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-   -   Thoughts On Claris? (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/933011-thoughts-claris.html)

Axiom 02-05-14 09:56 PM

Thoughts On Claris?
 
I recently purchased a used Giant FCR 3 that was converted to drop bars. The guy decided to leave the 09' Altus RD paired with Shimano 600 STI shifters and a compact 105 crankset. Wouldn't it have made more sense to upgrade to Sora/Tiagra/105? The shifters are $200 on eBay which could have converted the cost of something more modern and reliable. It shifted fine when I took it for a test ride but now it's acting up. Fortunately I was able to snag it at a fantastic price (yeah, that's probably why) so a replacement shouldn't be a problem and the whole package would still leave me ahead.

The new 9-speed Claris group doesn't look too bad for a commuter bike. Sora is only marginally cheaper than Tiagra and 105, but Claris shifters are half the price. And the F&RD are less than $35 a piece. Do I save the cash and go Claris? Should I fork over a little more for something better? Or should I just work with what I have and just replace the chain and cassette?

I obviously won't be racing/touring or doing long distance riding or hill climbing.

DVC45 02-05-14 10:59 PM

I think its a great deal. Heck, I have an old Sora from 2005 that's still working pretty good.

The Claris lools like the old Tiagra, which is considered to be better than Sora.

Andy_K 02-05-14 11:33 PM

I've never used Claris, but my experience is that Shimano's low end group sets work reasonably well but don't feel as nice as the more expensive stuff. That is, each step up the ladder makes the components feel more smooth and solid, arguably they even stay in tune better, but when properly adjusted the low end stuff will give you essentially the same functionality. It's mostly just the difference between "click" and "whack".

That said, I'd spend the extra money for Sora or Tiagra if I had the budget.

treadtread 02-06-14 12:33 AM

I hope more users of Claris chip in here. I've noticed that lately triples are hard to come by in bikes - and are often Claris. Anything higher is a double, at least, out of the box.

Axiom 02-06-14 06:54 PM

The only better groups that I'd consider would be Sora/Tiagra. 105 sells itself as entry level racing, which I don't need since I have another rig for that. Tiagra seems more mid-range between the two and harder to find thus nearly as expensive. Sora seems good but still having trouble finding it from any reputable site & reasonable shipping. I'm going to order the Claris next week and post some feedback on it.

JReade 02-07-14 08:18 AM

I think I remember that bike from craigslist...

I have sora on one of my bikes and it's ok, well worn, but still works. I've used tourney before, and it worked great. Nothing exciting.

mconlonx 02-07-14 09:39 AM

I thought Claris was 8sp, Sora 9sp, Tiagra 10sp?

Is there a Claris 9sp shifter?

I've not rode Claris, only worked on it at the shop, and FWIW, I like it better than the 2200 group that preceded it.

dynaryder 02-07-14 05:10 PM

Looks like just 8:
http://road.cc/content/news/77271-sh...laris-groupset

According to the article Claris replaces 2300.

gregjones 02-07-14 05:43 PM


Originally Posted by dynaryder (Post 16477011)
Looks like just 8:
http://road.cc/content/news/77271-sh...laris-groupset

According to the article Claris replaces 2300.

Yeah....that's all Shimano shows for both brake/shift and rapid fire shift only.

fietsbob 02-07-14 06:47 PM

It filled in a gap when 105 prices had to be floated upward?

more robots , less polish ..

p1eman 02-09-14 04:22 AM

I have a 2014 base model allez on full claris group, its my first road bike but certainly shifts okay. Not had any problems in over 1000 miles so far.

G.Segov 07-25-16 11:40 AM

I bought Claris about two months ago and I already have minimum 1000kms with it and I can easly say that this level is pretty good for its money I don't have any problems till now.

Darth Lefty 07-25-16 02:25 PM

When I started a thread a while back about the various Shimano groups, I picked Tiagra/Deore as my favorite because it was the lowest level where it seemed no compromises were made for price over durability and longevity, but no extra cost was added for weight savings. Aluminum is used for the three big chunky parts (the knuckles and front plate), and plated steel elsewhere.

The Claris RD (two levels down) has only the rear knuckle made of aluminum. The front knuckle is plastic and all the other pieces are painted, not plated steel. You can find similar compromises throughout the groupset. This is not a showstopper! Paint and plastic can last a long time, especially if you don't leave it out in the sun and rain. But it will, ultimately, wear out or rust sooner.

For a comparison in the other direction, the Ultegra RD (two steps up) has the front knuckle made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, and all the other big pieces are aluminum. The pulleys have ball bearings.

Because I'm becoming a nerd for this stuff, I'd be really interested to find out which pieces are cast and which are forged, and details of the plating (nickel? chrome?) and painting (enamel? powder coat?)... but the specs don't say.

