Seems like the only major difference is going flat bar to drop bar. If that's worth the price than do it. Maybe look around for something used. You can probably get a 105 Synapse or similar for the price of the new Sora bike. I have a friend who has a Allez with Sora and he does 50 mile rides with no problems so Sora should work but I think the quality makes a noticeable leap when you get to 105