Originally Posted by
e_guevara
It surprises me how a lot of people readily dismiss Sora just because it's a low-end group.
Sora was targeted for riders who don't (or rarely) use the drops, i.e. tourers, commuters, but still want the feel of a road lever and the ability to shift without letting go of the hoods. Ergo the thumb-operated shift lever akin to those found on MTB shifters.
that fact that its a 'low-end' group doesnt bug me at all; this is purely a criticism of the poor ergonoic limitations they impose; not an 'elietism' issue.
Road levers have the best braking power from the drops/hooks, not the hoods. Thus it is asinine to make the shifters only work from the hoods; de-integrating your ST
Is.
The real anser for tourers and commuters is they should be setting their stems higher to get use of all positions on the drop bars. The hoods-only design discourages this; limit options.
also, in the case of a performance oriented roadie starting out on an entry level bike; having hoods-only shifting may be a barrier to growth, keeping them from moving to the drops. -hmmmh, maybe thats what Shimano intended; a forced upgrade of parts.... if you want to use the drops you need new shifters, and a 9/10/11 spd cassette, etc -evil genius marketing