Andy_K 07-25-16 03:35 PM

As time goes on I become more and more skeptical that anyone has any real data on the durability of any given Shimano component group. The construction analysis such as Darth Lefty has attempted seems compelling, but in practice I think it takes an awful lot of miles to wear out even Claris-level components. Someone correct me if I'm wrong about this.


Claris users can be separated into three groups: (1) users who never use their Claris components enough to wear them out, (2) users who upgrade to something else long before wearing them out, and (3) users who actually stick with them long enough to legitimately wear them out. My gut feel (based on absolutely no hard data) is that the first group is the overwhelming majority and the second group is larger than the third. Also, I suspect that the percentage of users in the third group who meticulously track their mileage is fairly small. Finally, I suspect that by the time the third group have worn out their components Shimano's technology has moved on to the next generation and a direct comparison is unlikely to be made.


I'm not disputing that Tiagra is more durable than Claris. What I am disputing is that anyone really knows whether or not this difference in durability is enough to make up for the price difference.


When I bought my current commuter it came with 4600-series Tiagra components. I told myself that I was going to use those components until they were worn out before upgrading. I didn't make it. After about 5000 miles I upgraded to Ultegra-level components because the price for hydraulic disc brakes had come down enough that I wanted to make the jump and the jump. Meanwhile, a new generation of Tiagra components had been released so even if I had any real data on the durability of my Tiagra components it wouldn't be relevant.


Until I hear reports of some component group breaking down after a year or less of use, I'm going to remain skeptical.

wphamilton 07-25-16 03:50 PM

I replace the old Sora brifters with Claris earlier this year and I couldn't be happier with it. I've use a Claris RD since May last year, I guess 5-6000 miles, no complaints about that either.

Darth Lefty 07-25-16 06:35 PM

@andy k I don't think Claris has existed per se long enough for anyone to wear it out from use alone. I suppose some level of Exage parts might be analogous. But there are similar MTB parts like Acera you can compare. My own experience has been good. After 15 years and thousands of miles including MTB abuse, the RD is still functioning just great despite significant and obvious wear. There's enough play throughout to let the bottom pulley wiggle side to side maybe more than half an inch. But that doesn't matter, because all the slop that would matter to the indexing is taken up by the tension of the springs. The EZ-fire shifters got gummy but they still work after WD-40 blast-out, the brake levers on the same pods are not too sloppy. The decals came off the shifters when I sprayed them out. The cassette I changed for gearing, not due to problems. The rest of the drivetrain (FD, crankset, chain) were not Shimano parts. I've lived in dry climates and stored it indoors or at least in the shade. If it were left out in the sun and rain all the time, or maybe worse, snow and salt, I don't know but suspect it wouldn't be good.

Ball Bearing 07-25-16 07:20 PM

My kids have Claris on their road bikes. They have crashed a few times and scratched up their derailleurs and shifters a bit, but they continue to function just fine. They seem very well built.

It is the lightweight racing gear that is built as light as possible that will wear out before the sturdy and relatively heavy bottom of the range stuff - in my opinion.

American Euchre 07-25-16 08:33 PM

All Shimano groups work exceptionally well.

rekmeyata 07-25-16 09:53 PM

I think Tiagra would be the best route to go. My wife has Claris, which an 8 speed, on her bike but she rarely rides it so due to low miles it still works good. I think if you're going to be riding it a lot Tiagra is the better groupset, plus it's now 10 speed capable and it has shifters that are the same as you would find on 105 and above while Sora is a 9 speed system and is difficult to upgrade, the Sora and Claris brakes do not brake as smoothly as Tiagra and above does but that's mostly because they use a cheaper shoe. But Sora does work and seems to be more reliable than Claris plus it's cheap in price...but Tiagra isn't bad in price either.

The newer Tiagra 4700 did away with the thumb shifter button so it mimics the 105, Ultegra, and Dura Ace levers, whereas the Sora levers retain the thumb shifter button which bothers some people while others don't mind. The odd thing is that Claris uses a similar shift levers as the Tiagra and above levers have, why Sora didn't go that direction is beyond me.

perhaps reading this will help more than I can: Shimano Claris groupset review - Cycling Weekly

I think if price is the big issue for you the new Claris would be a fine option if upgrading isn't something you want to do later, otherwise if you do want to upgrade later than I would go with Tiagra. I don't think going with Sora would give you enough improvement to be noticeable over Claris, so for me personally Sora would be out of the equation, either go whole hog and get Tiagra or be cheap and go with Claris.

