What gears ??

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Grayduff

Über Member
Location
Surrey
Sorry Dumb newbie daft question regarding Shimano Gears ? I am or will be looking to upgrade my current Hybrid bike for a Shiny New or nearly new Road bike in the new year, I am very keen on the Specalized Allez, Giant Defy 1/2 or Bianchi ..My question is should i be looking at the type of gears as one of the priorities as i have been told that Shimano Sora can be a pain and i should be looking at Shimano 105s as a minimum, my budget will be my minimum was my answer unless you kind folks can tell me otherwise ^_^:smile:
 

Nosaj

Well-Known Member
Location
Rayleigh
I have run a shimano Sora Shod road bike for the last two years and provided they are kept well tuned have given me no real problems whatsoever until very recently that is. They have been running a little rough, but a new gear cable and chain and a little play with the indexing have got them snicking through again very nicely. I think to sum up Sora in one word would be adequate.

I then test rode a bike with Sram red and the difference was huge ! but that is one extreme to the other

Having said all that my next bike I will insist on minimum 105 (ideally would want ultegra).

If you have run a good group set in the past going back to Sora may be more of an issue than if you are starting totally new where the difference would not be so brutal.
 

simon.r

Person
Location
Nottingham
I have minimal experience with geared road bikes, but having just bought a new one with Sora fitted I've been a little surprised at how 'clunky' it is. It's all brand new as well, so I can't imagine it will get any smoother as it wears and gets dirty.

I've generally run XT on my MTB's (which I think is the equivalent of Ultegra?) and it's noticeably smoother and slicker. I'd agree with the above post - the Sora is 'adequate'. I'm also not keen on the little plastic thumb levers for changing to the smaller ring / cogs - again, they're adequate but there's no feel of quality about them. It looks as if the higher end shifters use a different system.

I think if I was buying again I'd spend a bit more and move up a groupset or two.
 

GentlyBenevolent

Well-Known Member
Location
Wigan-ish
I rode a boardman with sora shifters a couple of times and didn't like them at all. The plastic thumb-shifters were too small, so they were both uncomfortable (not painful, but not nice) to use and felt a little like they'd be easy to break. The 105 setup I currently have is so much nicer to use, changes are good and the levers are comfortable to use.
 

Nosaj

Well-Known Member
Location
Rayleigh
Grayduff,

Following on from my earlier post I think what groupset you will end up will largely be determined by the size of your budget.

In the new bike budget range say up to 700 you will invariably find Tiagra / Sora stepping up to about 1k you will find 105 may be the odd ultegra above 1.5k and a lot higher invariably you are into Dura ace Di2 territory

It is a balancing act and certain manufacturers provide a certain spec and will concentrate on certain parts. For example you may have one bike offering 105 or ultegra and the rub is that you have a pretty shoddy set of stock wheels, others may set more store by wheels and the rub is the group set and so on and so on.

Evans cycles have a good range of bikes have a look at the bikes in various budget ranges and you will see some patterns emerging re bang for your buck.

Certainly best advice is get the best groupset for your budget, however if your current budget is X and this means you end up with Sora you can either put up with an "adequate" group set or wait until your budget gets larger and get the better group set.
 
OP
OP
Grayduff

Grayduff

Über Member
Location
Surrey
Grayduff,

Following on from my earlier post I think what groupset you will end up will largely be determined by the size of your budget.

In the new bike budget range say up to 700 you will invariably find Tiagra / Sora stepping up to about 1k you will find 105 may be the odd ultegra above 1.5k and a lot higher invariably you are into Dura ace Di2 territory

It is a balancing act and certain manufacturers provide a certain spec and will concentrate on certain parts. For example you may have one bike offering 105 or ultegra and the rub is that you have a pretty shoddy set of stock wheels, others may set more store by wheels and the rub is the group set and so on and so on.

Evans cycles have a good range of bikes have a look at the bikes in various budget ranges and you will see some patterns emerging re bang for your buck.

Certainly best advice is get the best groupset for your budget, however if your current budget is X and this means you end up with Sora you can either put up with an "adequate" group set or wait until your budget gets larger and get the better group set.
Thank you my friend that was the answer i was looking for...Budget limited is the problem.:thumbsup:, the other thing is i was told that you can`t upgrade Soras without upgrading evrything ,but you can upgrade Tiagras bit by bit ??.
 

Nearly there

Veteran
Location
Cumbria
Sora now comes in 9 speed and some with sti shifters with cassettes up to 27t and Tiagra is now coming in 10 speed with cassettes up to 32t,Depending what gear system you choose can be hundreds of pounds difference
 

GentlyBenevolent

Well-Known Member
Location
Wigan-ish
Given the ease of changing wheels vs groupset and shifters (and anything else), and the greater likelihood of damage to wheels vs groupset, I went with better groupset with a potential drop on wheels.

Your preference may dictate otherwise if you're a whizz at swapping components.
 

Jdratcliffe

Well-Known Member
Location
Redhill, Surrey
Why are people jumping to the 105? i rode tiagra on my last bike pre to riding 105 and it shifted smooth as silk! i personally have not noticed a difference between 105 and tiagra and so would surggest you go for the best frame you can get ( hardest and most expensive thing to change) adn then see whats on that frame with your budget - i personally would not look at sora as i hated the shifters after just a ten min test ride! so i would pick the best i could get with tiagra or 105.
 
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