Currently having qualms over the cannondale CX range. I really like them and even the Sora comes with a carbon fork, which is nice.

I realise 11 speed 105 will be nice, but I’m not planning on racing and have happily ridden 9 speed on my mtb for ages.

If I get the cheaper groupset then that frees some money up so I can get a reverb for my Rallon…

The CX bike is for commuting, winter road rides and riding on the local tracks that aren’t great for mountain biking on.

So cheaper CX bike and reverb, or will I regret not getting 11 speed?

Ta.

i’ve got 9 speed sora on my commuter, it’s done approx 1million kilometers in all sorts of filth.

it’s good stuff, still shifting nicely too.

no, sora is fine and cheaper to replace when the grind wears stuff out

there isn’t a lot of difference from one groupset to the next. going from sora – dura ace is massively noticable.

9 speed sora is pretty good – it’s the old tiagra anyway. Actually 8 speed sora was ok – it was just the stupid rabbit ears were crap.

9 speed stuff is dirt cheap to replace atm.

The main benefit of 11 speed over 9 is the smaller steps between the gears. If you’re currently running 9 speed and happy with it you’ll be fine with Sora. That said the latest 105 is really nice.

Is 105 over Sora a better step than a static seatpost over a Reverb though?

I have current 10spd Tiagra on one bike and 11spd 105 on the other. Much prefer the performance of the 10spd Tiagra in every respect. The 11spd 105 just seems a little vague, and I find the trim shifts on the front mech quite annoying and seem to result in numerous unintended changes of chainring.

I did post the other week about the Tiagra set-up misbehaving in mud but I’m prepared to believe that’s an adjustment or alignment issue.

Range of cassette is going to play a part. 9 speed to to 28 teeth and the last jump or two are pretty big steps. A larger cassette and I guess the jumps will be even bigger on 9 speed. That said, I guess I notice because I have one 11 speed (Ultegra) bike and the other 9 speed (Sora) so I tend to compare them. If you don’t have both then I guess you wouldn’t know any difference. Front shifting on my Sora is a bit ‘clunky’ in comparison but could be setup.

105 over Sora a better step than a static seatpost over a Reverb though?

God no, reverbs rock my mtb world.

Sora is fine, even if you wanted to start racing it’s fine IME. It’s cheap to replace when things wear out, it works, and i’ve clocked up thousands of miles on the old 8 speed then 9 speed versions without much of a hiccup.

I’ve got 9spd Sora on my commuter.

It’s fairly crap coming from SRAM Red on the nice bike I sold, but it’s done about 6000km this year. The only thing I’ve done is oil the chain once a month when it sounds grumbly and tweak the barrel adjuster on the rear mech once.

It might actually be indestructible!

See, contrary to what has been said above, I don’t like Sora. It’s functionally OK but feels plastic-y and jut a bit rubbish really. However, Tiagra is perfectly good as is 105, new 105 particularly is very good.

I thought Tiagra would be a step up from Sora but was sadly disappointed by the difference [virtually none]. However, 105 is noticeably better than Tiagra.

The shifters are probably the main thing you’d notice. Tiagra and below feel quite plasticky. 105 feels a bit more precise and better quality.

Sora is fine though for what you describe, especially if you’re not riding it back to back with anything from the higher road groupsets.

I have this yr been on 10 speed Ultegra (2012) and Tiagra (2014) on road and cx/tourer respectively. I found the Tiagra lighter on the rear, probably due the under tape routing of the Ultegra. I have just sold the Tiagra kitted bike and will be replacing shortly with new 105 bike. In anticipation I have bought new gear and brake cables and bar tape for the road bike 🙂

I used to have Sora and now have bikes with Tiagra (winter bike), 10 speed 105 (holiday bike) and 11 speed ultegra (summer bike). I can definitely tell the difference between the Ultegra and the others, less so Tiagra and 105. There is a difference but not as much. I ride the 105 and the Tiagra in completely different conditions/terrain so it might not be a fair comparison (the Tiagra goes out in winter in Yorkshire, the 105 rides up Spanish mountains in the sunshine and has never got wet in its life).

I didn’t like the sora because it had the little thumb lever but that has changed now anyway I think.

It’s all personal preference, and different points of view I’m afraid.

9spd Sora is perfectly good, as long as you don’t want super snappy shifting or expect it to be stupidly light. 9 gears on the back is enough spread for most people, if you choose your cassette wisely. It’s cheap and cheerful, and does the job nicely, and has already been pointed out, it’s basically just old 9spd Tiagra rebadged anyway.

10spd Tiagra feels very similar from the hoods, but it’s a bit crisper shifting, and the additional cog on the back can be a boost for many as it either allows an extra cog in the middle of the block where they may otherwise be a noticable gap, or if you run a 12-30 it offers the same gaps as a 12-27 9spd but with an extra bailout gear. 10spd cassettes and chains are now only marginally (about 10% off hand) more expensive than 9spd now, so you can’t rule it out on it costing more to run either. I’ve got a winter bike running 10spd Tiagra right now, and I really rate it. The last one was on 9spd Sora, but I’d pay the extra £50 at RRP for the price difference in groupsets from Sora to Tiagra every time.

