Sora 9 speed to Tiagra 10 speed

worthwhile upgrade on existing bike/frame? or pointless/unnoticeable etc.?

I cant comment on tiagra, but I went from sora to ultergra 6800 on my giant defy and it changed the bike, if you can go an extra £75 and get the 105 groupset, currently £335 at CRC, and ultegra only £538 (but you would need 11 speed hub too) expensive but should last years.

Goto 105 if upgrading. I wouldn’t bother going one level up.

I have Sora on my CAAD8 and hate it, its the 2012 with the silly thumb shifters.
I plan on running the group set into the ground then switching to 105. As mentioned above 105 seems to be a fantastic base and the price over Tiagra seems to be justified.
105 is going 11 speed so you can get some great deals now, see the post with the CRC discount codes, I think it would bring the full group set down to around 285.

Tiagra 10 speed is excellent and you will notice a difference. It shifts just as well as my Ultegra 6600 and better than 10 speed 105. If you have a nice frame like a CAAD8, then a better groupset is worthy upgrade. 105 is, however, pretty cheap at the moment too. The brakes, shifters and crankset will be worth upgrading. Derailleurs, particularly the FD, don’t get much better with price, just a little lighter.

It’s nice not having the little thumb thingys. Tiagra also has little shifter windows built in which is rather sweet. Subject to cables, chain/cassette wear etc, it also seems to shift as nicely as my wife’s older 10sp 105, and my even older 9sp DA.
If you are not getting the matching brakes you would do well to make sure the cable pull is the same as your old brakes/shifters; every so often shimano ‘upgrade’ this too meaning you have to compromise on brake feel or spend more money. 👿 Google will find you a chart that lists ‘compatibilty’. They all work, just some a lot nicer than others.

Watching this thread with interest as I have a Cannondale Synapse with Sora gearing & was wondering whether to upgrade the transmission first, OR invest in a lighter wheelset first.

Where would my money be best spent?

Wheelset. The Cannondale stock wheels are dreadful. Our CAAD8 wheels weigh a tonne and went out of true very quickly. Then shifters and a new rear cassette.

If upgrading the groupset take a look at the pricing on Ribble:
Tiagra 10 speed 4600 – from £241
105 10 Speed 5700 – from 299

Wheels +1 it’s the one place where manufacturers save money.

I went from a C’dale caad8 sora to giant defy carbon 3 with Tiagra (I think it’s the 3). I didn’t notice any appreciable difference in shifting quality between sora and Tiagra, in fact he downshift action on sora with the little thumb lever is more precise/mechanical feel to it. I then upgraded the defy to 105 as Merlin we’re doing a great deal on the groupset and I wanted to flow the Tiagra down to my wet weather bike. Again shifting quality was not any different, if anything not quite as precise as sora on the downshifts. The internally routed cables are nice but going from sora to 105 don’t expect a noticeable difference or improvement in terms of shifting quality. 105 is definitely nicer kit so better from a bling point of view. It’s certainly put me off upgrading up the range anymore. It seems a big price hike to go on to ultegra and even more onto DA and I’m not sure you could justify it – I can’t. In contrast the SRAM set up I had on a rental bike on holiday was much better in terms of shift feel. Very mechanical and positive rifle-bolt like action. If you can get used to the bonkers double tap I think SRAM has a much nicer action to it. Though it was Red so I’m comparing top of the range kit from one manufacturer with mid range kit from another.

Wheels might be a wiser investment if your upgrading. That way you can future proof for 11spd.

I’m having 2nd thoughts about building a different frame, the only difference it’ll make is weight or gaining discs. The brakes are pants so tiagra or disc will improve things

Guessing the current frame/fork come in at at least 2.5kg, kona/steel

I bought a load of tiagra parts from ribble a while ago on offer

I’ve got some half decent wheels already

Say what??? The 105 on my cx and other rod bike is leaps and bounds ahead of the sora on my Defy. I can’t stand those shifters.

I wasn’t keen on the ergonomics of the thumb button shifters on the Sora, but I preferred the more mechanical snapping action of them – you were left in no doubt whatsoever when the downshift had actually happened. The tiara and 105 are a bit vague on the downshifts I find. Sort of feels like the connection between the lever and cable is broken – you’re not always sure or can feel exactly when the chain has shifted. Especially with the front changer where you have the intermittent trimming ‘half’ shift – I can never feel when that has engaged, its just too vague. I sort of want a nice positive clicking action which you don’t get with tiara or 105. Its only on the down shifts, the upshifts are nice.

Sorry, not saying the upgrade is worthwhile – just saying that if you’re after a night and day improvement, which you might expect given the cost of the upgrade, you might be disappointed. If you’re only the budget for one upgrade then there might be other things that will deliver a better bang for your buck.

As others have said, spend a bit more and go for 105.

I went from 9 speed Sora to 10 speed 105 and its a class above, really noticeable and just to be shallow it looks better too.

Next year i’ll go 11 speed now that its coming to the 105 level stuff too but i think i’ll need new wheels too.

i love the little button prefer it to paddle on the lever as im rarley on the drops
conqueror what condition are your sora 9speed stis in?