tigra or 105 triple chainset

radiation man

will i notice the difference between a shimano tigra triple chainset or a shimano 105

nomadicbry

105 will be lighter not quite sure you'll notice the difference… id recommend you get rid of the triple and get a compact double.. you'll notice the weight drop for sure

pottssteve

I have Tiagra on the winter bike and 105 on the summer bike - they are pretty much the same in terms of performance.

Steve

ekimdoow

I ran a triple setup for a while, always found it a bit trickier to setup correctly and didn't stay indexed for as long as a double .
If you are tackling some mean hills you might benefit from the triple but I'd rather stick with the double and build up the strength.

Monty Dog

I think you'll find the only difference is the quality of the finish and chainrings.

simon_e

nomadicbry wrote:

105 will be lighter not quite sure you'll notice the difference… id recommend you get rid of the triple and get a compact double.. you'll notice the weight drop for sure

Yeah, sure. Like the 250g difference between riding with an empty water bottle and one that's half full.
:roll:

With 105 you're mainly paying for better(?) finish and undetectably lighter crankarms, but noticeably lighter wallet. That's the power of marketing. The difference is tiny. Spend the money on decent tyres or put it towards some nice wheels, that is where you'll feel a difference.

Anonymous

Simon E wrote:

nomadicbry wrote:

With 105 you're mainly paying for better(?) finish and undetectably lighter crankarms, but noticeably lighter wallet. That's the power of marketing. The difference is tiny. Spend the money on decent tyres or put it towards some nice wheels, that is where you'll feel a difference.

That may be the case, but why go Tiagra then? Is there a Sora triple? or how about the lower Shimano's.
Is Ultegra and DA a waste of money too, or just 105?

I am not sure about changing just the chainring, but it's 105 (or above) all the way for me as a groupset over Tiagra.

careful

Doesnt the Tiagra have a steel granny ring? (not that it would weigh a lot more).

simon_e

Carbonator wrote:

Is Ultegra and DA a waste of money too, or just 105?

No it's not a waste - if you have Ultegra etc that's great. Honestly. I'm not going to criticise your groupset. The OP asked what they are getting for the extra cost. The answer is: not a lot.

9 speed Sora may be fine, I don't know. The 9 speed chainrings are usually 10 speed compatible (the 9sp Tiagra triple used the same rings as 105). But if running 10 speed chain, front mech & shifters I'd want to be sure the throw or gap between the rings was compatible. The 10 speed Tiagra chainset doesn't cost much more than Sora, but there's a big jump in price to 105.

hjghg5

I have one of each and I can't say that I notice much difference. The 105 is on a slighly lighter bike anyway, which is more of a noticeable difference than the weight of the chainset, but the shifting on both feels roughly similar. I was originally looking for a 105 triple for my new winter bike but ended up with the tiagra, and it doesn't feel like I've sacrificed any performance.

marcusjb

ekimdoow wrote:

I ran a triple setup for a while, always found it a bit trickier to setup correctly and didn't stay indexed for as long as a double .
If you are tackling some mean hills you might benefit from the triple but I'd rather stick with the double and build up the strength.

Depends on the kind of riding the OP is doing; if they are riding loaded, then a triple is very desirable.

I run a triple on the audax bike. I very rarely have to use the granny ring, but when I do, I am glad it's there!

As for feeling the differences between Tiagra and 105 - no you probably won't feel the differences (even the weight difference).

Shimano are now in the tricky position where the trickle down from the top end group sets means that, certainly, 105 (and almost certainly, Tiagra) is plenty good enough in terms of performance for the vast majority of riders. The key is in the set up, and a well set up Tiagra drive train will be a million times better than a poorly setup Dura Ace one.

Clearly as you go up the group sets, weight lowers. But as discussed a bazillion and one times, most of us won't really notice the differences (and many would be best served by losing weight from their bodies first). It's primarily marketting fluff to guilt us into buying the more expensive stuff.

The only place where I can truly feel differences on the road, is with tyres and wheels.