddle is the only way you'll figure out where yours is.

And remember your grammar. What most people call a groupset is nothing of the sort - they mean a geartrain, and possibly brakes thrown in too. A groupset will include cables, skewers, seatpin, and even wheels, pedals and handlebars on some, so when people refer to a groupset they usually mean anything but. Stupid testers in glossy magazines are responsible for promulgating this rubbish.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Think I'll need to get a new bike if I decide to do bike touring. Don't think I want to convert my current one to one, rack, panniers, sturdier wheels etc. Unless I got a better bike.

likely no reason why you can’t fit a rack or sturdier wheels at least for light touring. You yourself weigh nothing so even with panniers you’re bike would be carrying much less weight than for many heavier cyclists
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Why not?

I'm extremely pessimistic about ever returning to the levels of fitness and overall body strength that allowed me to sustain that low down position four years ago when I treated myself to that lovely bike for my 60th birthday. Two years later I bust my collar bone and needed two ops and then two years later my present situation began. I've lost 10 percent of my body weight in muscle over 4 months, to the extent that I'm even afraid to lift heavy objects now for fear of injuring my back.
 
I'm stuck at 20km/h, I want it to go up to 24km/h so I can actually do a group ride with my uni cycling soc and not embarrass myself by my poor abilities on the bike.. and there are people in that club that do that route at 30km/h....
I change the route of my lunch time ride (the overall elevation/time/distance is about the same though) but looking at them in the summer for the same effort or less (recorded on a power meter) I was approximately 2kph faster than I am now late autumn. Theoretically removing the Autumn/Winter elements I am still riding at the same speed now. But if you've managed to maintain you are riding at the same speed, taking out those elements actually means you are potentially riding faster. Don't get hung up comparing current speed to summer speed though; if you must compare, compare summer to summer :okay:
 
If you can do your route at say 20kmh - go out and attack certain parts of it as fast as you can. Then recover for a bit and go again.

If you do this you stress your system and it adapts to cope with the pace. You will get faster.
 
Top Bottom