Shimano 105 or Ultegra

[aicabsolut]

I definitely agree with that statement, having ridden and worked on all 3.

+1

I tried to tune up a friend's 9 spd Tiagra bike and eventually, I just gave up and said he'd be riding an 8 speed (I could not get the thing to shift into the smallest cog no matter what I did). I did make some big improvements, but ugh, if I had to deal with Tiagra or Sora on a regular basis, I would be very frustrated. 105 is amazing in comparison.

[Aggie_Ama]

+1
I did make some big improvements, but ugh, if I had to deal with Tiagra or Sora on a regular basis, I would be very frustrated. 105 is amazing in comparison.

+1

My old bike had Sora and it wasn't terrible but I definitely didn't stay tuned well and was a sluggish shift. My commuter has Tiagra and that bike is even worse than my old Sora. It drives me batty but it is just my commuter.

My thought, the type of riding the OP is going to be doing 105 would serve her well. I have 105/Ultegra mix and it is great for me. I did upgrade to an Ultegra Cassette and chain but not for any reason, the shop carried a 12-27 in Ultegra for the Cassette and the chain, they had Ultegra or Dura Ace.

[ttaylor508]

I swapped out my FSA for Ultegra on my Ruby Expert and noticed a huge difference in the smoothness of the shifting. I had 105 on my Giant OCR 1 and it shifted nice, but I really think the Ultegra shifts better and is quiet.