c_bake

https://www.bikerumor.com/2012/03/01/...2-alfine-more/

rmr1923

this will be nice on entry-level bikes... the only issue i had with my old Sora-equipped bike were the thumb shifters. would've been nice if this were an option back then:

dayday82

Very nice option for SORA.

NWS Alpine

I just ordered a petite Felt ZW95 for my girlfriend for her first bike. One of the big plus over some other options was the microshift levers and not the sora thumb shifters. This will really help the low end bikes and as they upgrade over time they are familiar.

NWS Alpine

Also that Di2 IGH setup is killer! I want one for my trek sawyer. It's single speed right now but would be nice as IGH. Wonder if the system has clearance for a belt?

pdxtex

those new sora shifters look pretty classy for a "entry" level groupset. good job shimano.

Hiro11

The SLX group looks awesome at this point.

Andy_K 

I was really surprised to see the 46-34 crankset. That's the combination I'm using on my commuter right now, but I thought I was just being a fred. I'd really like to see 40-28 on a road crankset. That would be very nice for commuting.

RT

Shimano finally woke up and smelled the Microshift. Whoever was in charge of tracking the competition was sleeping on the job.

(Re: Sora + paddle)

Commodus

^^ I always thought the thumb shifter was a subtle way of rubbishing the competition. We've even seen dumbasses on this very forum describe Campy's shifters as "like Sora". Create a link in the consumer's mind between the thumb button and low-end.

I've seen similar things with GripShift. Shimano uses it on the lowest end department store stuff, and people start to see triggers as indicative of the high end.

RT

Well, what I meant was that Microshift was the beneficiary of Shimano not paying close enough attention to their entire line. I have ridden Shimano most of my life and actually prefer Microshift. It may be considered bottom of the barrel, but to me they are just not widely-marketed.

Shimano should pay closer attention to reining in new cyclists with their bottom line instead of creating silly electronic shifting.

sleepy

I finally got my hands on the new 105 with the hidden cables, and so far all I've gotta say is that I like the old antenna versions better. They're more ergonomic, and the shifting feels cleaner, plus there's three downshifts allowed. I don't see what the advantage is over the old design other than aesthetics.

I'm actually thinking of saving up some bread and getting either nos 105/Ultegra Shifters or the new 10speed Tiagra.

Good work on the Sora. Looks like an actualy trickling down is starting what with the new exciting electronic which aside from racing, isn't all that needed in my opinion.

ThinLine

Shimano definetly has the resources in both technical and manufacturing capabilities to create any group to rival the other's, and it shows.
XTR and even XT is on par with SRAM XX and XO easily. Although I do find XO to be better than XT in all respects if it is even comparable to.

I have an old (excellent condition) Schwinn KOM S9 MTB from 1990 with Shimano XT 1st gen and it still functions flawlessly.

tagaproject6

Good looking group. I wonder when they will be going the hidden cable route for Sora.

sleepy

Let's hope not.

I'd like to see it go to 10 speed with antenna.

hairnet

Next generation I suppose. They just trickled down 10 speed to Tiagra, and now it looks like 9 speed Tiagra is the new Sora. I like this a lot

Dstreelm

The sora changes are pretty much a no brainer. I actually just out a NOS sora set on a commuter and I'm happy with the performance, but being able to shift down a ring from the drops would be great. It's only logical that shimano would unify their shifters in terms of interface, like SRAM and Campy already do.

Im actually pretty excited about the Alfine Di2 hub and drop bar shifter. I have never been interested in electronic shifting for a variety of reasons, but this seems like it could be a really nice solution, depending on price. It makes sense for a high end commuter or touring bike, so an expensive deraileur is not hanging out exposed.

kabex

What about 2300? The lowest end group?

kabex

Wow, couldn't find 2300 but there's an even LOWER END groupset!
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/articl...rst-look-33204

It's called Tourney 70, it's 7 speed and it has old-style sora shifters.

That's great, I think road bikes are gonna get a bit cheaper with that. It's only gonna be about 100 bucks to upgrade that to 9 speed sora anyway.

kabex

Here's 2 pics:



Looks decent, it's just like last gen Sora except 7 speed and it only comes in 50-34(great for beginners)

I think we're going to see this one on really low cost steel bikes. Road bikes are finally going to be as cheap as mountain bikes.

Where I live the cheapest road bike is $950 USD, whereas MTN bikes are around $550.

ilovecycling

That Alfine Di2 IGH looks pretty slick. It's that much more tempting now to build a IGH road bike. The problem with the mechanical version, besides being less efficient than their externally geared counterparts, was that you couldn't shift with a drop handlebar. Now, with the drop bar Di2 controls option, it's no longer an issue.

mechBgon

Last-gen Sora didn't have square-taper cranks with non-removable rings, so that's still a pretty significant step down.

kabex

True, but MSRP is probably going to be half of what Sora is.

Currently the lowest end Shimano components are something called "A050", or what bikes like the GMC Denali have. This is a ton better.

thirdgenbird

it looked to me like the derailleurs and freewheel were similar or the same as department store bikes. it looks like they just added new cranks and sti levers.

abstractform20

low end shimano (below sora) is terrible terrible garbage that i would not put on a bike if it were free.

i would sell it or donate it.