Upgrading. A mish mash of parts and 105 domination.
dragonontheedge
Posts: 496
I have been upgrading my Spesh Allez 18 with 105 components.
The current group set consists of Sora shifters, 105 compact chain set, front mech, 105 brakes and so far a standard rear mech being a Tiagra equipped with Roller Boy sealed cartridge bearings.
Further improvements have been Mavic Askium wheels and new cables all round.
So far I have been lucky enough to obtain all of the components, to include the wheel set, from Ebay or on here in "as new" or new condition.
Much to my delight the 105 components have worked very well with the Tiagra rear mech and the Sora shifters. In fact the quality of the gear change is beyond my expectation. The front mech is precise although the left changer is a little agricultural, accurate nevertheless without a single missed selection.
As for the rear mech, the phrase "accurate and smooth" does not adequately describe this. The gear changes are ultra smooth, in fact so good that they are almost imperceptible resulting in a glance between the legs being required to check the rear mech has actually moved at all. Either up or down the change is silky. The right hand changer requires the gentlest of nudges to engage the next gear with almost no effort being required.
I really can’t see that any further improvement can be had by changing either the shifters or the rear mech. My head says "you have nailed it" and the heart says "you are three components short of a full 105 group set".
Ultimately my "heart" will rule the day as I lack any sense and reason when it comes to shiny tactile pieces of metal. But, and its a big but, do you think I will experience a further improvement in the quality of shift or will it just result in a warm glow inside from seeing the legend "105" emblazoned all over my bike ?
The one any only advantage I can see coming from using 105 shifters ( and the same could be said of the Tiagra shifters ) is convenience of changing gear, either up or down, whilst on the drops.
Your thoughts.
Al
The current group set consists of Sora shifters, 105 compact chain set, front mech, 105 brakes and so far a standard rear mech being a Tiagra equipped with Roller Boy sealed cartridge bearings.
Further improvements have been Mavic Askium wheels and new cables all round.
So far I have been lucky enough to obtain all of the components, to include the wheel set, from Ebay or on here in "as new" or new condition.
Much to my delight the 105 components have worked very well with the Tiagra rear mech and the Sora shifters. In fact the quality of the gear change is beyond my expectation. The front mech is precise although the left changer is a little agricultural, accurate nevertheless without a single missed selection.
As for the rear mech, the phrase "accurate and smooth" does not adequately describe this. The gear changes are ultra smooth, in fact so good that they are almost imperceptible resulting in a glance between the legs being required to check the rear mech has actually moved at all. Either up or down the change is silky. The right hand changer requires the gentlest of nudges to engage the next gear with almost no effort being required.
I really can’t see that any further improvement can be had by changing either the shifters or the rear mech. My head says "you have nailed it" and the heart says "you are three components short of a full 105 group set".
Ultimately my "heart" will rule the day as I lack any sense and reason when it comes to shiny tactile pieces of metal. But, and its a big but, do you think I will experience a further improvement in the quality of shift or will it just result in a warm glow inside from seeing the legend "105" emblazoned all over my bike ?
The one any only advantage I can see coming from using 105 shifters ( and the same could be said of the Tiagra shifters ) is convenience of changing gear, either up or down, whilst on the drops.
Your thoughts.
Al
Hey, maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked, pal!
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Comments
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If you've found a set up that you're very happy with then leave well alone. After all don't forget thta you could screw it all up by "upgrading" to 105.0
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Moving to 105 shifters will mean you're going to 10 speed which will mean shifters, cassette and chain.
I too would be tempted to leave it as it is if it's working well and you're happy with Sora shifters. 9sp chain will last longer and be cheaper to replace.0 -
If you was to upgrade the shifters would you buy new or 2nd hand ? If the latter you could stay 9 speed. Also you would be able to do multiple gear changes which I'm not a 100% sure is the case with Sora's.
But then again if you like your current set up, why change.0 -
ascurrell wrote:If you was to upgrade the shifters would you buy new or 2nd hand ? If the latter you could stay 9 speed. .
Secondhand to keep the cost reasonable.
The Soras are capable of doing multi shifting.
Why change ? vanity I suppose
Hey, maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked, pal!0 -
Yeh, if you are happy then why change.
To be fair you find some of the lower end new bikes have a mixture of groupset.
Some with mixed makes especially with chainset.
Enjoy your trusty steed, when things wear out that could be the time.0
