pecking order for Shimano road gears
gunny_bedford
Posts: 347
Hi,
Being mainly a MTB rider, i am moving into road work, but having spent a lot of money on my latest Trek Fuel EX dont have much to spend on a road bike, hence i got a Carrera from Halfords. I would like to upgrade the gears though, even second hand or new, at present it has Tiagra front and rear mech and shifters, however i am not too sure, how the road gears are ranked, i understand MTB gears ie Deore, LX, XT, XTR etc, but how do the various 105's, tiagras, Soras, Ultergras etc rank ??
thanks
Neil
Being mainly a MTB rider, i am moving into road work, but having spent a lot of money on my latest Trek Fuel EX dont have much to spend on a road bike, hence i got a Carrera from Halfords. I would like to upgrade the gears though, even second hand or new, at present it has Tiagra front and rear mech and shifters, however i am not too sure, how the road gears are ranked, i understand MTB gears ie Deore, LX, XT, XTR etc, but how do the various 105's, tiagras, Soras, Ultergras etc rank ??
thanks
Neil
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They're all pretty good nowadays. 105 is the start of the more serious stuff, with Ultegra and Dura Ace above that.
105 is probably all you'll need unless you are really, really serious and is very good indeed (I have this groupset).
One thing you should watch for is the cost of replacements. For example, cassettes, which you may need to change 2 or 3 times a year. Commitment to Dura Ace can be very pricey if you do a reasonable mileage.0 -
The Ultegra SL is no better than ultegra... just a different colour.
Isn't it?0 -
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Nah, its just a grey colour. No weight gain, and the SL "ice grey "pedals are £20 cheaper on Wiggle.
Purely cosmetic.0 -
Scrumple wrote:Nah, its just a grey colour. No weight gain, and the SL "ice grey "pedals are £20 cheaper on Wiggle.
Purely cosmetic.Shimano's latest road groupset is Ultegra SL, which has been introduced to fill the gap between Ultegra and Dura-Ace on both weight and performance while retaining the affordability that made the standard Ultegra group such a success. Ultegra continues unchanged.
http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/artic ... 55/v/1/sp/0 -
It is slightly lighter in weight and looks cool 8)
it's looks black until the light catches it
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ah ha it starts too make sense ! thanks, i was looking at 105 kit, hence my other posting in the classified fourm asking if anybody had any 105 bits going, i assumed that seemed to be the "workhorse" level of decent kit that most people would look to use. Should i stay with 9 gears, as that is what my Tiagra is, or should i go for 10 speed 105 ?
i take it i can mix the various types? ie tiarga shifters, 105 rear mech etc ??0 -
At least my half hearted protestations drew out the real answer. I was too lazy to look!
Apologies.
I reckon a tonne of coal is heavier than a tonne of feathers, too.0 -
djb1971 nice to see you are using time pedals on your road bike ! i have them on my trek MTB and being a skin flint was looking to put them on my road bike so to keep the same pair of shoes !! however was not too sure if that was a good idea.0
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Gunny Bedford wrote:i take it i can mix the various types? ie tiarga shifters, 105 rear mech etc ??
Yes, as long as you use 9-speed chain, cassette and shifters together or 10-speed chain, cassette and shifters together.
So you could use 10-speed mechs or chainset with an otherwise 9-speed drivetrain.0 -
Gunny Bedford wrote:djb1971 nice to see you are using time pedals on your road bike !
I have them on all bikes so that I can wear the same shoes. They are also knee friendly and I can walk about when I get off the bike without looking like I've cacked my pants
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are they really that knee friendly? they are the only clipless pedals i have used, so cant really compare, i have bad knees, too many years in the army humping heavy bergens around, already had key hole surgery on one knee a few years ago. However even with the time pedals my left knee often starts to really ache after an hours or so, i guess nothing can be done about that ? i take it you can still cycle with artificial knee caps !? :shock:0
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how come my shimano sport exage groupset doesn't get a mention, I thought it was cutting edge gear0
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Time have good lateral/angular float allowing slight movement to help with knee problems caused by other types of more fixed pedals
Knee problems are usually cured by setting your bike up correctly : saddle height, fore/aft etc.0 -
DP :!:0
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Noooooooooooooooo!
Lies! Conspiracy! More Lies!
The correct order is:
#1 Sora - One of the highlights of this group is the rear derailleur, at least it was before they down-graded it. The older model, featured: micro-roughened surface finish (similar to zipp dimples, but even better aerodynamics); 'carbon' composite knuckle, oversized cable clamp bolts (if you're lucky you'll find limited-edition ones like this with dedicated oversized pulley fixing bolts too :P), the works. Shimano could only afford to develop one group to rival that of campagnolo's superior thumb-shifter mechanism... this is it. The créme de la créme of road bike groups.
#2 Tiagra - 9 speed group to aid durability. Boasts aero leading edges for the brake calipers, although it too loses the micro-finish of last year."aero-cone" of the sora front derailleur.
#3 105 This is where the quality noticeably starts to drops off. Thinner chain & sprockets... flimsy alloy derailleur cages, plastic cassette spacers, that sort off thing.
#4 Ultegra Even the name sounds dodgey this far down the list. Despite that, it's one of the most widely used groups because no one can afford a full sora groupset.
#5 Ultegra SL SL, affectionately known as "Super Lump", as in it's really heavy. Just look at the beefy profiles. The quality just isn't there - levers will corrode within 5 minutes of looking at tthem.
#6 Dura Ace Stay away from this junk. Reserve only for commuting or winter riding. They're even going to hide chainring bolts for the 2009 model, meaning you'll have a bugger of a job to get those chainrings off when they wear out... just nuts... :twisted:0 -
I don't think that there will be much/any difference in shifting between 105 and Tiagra derailleurs. Imho, you would be better off buying a saddle you really like, some great bib shorts or some swanky race tyres. All of those will be noticeable on the bike, far more so than a one level upgrade up the Shimano hierachy. Tiagra is already pretty good.0
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me too. If it was my money I'd stick with the 9 speed Tiagra and spend on bibshorts, wheels / tyres, saddle etc0
