105, because it just works

105. Works really well and great value. Just got a new groupset (excluding hubs) for 299 from Ribble.

105 if you like stopping.

I have an Apex front mech and its pants! Not just pants but bloomer pants. Buy 105 or go singlespeed!

105

I see a trend emerging here.

Had SRAM Apex on my Vaya, the RHS lever mechanism broke (4 weeks ago), returned, a few months out of warranty (2 years), to SRAM and got 105 as I thought I was on to a looser with the warranty claim – got a brand new set of Apex levers back 5 days later – excellent service!

I’m sticking with 105 though… much ‘nicer’… (anyone want to buy a brand new boxed set of SRAM Apex 10 speed levers?! 😉 )

i have 105, and tiagra on another bike.
i have tried doubletap, on a friends bike, and i can see why people would like it.
but its shimano all the way for me, it works and it keeps on working.
glad to see ^^^ im not alone.

My workshop experience of Sram generally is not great – wears quick, spares cost loads.

105, it just works, and is fairly cheap to replace when it eventually wears out. Ultegra is lighter and feels a bit nicer to use, but functionally I don’t think there’s a huge difference.

I would agree with al. Double Tap actually works really well when it’s fresh out of the box (and I HATE SRAM gears on MTB’s), but it definitely tends to go out of whack much quicker than Shimano, it’s WAY more dependent on good quality gear cables with a lag free run to work well, and spare parts are horrifically expensive! Set of Apex STI’s at RRP is nigh on as much as Merlin are selling an entire groupset for right now for instance.

Tiagra looks more agricultural, but by god it’s good for the price!

What size tyres you going to be running, and are you ever going to load up? For the kind of bike the Fargo is, I’d probably go for a Triple with a 12-30 cassette to give you a 1:1 bottom gear for the odd occasion it might be needed. However, if you’re going to be loading up at all, get a long cage MTB mech on there with an 11-34 and a 26/36/48 touring chainset on there!

Tiagra shifts better than 105 or Ultegra. The external cables retain that very light Shimano shifting. Much more like Ultegra 6600. If it didn’t have those gear signal windows, it would be a top seller by default. Ultegra is a nicer finish than 105, but £200 goes halfway to some decent light wheels.

Next build will be a summer bike, torn between Ultegra 6800 and Force 22.

My 105 has been brilliant ’til now, don’t think you’ll go far wrong with it.

Actually, I think you’re right. I have a 42T middle on my winter bike, and with a 12-25T cassette it’s a brilliant spread of gears for social group riding, with the inner and outer rings only needed when going up steep hills, or pressing on. In contrast, I’m changing between the 34 and 50T rings on my summer bike much more often, plus I need to change two gears at the back due to the larger gap in ratios.

If I were speccing a double again, I’d go go for a 53/39 standard and something like a 12-30T cassette.

Anyone tried the SRAM yaw front mechs, they any better?

I would go 105 is the workhorse of al groupsets.