Shimano gearsets

[sannesley]

I suspect the answer to this is no but I'm gonna ask the question:

Is it easy to upgrade from shimano sora to tiagra? If you replace the cassette do you also have to replace the STI levers, rear mech and chainset?

 

[ianrauk]

 

[alecstilleyedye]

not an easy one to answer; sora is 9 speed but was 8 and tiagra is 10 but was 9.

a 9 speed cassette from anywhere in the shimano foodchain will work with 9 speed sora, but if you're going from 9 speed to 10 speed you will need to replace as a minimum the drivetrain and left-hand shifter (although a pair would be better).

sometimes full groupsets can be bought for good money at ribble for less than the price of buying just the bits you need.

either way, what are you hoping to benefit from by moving from 8 to 9 or 9 to 10?

 

[sannesley]

what are you hoping to benefit from by moving from 8 to 9 or 9 to 10?

I currently have a hybrid with a range of 24 gears. I'm looking to upgrade to a proper road bike. The biKe I have my eye on has shimano sora and I'm just thinking that 18 gears won't be enough. I'm new to the biking scene so maybe I'm getting too hung up on this gear thing or maybe I should be looking at a bike with tiagra gearing?

 

[Adam4868]

18 is plenty to start with,I've got 20 and hardly use some of those.I'd give it a go before thinking of upgrading.

 

[sannesley]

18 is plenty to start with,I've got 20 and hardly use some of those.I'd give it a go before thinking of upgrading.

The bike is a boardman from Halfords and with their money off right now it looks like a cracking bargain

 

[Dogtrousers]

If you like the bike, and the price go for it. Ride it and if you do find yourself thinking "gosh the lack of gears on this is really spoiling my riding enjoyment" then think about upgrading.

(Wanders away muttering ... 5 speed freewheels ... never did me any harm ... blah blah ... downtube shifters ... blah blah).

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Its not really about how many gears you have but the range to cope with the terrain you ride, if its hilly you will need lower gearing I presume the Boardman is a compact double on the front 50/34 so a rear cassette going up to 30th would be better than one only going to 25th, triples like your hybrid may only have the same range but changes on the rear cassette will have closer gear ratios (not forced to be though)
For example a 48/38/28 a typical hybrid chainset triple might have a 11-28 rear cassette giving a range of 26.5-115.6 gear inch, (the shorter the number the easier the gear), now take a typical compact of 50/34 and a 11-32 would have a gear range of 28.2-120.5" not as low geared but slightly higher but the gap between each gear will be greater.
These are just examples as this is something that can be changed quite easily, changing shifters isn't too difficult either so in time if you want to change again its easy enough, work out roughly what your lowest gear is you normally use and sort of work from there.

 

[Mrs M]

I currently have a hybrid with a range of 24 gears. I'm looking to upgrade to a proper road bike. The biKe I have my eye on has shimano sora and I'm just thinking that 18 gears won't be enough. I'm new to the biking scene so maybe I'm getting too hung up on this gear thing or maybe I should be looking at a bike with tiagra gearing?

I have 18 speed sora on my bike and find the range more than adequate, no problem with hills, etc. ( and I am an ageing, fat bird with a back full,of titanium)
Sometimes ride hubby's 24 speed hybrid and only thing I don't like are the gears, too many to choose from!

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I have 18 speed sora on my bike and find the range more than adequate, no problem with hills, etc. ( and I am an ageing, fat bird with a back full,of titanium)
Sometimes ride hubby's 24 speed hybrid and only thing I don't like are the gears, too many to choose from!

Need to view it slightly differently more like a double with a low range for hill climbing, and I don't just mean the last two where there is no equivalent on the middle, but to use it and the middle of the cassette for better climbing choices.

 

[raleighnut]

With 18 spd I'd sooner have a 3x6 than a 2x9, the 'granny' ring weighs next to nowt so I'd change the crank to give you 3x8 if you can get a triple brifter to suit.

 

[TheDoctor]

There's absolutely no need to change the groupset. Assuming the bike has a compact chainset, you can get the gearing as low as anyone would need, using an MTB rear mech and 12-36T cassette if need be.
It's the range of gears that counts, not how many there are.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

There's absolutely no need to change the groupset. Assuming the bike has a compact chainset, you can get the gearing as low as anyone would need, using an MTB rear mech and 12-36T cassette if need be.
It's the range of gears that counts, not how many there are.

I could beg to differ, both can be important, I run a 3x10 and would love a 3x11, just imagine a 12-25 on a 26/38/50 or almost any triple front setup to be honest.
Even on a 10sp I really notice the gap between 17 and 19 after 19-21-23-25 is ok, but 12-13-14-15-16-17, you don't even know you change gear half the time, it also make changing gear better as there is less difference between the cog sizes, wonder how many compact lovers consider that one.

 

[boydj]

I could beg to differ, both can be important, I run a 3x10 and would love a 3x11, just imagine a 12-25 on a 26/38/50 or almost any triple front setup to be honest.
Even on a 10sp I really notice the gap between 17 and 19 after 19-21-23-25 is ok, but 12-13-14-15-16-17, you don't even know you change gear half the time, it also make changing gear better as there is less difference between the cog sizes, wonder how many compact lovers consider that one.

The joys of the triple chainset -.

However, for an inexperienced newcomer to the road there is no real need to spend money to get an extra cog - at least not until they've built up some mileage and figured out what works for them and what could be better. As others have said, the range of gears is more important at this stage. so some fine tuning with the cassette might be all that is required in the short-term.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@boydj I did say as much,

Its not really about how many gears you have but the range to cope with the terrain you ride,

These are just examples as this is something that can be changed quite easily, changing shifters isn't too difficult either so in time if you want to change again its easy enough, work out roughly what your lowest gear is you normally use and sort of work from there.