GJD

I am considering purchasing a touring bike equiped with Deore gearing, 105 shifters, but a Tiagra front derailer. Is is worth my while to upgrade to the 105 front derailer, and why?

capwater

Nope, FD is probably one of the least technical aspects of the bike's drivetrain.

GJD

Even if its a tripple front?

Al1943

There could be a technical difference if you are comparing 9-speed with 10-speed. Otherwise the differences are probably related to corrosion resistance, and strength. Tiagra should shift as well as 105 or even Ultegra.

Al

blamp28

I agree. My bike came with a Tiagra front. I have since upgraded the rear der to a 105 and the combination works well. I have a triple up front and spend 90% of my time in the big ring most of the balance in the middle ring. I only drop to the small ring as a bail out on long steep climbs. The shifting is as crisp as I need it to be. The 105 rear is a slight improvement but the biggest improvement would be in the shifters. Even though the Der is the "business end" of the system it would seem. The precision comes primarily from the shifter.

Long answer short - the Tiagra will feel almost exactly like the 105 on the front.

Psydotek

My 105 equipped bike came with a tiagra front derailuer. It's perfectly fine.

capwater

Even the shifters are tied more to weight that performance. Properly tuned 105 (or even Tiagra) shifters will shift nice and crisp way better than poorly adjusted Ultegra and Dura Ace. I have bikes from Tiagra up to DA in 9-speed and they all shift sweet and smooth. Even the so-called less weight as you move up the line is immaterial to 99.99% of the readers of this forum.

barba

I'll join the "not worth it" chorus. Save your money for a better saddle or something you will notice.