11spd 105 is a bit of a funny beast. Just like the 10spd 5700 before it aspired to being Dura-Ace or even Ultegra on a budget, IMO it doesn’t offer enough useful performance or quality improvements over Tiagra to warrant the extra cost. 11spd chains and cassettes are still quite a bit more expensive than 10spd too (though coming down), but whilst I’d argue that a 10th cog on the back is a useful improvement over 9, I just don’t see the need for an 11th for 90% of the public. The public always aspire to 105 over Tiagra, reasoning that Tiagra looks cheaper with the external gear cables, is heavier, and 105 is only about 25% more expensive to buy, but I’d take Tiagra over 105 and keep the money in my pocket personally.

My SRAM Red on my Carbon bike though… You can prize that out of my cold dead hands! 😛

However, 105 is noticeably better than Tiagra.

+1

had or still own 5700 105, 6700 Ultegra and 4600 Tiagra. Tiagra feels less precise and more plasticky than 105, 6700 didnt feel much better than 105 to be worth the extra cash other than having carbon lever blades.

Recently fitted 5800 105 11spd to better half’s pride and joy – it feels light and precise, in contrast to 13thfloormonk’s observations.

I like the little button on Sora and it will be a sad day when my sora 7 speed triple breaks on one of my cross bikes

Which colour do you prefer?

I’ve been running 9sp Sora for well over 18 months now on a daily rider that reliably does 100 commute miles a week, plus use on the Peaks as a CX bike, fairly regular 40’s and 60’s on bridleway stuff and even a straight 110 Road night ride. Coupled with the 517 disc setup it’s been flawless – once I worked out how to adjust the calipers. I swapped out the rings for Stronglight Durals and the cassette for a 12-28 but that was simply because compact double and 11-32 were insane off road.

I’m eying an upgrade to 10sp 105 before it all goes.

If I had to criticise anything, I dislike the gear indicators existing, and if you scuff the windows or bodies on the sti’s crashing or flipping for a flat, you won’t get spares, but really those are unfair criticisms.

Especially for the money it’s awesome.

Doublepost

I have 9 speed tiagra on my commuter/ winter bike and its faultless. New rings, cassette, chain and cables every year and it’s as good as new. Mine normally clocks 3-4000 miles over the winter.

Well that’s clearer than mud, but not by much! Cheers though, I’m edging towards the cheapest of the 3 bikes with Sora so I can get the Reverb…but might push the budget to Tiagra for the extra cog.

Colourwise, they are all pretty much the same, and the finishing kit, hubs, tyres etc all seem similiar if not identical.

Hmm…

8 speed Sora is one of my favourite groupsets, it’s extremely easy shifting due to the external cable routing, the shifters are very light but all aluminium, and nice and slim for comfort. 8 speed chains are wider than 9/10 or 11’s so last longer as do the cassettes and I would actually say the bigger spaces between gears is an advantage in general use because a full sweep of the brifter get you a worthwhile change in gearing.

105 conversely is heavy to shift, the hood shape is too wide and the a full sweep gets hardly any change on a 12/25 cassette. You do get hidden cables which look better and the closer ratios are better for keeping up cadence for sporty riding. I don’t see any bling improvements until you get to ultegra/Athena and above.

Reckon this 90% of how well each system selects a gear is set up, it’s just a lever that moves a chain side to side they’ve all really been the same for 10 years!
So in short save your money, for commuting you may even find the cheaper systems are better.

The other thing to remember is the technology flows down the range year on year.
So this years Sora will utilise technology seen on higher groupsets 2-3 years ago.

I have 10 speed 105 on my roadie, which is very good, but not amazing.
I have 9-speed SRAM X5 on my MTB, which hardly misses a beat.

^^as above, set up and maintenance will make a bigger difference.

I’ve always had the cheaper stuff and my experience is that the gears all shift the same really. If the cheaper chainsets have steel rings it’ll mean they last longer.

Only thing I would look at is the STI levers. When I got my last bike I found the Tiagra felt so much better than the Sora, nicer to hold, less flimsy and a more positive shift. As they can be very expensive to buy on their own, even second hand, I’d go for as good as I could afford and not worry about the rest of the drivetrain.

I have a Genesis CdF (2014 model) that is my first entry into drop-bars and has Sora. Can’t find any faults with it.

Having bikes that have Tiagra, 6700 Ultegra,5700 105 and also new 5800 105, the new 11speed 105 is more than just extra cog(s).

It has a noticeably lighter shift action than old 10spd 105 and has slimmer hoods. However, I do still like the old Ultegra and 105 cos they feel solid and precise, even if the shift action is a little heavier.

But beating both those functionally is new 105 – feels both solid and light action. To me Tiagra feels light to shift but also flexy and cheaply engineered.