It’s not much of a secret that I favour Shimano components, from the combined perspective of a rider and a mechanic. I have to admit that I like the good stuff, so I usually run Dura Ace, but I actually like a lot of the features of Tiagra.
Yet, a week of riding a Gios Feluca with Shimano Sora has me scheming to upgrade the STI. Oh, it shifts competently out of the box. It’s possible that it shifts as well as top end stuff a generation or two ago. But the ergonomics suck and I would never recommend this to a racer at any level.
The problem is the thumb button upshift. It’s right up against the brake/downshift lever, which is a country mile from the drops. I may have small hands, but I doubt anyone can reasonably enact an upshift from the drops while maintaining a proper grip. Look at the photo, and you can see my thumb is almost an inch away from even touching the thumb button.
The thumb button position on Campagnolo levers, while not my favourite, is at least reasonable since it sits further aft of the brake lever than the Sora STI.
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I totally agree with you Mark. The first bike I raced in college was a 2006 Trek 1000, came with Sora triple, and I couldn’t activate either the thumb button or the brake handles from anywhere except the hoods. The combination of the bad ergonomics of the stock handlebars’ deep bend and the Sora shifters was too much.
I think they lasted a week of training before someone gave me the 105 group that he had upgraded off his bike.
Today, I’m running SRAM on all three of my bikes, and the ergonomics are night and day from anything Shimano has ever sold me. The adjustable reach, hood shape and DoubleTap means everything just fits right. Now that the entry level Rival shifts like Ultegra and costs less than 105, I think more entry level bikes are going to come with a SRAM gruppo.
Yeah, the ergonomics totally suck to the point that I think they do it on purpose to get you to upgrade. By comparison, I’ve gone several years on a Campy Mirage shifter on my most ridden bike and have never felt the need to upgrade. Feels more like a sales ploy than delivering a decent entry level product. This is a pity as most beginning road riders will end up on a Sora equipped bike.
I love my sora triple. You need a fing-longer.
I stubbled across this forum while looking for used bike parts and wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to post this. I apologize in advance if it is not.
I gave my old road bike to my son and the 105 right hand STI shifter (rear derailleur ) has given up the ghost. If anybody is looking to get rid of their low end STI shifters, I would be interested. The bike is an 8 speed triple. I’d be happy with just the right shifter or both. The handle bars are time trial style, no drops, so no ergonomics issue. Let me know.
Thanks,
Evan
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