STIs: Microshift 20 speed vs Tiagra

richVSrich

Anyone used microshift 20 speed? any good? or should i try and find something with tiagra?

spasypaddy

microshift is awful. avoid avoid avoid.

the shifting is awkward, its uncomfortable and doesnt perform very well.

i was running the '105 equivalent'' and it was shockingly bad. i swapped it for 105 and its much much better.

richVSrich

shame to hear that...but 105 doesnt show you what gear youre in right?

105 vs tiagra? much in it?

BigDonn

I've never tried it but was put off by the positioning of the up/down shift levers - they're very close together and small for my big hands! That said, I've seen a couple of decent reviews - see if you can test ride a bike and see what you think.

Tiagra shifters are very good imo - very easy to use and shifting is good.

spasypaddy

i run, 105, ultegra and dura ace. none of it shows me what gear im in. thats a minor issue because you dont really need to know what gear you are in. its more important to know how your legs are spinning.

if you can afford 105 then get 105, its 10 speed so much more upgradeable over tiagra.

105 STIs can be used all the way up to dura ace mechs

UndercoverElephant

I have both. On the BeOne I have Microshift Arsis, which is full-carbon and very light. The action is quite heavy and clicky, but it shifts very well and hasn't caused me any problems at all. I have the Arsis front and rear mechs too, it all works very well together, in my opinion. Somehow the bike seemed to be more direct in putting the power down than when I had Tiagra on, which seems crazy, as it should make no difference. The Microshift shifters have separate levers for the up and down-shifts, and one for the brakes (no chance of jamming the brake on when shifting into the big ring).

I have Tiagra on the Equilibrium, it's heavier, dependable and, when used in conjunction with decent cables, very light shifting. Shifting is easier from the drops too. I like both, but it's horses for courses.

If I was comparing a cheaper Microshift against Tiagra, I would almost definitely go with Shimano, unless the price difference was big.

ketsbaia

105 shifters are utter pony. Get Ultegra if you can.

japsy

richVSrich wrote:

shame to hear that...but 105 doesnt show you what gear youre in right?

105 vs tiagra? much in it?

I don't think you have a choice. You say 20 speed in your title indicating 2*10 and I believe Tiagra is only a 9sp rear shifter so you have to go 105.

esspeebee

richVSrich wrote:

shame to hear that...but 105 doesnt show you what gear youre in right?

105 vs tiagra? much in it?

Your legs will tell you whether you're in the right gear, which is what matters far more than the numbers.

105 vs tiagra is, as japsy noted, 10 speed versus 9 speed. Which you need depends on the rest of your drivetrain. They both work just fine.

Confusedboy

Just a bit of a plug for gear position indicators. They are useful for informing you what combinations of cogs you are using, as there are some which you will want to avoid in order to keep drivechain wear to an acceptable level. In conjunction with a cadence-monitoring computer, they can help improve your technique and therefore increase your speed/reduce your energy consumpiton/or any combination you like of those things.

Your legs do indeed tell you when a gear change is required, but not quickly enough or how straight your chain run is.

desweller

ketsbaia wrote:

105 shifters are utter pony. Get Ultegra if you can.

???

Mine have been rock-solid for thousands of miles in all weather conditions... Including a shunt or two.

Twostage

japsy wrote:

richVSrich wrote:

shame to hear that...but 105 doesnt show you what gear youre in right?

105 vs tiagra? much in it?

I don't think you have a choice. You say 20 speed in your title indicating 2*10 and I believe Tiagra is only a 9sp rear shifter so you have to go 105.

That reminds me, I saw something on the web about shimano announcing 10 speed tiagra but haven't seen a bike with them on yet. Wonder when they are going to launch them.

Headhuunter

DesWeller wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

105 shifters are utter pony. Get Ultegra if you can.

???

Mine have been rock-solid for thousands of miles in all weather conditions... Including a shunt or two.

I've had problems with my front triple 105 shifter, sometimes it won't go up into top chainring, I find I have to shift down and then shift up both front and rear at the same time to get it to move up.... No amount of fettling seems to help

ketsbaia

DesWeller wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

105 shifters are utter pony. Get Ultegra if you can.

???

Mine have been rock-solid for thousands of miles in all weather conditions... Including a shunt or two.

Left shifters are notoriously bad. Shimano have tacitly accepted there's a problem with a huge batch of them (although not publicly and not enough to have stopped flogging them, of course) by swapping them for Ultegra shifters if you continue to send them back for fixing.

I've had huge problems with mine, including an awful period of around half an hour at the bottom of the Col du Glandon when I couldn't get the fcuking thing into the small chainring. That hurt.

Then when it did start to work, it continually threw the chain off, resulting in scuffed chainset, massively gnarled chainstays and huge scratches in the bottom bracket area of my nice carbon Supersix. Fortunately, Cannondale replaced the frame for the next year's hi-mod version, so I guess I've got something to thank the shifters for.

richVSrich

well i quite like checking quickly what gear im in, especially if i have to stop quite suddenly..

ok, so i will probably go for shimano...if this 10 speed tiagra exists, that would be sweet. it is true that they are phasing out 9 speed? or am i just creating rumours?

