Looking for feedback on Sora components

Quoted message said:

My wife and I went looking at road bikes for her. After
testing out several bikes, she liked the Bianchi Brava and
the Trek 1200C.

The Brava is steel with Sora components. The 1200C is alum
with Tiagra components. Sora is the bottom of the Shimano
line. Will they hold up over time? She will mainly ride
along the Chicago lakefront, a path that is almost
entirely flat. She doesn't shift gears often, but will
want smooth shifts.

Any thoughts?

Thanks. Joel

For the type of riding you have described, I don't think
there is much functional difference between Sora and Tiagra.

Practically everything Shimano makes shifts fine; the
differences as you go higher in the line have more to do
with lighter weight and fineness of finish. More expensive
parts do tend to last longer, because of better materials
and seals, but that won't be an issue unless you will be
riding thousands of miles per year or are riding
competitively. Yes, I recognize the redundancy.

Hope that helps.

--
Ted Bennett Portland OR

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Joel Roth
My wife and I went looking at road bikes for her. After
testing out several bikes, she liked the Bianchi Brava and
the Trek 1200C.

The Brava is steel with Sora components. The 1200C is alum
with Tiagra components. Sora is the bottom of the Shimano
line. Will they hold up over time? She will mainly ride
along the Chicago lakefront, a path that is almost
entirely flat. She doesn't shift gears often, but will
want smooth shifts.

Any thoughts?

Thanks. Joel

I've been riding Sora for 9 months and about 4500 miles with no problems. I had a minor tune up at 3000 miles, new chain at 3500 but other than that weekly lubing kept it running fine. In my experience it shifts fine no matter the situation. However, you may want to consider the Tiagra components for the sake of uprading the bike down the road. Sora is an 8 speed group that's pretty much alone in the Shimano line, while Tiagra is 9 speed and can use parts from 105, ultegra, and 9 speed dura ace without having to buy an entirely new drivechain.

joel roth said:

My wife and I went looking at road bikes for her. After
testing out several bikes, she liked the Bianchi Brava and
the Trek 1200C.

The Brava is steel with Sora components. The 1200C is alum
with Tiagra components. Sora is the bottom of the Shimano
line. Will they hold up over time? She will mainly ride
along the Chicago lakefront, a path that is almost
entirely flat. She doesn't shift gears often, but will
want smooth shifts.

Any thoughts?

Sora works extremely well, and looks like it should be
durable. There's only one thing about it that bugs me -- I
can't reach the little "upshift" lever from the drops. This
wouldn't be a problem if you rarely ride in the drops, or if
you have really long thumbs, like Uma Thurman in that Tom
Robbins movie.

Matt O.

Ted Bennett said:

Quoted message said:

My wife and I went looking at road bikes for her. After
testing out several bikes, she liked the Bianchi Brava and
the Trek 1200C.

The Brava is steel with Sora components. The 1200C is alum
with Tiagra components. Sora is the bottom of the Shimano
line. Will they hold up over time? She will mainly ride
along the Chicago lakefront, a path that is almost
entirely flat. She doesn't shift gears often, but will
want smooth shifts.

Quoted message said:

For the type of riding you have described, I don't
think there is much functional difference between Sora
and Tiagra.

Practically everything Shimano makes shifts fine; the
differences as you go higher in the line have more to do
with lighter weight and fineness of finish. More expensive
parts do tend to last longer, because of better materials
and seals, but that won't be an issue unless you will be
riding thousands of miles per year or are riding
competitively.

That's all true. The Chicago lakefront is dead flat and
gears are pretty superfluous there anyway, unless the Hawk
Wind is blowing.

The Sora brake levers are a particularly good choice for
many women, because they feature a reach adjustment that
allows them to be set up for easier use by people with
small hands.

Also the Sora shifters are less confusing to use than other
Shimano models, since the motion for upshifting and
downshifting is done in different directions, with different
fingers...sort of like Campagnolo.

Sheldon "Sora, Sora, Sora!" Brown +---------------------------------------------------
+
| In theory, there's no difference between theory | and
| practice; but, in practice, there is. |
+---------------------------------------------------+,
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-
9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find
parts shipped Worldwide captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗
sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Hi Joel.....I have a Giant with Sora components.....has been working great except I find them a trifle noisy. I have heard that cleaning them often is a good idea. Otherwise I find them pretty good.

Quoted message said:

The Brava is steel with Sora components. The 1200C is alum
with Tiagra components. Sora is the bottom of the Shimano
line. Will they hold up over time?

i have a 2002 fuji finest bike with all sora components,
still working fine after 5700 miles.

how long do you think it will take her to ride that far?

🙂

wle.

On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 19:59:37 GMT, "Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Sora works extremely well, and looks like it should be
durable. There's only one thing about it that bugs me -- I
can't reach the little "upshift" lever from the drops. This
wouldn't be a problem if you rarely ride in the drops, or
if you have really long thumbs, like Uma Thurman in that
Tom Robbins movie.

"Even Cowgirls Get the Blues", actually a Gus Van Sant movie
(with a pretty amazing cast) from a Tom Robbins novel.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net
home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

In article <[email hidden]>, Sheldon
Brown says...

Quoted message said:

The Chicago lakefront is dead flat and gears are pretty
superfluous there anyway, unless the Hawk Wind is blowing.

I live in Evanston, on the boarder of Chicago, and have
never heard of the Hawk Wind. Plenty of Pigeons though but
they don't make much of a breeze.