sora vs tiagra?

This link may be useful.

http://www.bikyle.com/shimanord.htm

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you start to enjoy the road riding scene, then your upgrade / replacement parts path will be easier with the Tiagras as you can substitute other 9-speed groupset parts (from 105s, Ultegra and the pre-2004 Dura-Ace etc).

Cletus75 is right, Tiagra is not only clearly the better group but also has the better upgrade path.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Snarl
Cletus75 is right, Tiagra is not only clearly the better group but also has the better upgrade path.

I’ve been riding on a Trek 1000 equipped with sora for about 3 months (1700 miles) now and have had no problems thus far. One complain I do have is the stupid little thumb shifter Shimano uses on sora instead of the brake/lever combo. While I don’t spend too much time in the drops, having to reach up gets a bit annoying. I would definitely think about how much you intend to ride and how you intend to ride. I’ve enjoyed my bike so far, but as I move onto college I’ll probably sell my current bike and opt for a 5200 instead of buying a car.

I have the Tiagra group (mostly) on my Giant OCR2. My wife has the Ultegra group on her Giant OCR1. Her shifting is slightly more silky than mine. My son's bike has Sora shifters and they are not as easy to shift as bigfloppyllama has reported. If you check the link you see the rough difference in durability of the groups. I personally went cheap, but decided to go with 1 up from the bottom. Your mileage can differ.

I have a 2000 model year 1200 (USA) and it came with a Sora tripple. The 1200 model is made in the USA and the 1000 USA model is made I think in Tiwan. The Sora group worked find for my first bike but once I got a 2002 model year 2300 equipped with Ultegra I could not believe how smooth the shifting was.

If I was going to do it over again I would get the best group I could afford..but I do understand the need for a helmet, shoes etc...but I dont have a lock for my bike if Im not on it then itis in my house.

Hey bigfloppyllama, I love your priorities...a bike instead of a car! Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would avoid the Sora as a full group for many of the above reasons (shifters, 8 speed cassette, etc). As a backup bike I have a Raleigh R500 that uses a mix of 105 (rear der), Tiagra (fr der, levers) and Sora (brakes). Giot it last year for $650. The mix keeps the price lower and the differences between the groups minimized. The goofy Sora shifters alone would drive me nuts, plus you're not talking big bucks anyhow. Best advice is to get a 1 - 2 year old used bike. You'll get a better bike for the bucks.

thanks guys.

Looks like I'm going for the Trek 1200!!! Managed to find a really good price that is only £100 more than I was expecting to pay for the Trek 1000.

I understand what you're saying abou the Sora shifters - a bit suspect I felt. Plus the 1200 has better rims, carbon forks - hopefully all things I will appreciate a bit further down the line!

thanks for all your advice - I think to begin with I was probably seeking re-asurance that I didn't need to buy the more expensive model. I think following advice and more detailed consideration I feel glad that I'm making the decision to get the better model.

Happy cycling

JAmes