9 Speed Sora Levers Upgrade

chriscarney
chriscarney Posts: 5
edited May 2013 in Road beginners
I'm sure this has been asked 100 times before but I cant seem to find a definitive answer.

I've a 9 speed triple with Shimano Sora kit. I'm getting fed up with the thumb levers & would like to upgrade, although it seems my options are somewhat limited if I just want to upgrade the levers & leave everything else intact.

Is my only option to find some older Tiagra 9 speed levers or am I stuffed & forced to upgrade the whole drivetrain to 105 or similar?

Advice greatfully appreciated.

Thanks

Chris

Comments

  • snoopsmydogg
    snoopsmydogg Posts: 1,110
    New sora levers are 9 speed and no longer have the thumb shifter iirc
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    If you go to 5700, then you will need a 10 speed cassette but you probably get away with a 9 speed chain if it is fairly new and you dont want to add that in.
    Merlin have some at a very decent price.

    Fitting is a 3 out of 5 job only because it is a fiddly but not complicated job and you want a neat finish.
    If you need a lbs to fit you might as well throw the bike at them for the upgrade.
  • chriscarney
    chriscarney Posts: 5
    So I can switch out the old Sora levers for the new style with no other problems? Sounds straightforward to me?
  • joeweston3
    joeweston3 Posts: 40
    I think white still sell their nine speed microshift levers, relatively cheap as well i think, compared to shimano levers anyway
  • hipshot
    hipshot Posts: 371
    I did this a while back with some old 9spd Ultegra levers, they worked well with the Sora group..

    New 9spd Sora or Tiagra should work just fine too.
  • night_porter
    night_porter Posts: 888
    chriscarney wrote:
    So I can switch out the old Sora levers for the new style with no other problems? Sounds straightforward to me?

    Yes you can and yes it is easy.

    Search for Shimano ST-3503 (Sora) or Shimano ST-4503 (Tiagra) levers and you will be fine. They will be a straight replacement and you do not need to worry about changing cassette, chain or derailleur.

    You may even find that you can unscrew the lever from the bracket and put on the new lever (after re-threading the cables) without the need to replace the bar tape

    NP
  • chriscarney
    chriscarney Posts: 5
    Great, thanks for all the help
  • Raffles
    Raffles Posts: 1,137
    the old thumbshifter on the sora blows chunks and the newest ones with shifters in same style as 105 should be a massive upgrade for the OP
    2012 Cannondale CAAD 8 105
  • snoopsmydogg
    snoopsmydogg Posts: 1,110
    Raffles wrote:
    the old thumbshifter on the sora blows chunks and the newest ones with shifters in same style as 105 should be a massive upgrade for the OP

    Really, why?

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