Upgrade to Tiagra?

[twozeronine]

Hi

First post here, etc.

I recently bought a Trek 1.2 and am thinking about upgrading the front derailleur and shifters to Tiagras (it currently has a Tiagra rear derailleur, but the rest is Sora). I know I could have got a 1.5 after factoring in the cost of upgrading, but I wasn't too keen on a white paint job (superficial I know).

Is it worth upgrading? Am I likely to notice much of a difference in shifting? I'm currently finding it very clunky when shifting down on the large chain rings, so would that be noticeably smoother?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Moodyman]

All other things being equal, you're likely to experience a slight improvement, but nothing works well when dirty and dry.

My derailleurs are a mountain bike set, and I was about to upgrade because I found the front clunky.

Then after a good clean and generous lubrication to the spring and pivots, it started shifting like a dream.

Give this a go before you start spending money.

 

[e-rider]

I wouldn't bother with that up-grade; the shifters are better in that you can use them on the drops but that's about it. You could go up to Shimano 105 10 speed which would provide a difference you could notice but that would mean changing a lot more components at great expense.

Buying a more expensive bike straight off would have been the sensible way to do it - if not the Trek 1.5 then another non-trek bike (I'm not a fan of Trek).

But.. it's your call! If you can source the parts cheap it might be worth the effort.

 

[twozeronine]

Hmm, thanks Moody, I'll try giving the FD some lubrication, and see what that does.

Also, Chain Reaction Cycles are selling Tiagra shifters for £150 (normally around £200), so I'm tempted to snap up that offer before it goes. I'm definitely not going to be switching to a 10 speed or anything, as, like you say, that would be a lot more work/money.

I'd just like to know I have something better than the lowest grade components.

 

[lazyfatgit]

welcome to the forum.

Get the gears adjusted and lubed properly and they should work fine.
you can then spend some money on new clothing or accessories.

Better wheels is usually the advice given for the biggest performance improvement.

 

[e-rider]

Sora isn't low grade - it's entry level road components. ASDA sells low grade bikes (otherwise known as crap) for £65!

At £150 just for the shifters I'd say it's definitely NOT worth it. Get it adjusted and use the Sora for a year or two, and then up-grade to 105 or Ultegra which will be a worth while change. Like I said, apart from changing gear in the drops you're not going to notice a difference between Tiagra and Sora; or not at least one that's worth spending £150+ for.

 

[twozeronine]

I stand corrected.

I'll give Sora a bit more of a chance then, and see if it just needs a bit of lubrication.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[e-rider]

No problem.

The main point is that IMO it's not worth spending quite a lot of cash to move from Sora to Tiagra, even if Tiagra is slightly better.

The same money spent on a good new wheelset would make much more sense. the Trek 1.2 has a pretty basic frame so I'd bear that in mind when spending lot's of money on upgrades.

Perhaps ride the Trek as it is for a couple of years and if you're still keen, splash out on a new and significantly better machine, and then sell the Trek with its Sora groupset.

 

[jay clock]

I have a Trek 1.2 - 2008 model with black paint, 8 speed and Sora rear mech and Shimano 2200 STI levers. These work absolutely fine and I would see no point in spending money replacing them. I took the bike for a week of tri training in Lanzarote and it was ideal, and kept up with clubmates on £4k bikes.

I do have another bike that cost a lot more and has full Ultegra and it is better but not that much. Save the cash for a second (3rd,4th etc ) bike

 

[twozeronine]

That's a fair point about saving the money for a future (better) bike, so perhaps I shall heed that advice and just make a couple of cheaper upgrades.

My bank account thanks you.

 

[Downward]

That's a fair point about saving the money for a future (better) bike, so perhaps I shall heed that advice and just make a couple of cheaper upgrades.

My bank account thanks you.

At least on an entry level bike you can really show those guys on expensive bikes that it doesn't matter what bike you have it's what engine you have.

 

[e-rider]

I agree, but unfortunately my engine was a bit of a lemon from new!

 

[twozeronine]

At least on an entry level bike you can really show those guys on expensive bikes that it doesn't matter what bike you have it's what engine you have.

I can hold my own on occasion. Got scalped by a fully lycra'd roadie the other week, but it looked like he was putting quite a lot of effort into it, and I managed to just about keep pace with him until I got slowed down by traffic.