So, possibly looking at a new road bike.
Is it worth spending an extra £150 for a 105 groupset, over Tiagra?

Yes.

+1

Yep.

No. The new Tiagra is very good and closer to 105 than Sora. My old man has Tiagra, I have 105, mine is better but there is really not as much in it as there used to be.

The step-up from Sora to Tiagra is imo bigger than going from Tiagra to 105 (given the shifters) but 105 is nice.

What’s the difference in components?
I presume since its 2013 bikes, its the 2013 groupset.

defo yes

By all acounts the 2013 Sora is very close to 105. Bikes at that price would benifit a lot more by throwing the extra 150 pounds at the wheels than the groupset.

Good point on the wheels. Not sure what the spec is. I’m looking at the Genesis Equilibrium, and its a toss-up between the 10 and the 20 (I can only dream of the Ti)

By all acounts the 2013 Sora is very close to 105. Bikes at that price would benifit a lot more by throwing the extra 150 pounds at the wheels than the groupset.

+1, I had sora for ages, no compaints. Switched to a 2hand DA groupset, the difference is marginal at best. A bit less free-play in the shifter levers, lighter and less plasticy, less flex in the levers, but TBH it made little difference compared to spending £150 on some wheels.

The only place I’d not try and save money is the cassette, stick with Shimano or SRAM alloy bodied cassettes (or campag if that’s what you use). I tried a cheep One23 cassette and it was horrible.

IIRC, Tiagra still doesn’t have the concealed gear cabling of 105 and up. I like the cleaned up look and haven’t had issue with the more convoluted routing, but horses for courses. Still think it’s worth it, but the point RE:wheels being a better upgrade is a good point.

Personally I would, I consider 105 to be the start of the “better quality” price point. But I am a sucker for the marketing!

When you say “groupset” do you the full groupset or just the mechs and shifters?

A lot of the manufacturers put a higher model rear mech on, as this is the first place anyone looks. While the rest of the parts are from lower ranges or cheaper brands.

As mentioned above the cassettes and things can make a big difference as well, particularly regarding how quickly they wear out.

As i say, I can’t find the ful spec of both bikes, but have found a bit about the 20:

Frame : Reynolds 725
Fork : Alloy Steerer with carbon legs
Headset : FSA Aheadset
Shifters : Shimano 105 STI, 10-speed
Rear derailleur : Shimano 105
Front derailleur : Shimano 105 band
Chainset : Shimano R-565 compact 34 / 50T
Bottom Bracket : Shimano external bearing
Chain : Shimano
Cassette / Freewheel : Shimano 105 12-28T 10-speed
Rims : DT Swiss R-450 32 hole
Hubs : Shimano 105 5700
Spokes : Stainless Steel
Tyres : Continental UltraSport 25C
Brakes : Tektro R317 57 mm
Brake levers : Shimano 105 STI levers
Handlebars : Genesis 6061 shallow drop
Grips / Tape : Ventilated microfibre
Stem : Genesis 6061, 31.8mm
Saddle : Genesis Road, Cr-Mo rail
Seatpost : Genesis 6061 27.2mm
Pedals : Shimano PD-M505 clipless

The Equilibrium 00 is Sora throughout, so I imagine the 10 to be Tiagra.

IIRC, Tiagra still doesn’t have the concealed gear cabling of 105 and up. I like the cleaned up look and haven’t had issue with the more convoluted routing, but horses for courses. Still think it’s worth it, but the point RE:wheels being a better upgrade is a good point.

Concealed cables were generaly accepted as a step backwards, adding way more friction to the cables. I’ve got the previous DA with external cables and trying it back to back with the current outgoing shifters it is much smoother.

So unless Tiagra’s gained the new internals of the DA shifters it seems unlikley it’ll be better.

From cycling weekly’s ‘first ride’ of the new 9000 series:

As I rolled away from the Service Course, I was struck by just how light the shifting action was compared with the 7900 mechanical – I mean world’s apart. Let’s be honest now (and we think most would agree) the 7900 Dura Ace shifters were not Shimano’s best effort.

TINAS: Yes, I know all that^^^^ – I’m just saying that it makes the bar area a lot tidier, which I like, and I personally haven’t noticed much (any?) difference in shift performance between my current full 5700 setup after ~2000km and the older 5600 setup it replaced.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/road/equilibrium/equilibrium-20/specs

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/road/equilibrium/equilibrium-10/specs

😀

I’m in the market for a road bike and was looking for a 105 groupset but what is the equivalent in campagnolo and SRAM?

Sorry to hijack the thread

OP if you “want” 105 then buy it, if you prefer to save the cash or spend it elsewhere (wheels etc) I’d say you won’t regret it, Tiagra is v good IMO.

I’m in the market for a road bike and was looking for a 105 groupset but what is the equivalent in campagnolo and SRAM?

SRAM equivalent would be Rival, which is what I have on my PX.

I’ve got a 10 and have no complaints about the Tiagra groupset. It’s my first road bike tho so I don’t know any difference.

I preferred the grey (10) frame over the red (20). And being a Clydesdale I preferred standard 32 spoke rims over those on the 20.

elliptic – Member

I’m in the market for a road bike and was looking for a 105 groupset but what is the equivalent in campagnolo and SRAM?

SRAM equivalent would be Rival, which is what I have on my PX.

And for Campag the equivalent would arguably be Centaur…

tomthumb – that’s the 2012 model, I’m looking at next year’s.

oops!

i’m interested in an equilibrium too. tbh not that much difference between tiagra & 105 im(limited) experience. wheels are the same (tiagra/105 hubs almost no difference).

which colour do you like best?

i had old 9 speed tiagra on my previous road bike, it was great.
i have 2012 tiagra on my new bike, it works perfect, however i do feel that the smaller shift lever has a slightly ‘plasticky’ feel to it.
havent used modern 105 with concealed cables, but the comments re increased friction sound reasonable to me.
if i could pick and choose every component i would upgrade the shifters to 105 purely to get rid of the washing line cables in front of me. rest of tiagra group is fine btw.