Derailleur (noob) questions...
 

Hey everyone..
So I have an 07 Sirrus Sport. Came stock w/ a Shimano Sora rear derailleur and a Shimano (forget the model) front derailleur...

My question is.. What are my options in terms of aftermarket or better ones to replace on this bike? I'm guessing that the stock parts are somewhat bottom shelf. Any suggestions?

Also, what difference would I notice w/ upgraded derailleurs? Smoother, crisper shifting? Anything else? Would it also be a good idea to switch out the sprockets/cassettes/gears? I got the bike used for a great price and the previous owner said theres about 400 miles on it..

Thanks in advance.. Please school me. :thumb:

Cassettes will last a long, long time if you keep up with the chain maintenance. There is an excellent article here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html.

However, 400 miles is nothing. You should be able to get to 5 or 6 times that number before you have to start worrying about replacing the chain.

As for the rear derailleur. Yes, Sora is near the bottom. However, it's currently 9-speed while everything 105 or above is 10-speed. Making the 9-to-10 speed upgrade involves replacing a bunch of parts. Sora derailleurs should shift just fine. Chain maintenance (regular replacement, along with keeping it clean and regularly lubed) plus proper cable tension has more to do how "crisply" your shifts will be occurring then anything else.

There is no lack of 9-speed gear available online or in stores.

+1. Lots of it out there.

Well, I do not go out there and ride all the different stuff. But everything I have ever read says that even low end Shimano deraillers shift fine. A high end derailler might have a slightly "crisper" or "precise" feel but so what? The thing is components are often matched - frame, wheels, shifters, brakes are all at the same level. Upgrading one is not really going to help much. Upgrading everything will just get you replacing the whole bike piecemeal which is very expensive.

I would suggest that you just ride what you have and after you put in the miles, get a new bike at a higher end and keep the old one as your "rainy day" or "beater" bike.

Hey all. Thanks for the info.. I spent a good portion of today watching YouTube vids and actually learned to tune and adjust the derailleurs myself. It is shifting MUCH better now! I think I'll be good for a while + gained some knowledge tinkering w/ the bike..

Thanks!

Sora may be low end but it works fine. What might not be is length of life of it but the time to replace parts is when they wear out. Replace the rear derailler with any other you want as the R.D is not number of gear specific. May be some exceptions but a 10 speed shimano RD will replace any other shimano RD.

Front Derailler though and you will have trouble wearing it out. And some of these are gear specific. Double or triple chainrings and width of chain affect these.