Andy_K 07-25-16 10:47 PM


Originally Posted by Darth Lefty (Post 18938218)
@andy k I don't think Claris has existed per se long enough for anyone to wear it out from use alone. I suppose some level of Exage parts might be analogous. But there are similar MTB parts like Acera you can compare. My own experience has been good. After 15 years and thousands of miles including MTB abuse, the RD is still functioning just great despite significant and obvious wear. There's enough play throughout to let the bottom pulley wiggle side to side maybe more than half an inch. But that doesn't matter, because all the slop that would matter to the indexing is taken up by the tension of the springs. The EZ-fire shifters got gummy but they still work after WD-40 blast-out, the brake levers on the same pods are not too sloppy. The decals came off the shifters when I sprayed them out. The cassette I changed for gearing, not due to problems. The rest of the drivetrain (FD, crankset, chain) were not Shimano parts. I've lived in dry climates and stored it indoors or at least in the shade. If it were left out in the sun and rain all the time, or maybe worse, snow and salt, I don't know but suspect it wouldn't be good.

I think we're pretty much in agreement here. My experience with waiting for components to wear out before I upgrade has been like the old commercial with the owl trying to find out how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop.


I ride in rain a lot, and after 5000 miles the teeth on the lower pulley of my Tiagra rear derailleur were starting to get pointy. By 8000 miles I'd have probably needed to spend $20 to replace the pulleys, but I think it's reasonable to consider those pulleys as consumables.

I just built a bike with a Shimano Eagle rear derailleur from the early 70's. I'm pretty sure that derailleur will outlast me with even a little bit of maintenance. I don't think I could break it with a hammer.

bmthom.gis 07-26-16 08:12 AM

How is the current ST acting up?? If getting gummed up, spray some PB Blaster or something similar into the mechs of it. The old grease they used to use has a tendency to gum up after a decade or so, but I have brought back a number of them to perfect working order.

SkyDog75 07-26-16 08:45 AM


Originally Posted by rekmeyata (Post 18938603)
The newer Tiagra 4700 did away with the thumb shifter button so it mimics the 105, Ultegra, and Dura Ace levers, whereas the Sora levers retain the thumb shifter button which bothers some people while others don't mind. The odd thing is that Claris uses a similar shift levers as the Tiagra and above levers have, why Sora didn't go that direction is beyond me.

But Sora did go that way. Sora 3500, introduced in 2013, did away with the thumb button.

Getting back to the original question about Claris, I'm running 3x8 Claris shifters on my '86 Trek 300. They don't have a fit & finish that'll wow anyone, but they work well. I haven't put enough miles on that bike to test their durability.

MRT2 07-26-16 09:23 AM


Originally Posted by rekmeyata (Post 18938603)
I think Tiagra would be the best route to go. My wife has Claris, which an 8 speed, on her bike but she rarely rides it so due to low miles it still works good. I think if you're going to be riding it a lot Tiagra is the better groupset, plus it's now 10 speed capable and it has shifters that are the same as you would find on 105 and above while Sora is a 9 speed system and is difficult to upgrade, the Sora and Claris brakes do not brake as smoothly as Tiagra and above does but that's mostly because they use a cheaper shoe. But Sora does work and seems to be more reliable than Claris plus it's cheap in price...but Tiagra isn't bad in price either.

The newer Tiagra 4700 did away with the thumb shifter button so it mimics the 105, Ultegra, and Dura Ace levers, whereas the Sora levers retain the thumb shifter button which bothers some people while others don't mind. The odd thing is that Claris uses a similar shift levers as the Tiagra and above levers have, why Sora didn't go that direction is beyond me.

perhaps reading this will help more than I can: Shimano Claris groupset review - Cycling Weekly

I think if price is the big issue for you the new Claris would be a fine option if upgrading isn't something you want to do later, otherwise if you do want to upgrade later than I would go with Tiagra. I don't think going with Sora would give you enough improvement to be noticeable over Claris, so for me personally Sora would be out of the equation, either go whole hog and get Tiagra or be cheap and go with Claris.

You sure about that? I swear I saw the new Sora, and even the last generation Sora did away with the thumb shifters. (not that there is anything wrong with thumb shifters. I see a lot of older road bikes that still have them)

Bike Gremlin 07-26-16 09:27 AM

I used Claris 2x8. STIs. Derailleurs were of the next class - Sora.

2x8 system is a very forgiving one. Shifting was more "crisp", precise, then the previous 105 3x10 system I used! STI ergonomy was better. And it was cheap. Less sensitive to dirty cables and housing.

Had two hard crashes - so scratch marks on STIs, but no damage, still worked well. Went through winter, mud, dust, sunshine.

I'd give it a very good mark. Wouldn't look any further.

rekmeyata 07-26-16 09:33 AM


Originally Posted by SkyDog75 (Post 18939373)
But Sora did go that way. Sora 3500, introduced in 2013, did away with the thumb button.

Getting back to the original question about Claris, I'm running 3x8 Claris shifters on my '86 Trek 300. They don't have a fit & finish that'll wow anyone, but they work well. I haven't put enough miles on that bike to test their durability.

Here is the latest Sora on sale at Jenson USA: Shimano Sora ST-3500 STI Levers > Components > Drivetrain > Road Shifters | Jenson USA Note the button?


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