DonDaddyD

I have one simple rule to upgrading Shimano components

There isn't much difference (weight not withstanding) in the quality of shifting between Sora and Tiagra. Tiagra and 105. 105 and Ultegra. Ultegra and Dura Ace. I don't see going one model up in the range as avoiding the law of diminishing returns.

However there is a difference in the quality of shifting between Sora and 105. Tiagra and Ultegra. 105 and Dura Ace.

Therefore if you have Sora and want to upgrade got to 105. Tiagra? Then buy Ultegra. Ultegra? You could go for Di2 but at that level it really is about performance and weight saving so perhaps there are psychological and weight saving gains to Dura Ace.

This, I believe, is cemented in the fact tha it isn't uncommon to get bikes with a Sora/Tiagra mix or 105/Ultegra mix. You would never get a mass produced 105/Dura Ace mix for example.

I have a Sora/Tiagra mix on my commuter and Ultegra SL on my best bike. I'm always happy switching between the two.

As for Microshift... Are they new? I thought only Campag, SRAM and Shimano made bicycle drivetrains...

bigmat

Confusedboy wrote:

Just a bit of a plug for gear position indicators. They are useful for informing you what combinations of cogs you are using, as there are some which you will want to avoid in order to keep drivechain wear to an acceptable level. In conjunction with a cadence-monitoring computer, they can help improve your technique and therefore increase your speed/reduce your energy consumpiton/or any combination you like of those things.

Your legs do indeed tell you when a gear change is required, but not quickly enough or how straight your chain run is.

Its not that hard to look at your casette is it?! And you usually know all about it if your chain line is wrong (just need a quick trim on the front mech - you can do that with Shimano right?)

UndercoverElephant

DonDaddyD wrote:

As for Microshift... Are they new? I thought only Campag, SRAM and Shimano made bicycle drivetrains...

They are relatively new to the market in the UK, made in Taiwan, and have great group-set names like Arsis (Arses) and Bona (Boner).

Confdis have started using the Arsis groupset on their TT bikes.

They are also marketed under several other brands. My shifters are lighter than Dura-ace, but were cheaper than Tiagra. They aren't half bad, either. Not as smooth as Shimano, though, but shift very well.

http://www.microshift.biz/ppdtlist.asp?area=51

The Rookie

DonDaddyD wrote:

As for Microshift... Are they new? I thought only Campag, SRAM and Shimano made bicycle drivetrains...

I guess Suntour have passed you by as well?

As for knowing what gear you are in, I have a few decents to junctions on my commute where I'll be downshifting between 2 and 4 gears to be in the right gear before I pull away, so no point finding I'm in the wrong gear when it's too late, so I'll stick with my indicators ta!

SImon

DonDaddyD

You know we have become really spoiled if a gear position indicator is needed (and a must) to tell the rider if he is in the right gear.

Jeez....

richVSrich

i wasnt saying i look at the indicators all the time, its just that i think they are useful from time to time.....maybe im having a good day and getting confused why the gear seems so easy! maybe theres a headwind and im not sure how tough things are going...maybe im running out of low gears and need to change the front down..i really dont want to have to look at my rear sprocket in the middle of things

anyways, found that tiagra are going 10 speed:

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/pro ... -2012.html

DonDaddyD

richVSrich wrote:

i wasnt saying i look at the indicators all the time, its just that i think they are useful from time to time.....maybe im having a good day and getting confused why the gear seems so easy! maybe theres a headwind and im not sure how tough things are going...maybe im running out of low gears and need to change the front down..i really dont want to have to look at my rear sprocket in the middle of things

Yeah that's the bit I don't get. It's not about knowing what gear you are in that makes it OK. It's how your legs feel. If the gear is too light go up one until you find a gear that is comfortable. If the gear is too big/heavy then downshift until you find a gear that is comfortable.

That's how it works.

It's like driving, I listen to my engine (and look at the rev counter - similar to feeling my cadence) to tell me when to shift up a gear. I don't look at the gear stick. (Yes I may check my speed).

richVSrich

yes i know its how my legs feel, but that what i tried to explain:

if it is easy, is the gears, or am i having a superhuman day?
if its hard, is it the gears, or am i having an old man day?

plus if im getting to the lower end, maybe its time to change to the lower chain ring so im not crossing my chain?

desweller

From time to time, especially at the end of a long day in the saddle, I have wished I had gear indicators. It would definitely have helped me avoid getting into a couple of rather severe cross-chain situations...

The Rookie

I use the indicators only when stopping, never when cycling when as others say I listen to my legs, but when coming to a give way I select the right gear for pulling away, saying listen to your legs is dumb when you may have just tried to pullaway in top.......and as I listen to my legs whilst riding I have no idea of how many gears I need to drop to get into the right one for the giveway!

Simon

rolf_f

Hint - it really isn't the end of the world to occasionally end up with a crossed chain.

The Beginner wrote:

I use the indicators only when stopping, never when cycling when as others say I listen to my legs, but when coming to a give way I select the right gear for pulling away, saying listen to your legs is dumb when you may have just tried to pullaway in top.......and as I listen to my legs whilst riding I have no idea of how many gears I need to drop to get into the right one for the giveway!

Surely you just change up a few gears as you pull up? Easy enough just to look down and back and check small chainring, somewhere middle-ish on the cassette surely?