No, not you dude, I agree with you.

(although 8speed still wins for lack of maintenance)

asterix – Member
it is a bit of a silly argument, there isn’t an 8-speed system that is anywhere near as good as a new 11-speed set up like Campag Record or Sram Red ( I havent ridden the Shimano version yet). If you haven’t tried a those then you are missing out even though they are ridiculously expensive

How do you define ‘good’?
My 2×8 Sora set up has 4 gears I regularly use, 4 I occasionally use and another 8 combinations that are never used. If I want to change gear I push a lever and it changes and has done so for the last 7 years with the same cables and only one change of chain. I’ll admit that I have other bikes I ride on wet days but what is not ‘good’ about that?

It was me ‘hounding’ campkoala, looking for some logic in his daft post.

How do you define ‘good’?

Well I’d put Sora at entry level. It will change gear, as does a Sturmey Archer, but few folk on here are riding around with SA hubs!

This is a really pointless argument, there is a performance difference between groupsets. If you’re happy with 8 speed Sora/Ultegra whatever then good for you, why are you contributing to this discussion!? There are no questions on here that can’t be stifled with “why aren’t you just riding a £50 Apollo bike?”.

There’s only one person looking for pointless arguments here.
Try reading the thread title question and original post.

If you’re happy with 8 speed Sora/Ultegra whatever then good for you, why are you contributing to this discussion!?

I was trying to make the point that beyond a certain level returns diminish and buying bling won’t make you a better rider. In my opinion there are far better things to spend money on than adding one or two gears to your bike.

But that’s not it, is it. It makes the bike feel nicer to ride, and as the OP is buying new and questioning whether to set out with technology which is about to be made obsolete, vs something that’s just emerging, the answer isn’t really “go 8 speed Sora”.

It’s typical of the forum though: ‘should I get a, b, or c’, ‘personally I think f is better’.

I agree that there are more important things to buy, but he’s not said “I could buy some nice wheels, or go 11 speed”.

I guess everyone has their own bling/performance/cost/happiness ratios

Up until recently mine has been roughly at 105/XT level, but I rode an 11-speed Athena bike recently and the gear shifts were really amazingly fast and sharp in comparison (even though I am not keen on the thumbshifters). If you do race then there are points when you (well I) can’t find enough time to shift with some systems

Di2/EPS is a minimum if you race 😉

you’re probably right but I haven’t even tried that yet

Don’t! Makes changing gear a pleasure! And that’s interchangeable between 10 and 11 speed, so nicely future proof!

More importantly, does 11 speed make the roads come alive?

Christ no, there’s enough stories about altercations with cars – it has the opposite effect – it calms things and makes even the most road-rage addled driver placid. Improves road surfaces too. And makes you more attractive to the opposite sex.