Originally Posted by
enyalius
Thank you both for responding!
@
dangerd Thanks for your vote of confidence! What do you like about the 105, especially over the Claris?
You mentioned buddies with "nicer" bikes. Have you ridden any of them around the parking lot or whatever to compare the feel of various components? 11-speed 105 is a great group, it has solid and consistent shifts, the brakes are excellent, the levers feel better in-hand than basically any previous generation Shimano group, ect. It's also something like $350 or so for a complete group, which is really not
that much.
It won't make you faster by any measurable amount (it is a bit lighter, but you wouldn't really notice that), but it will improve the feel of your shifting and braking by a big margin compared to what's on the bike now. The biggest thing is you'll be going from the annoying thumb levers (I think Claris has these?) to the shift paddle/brake lever combo, which in my experience is far better for shifting in the drops and feels more precise.
Having 3 additional gears in the cluster is nice for allowing you to maintain a consistent cadence across a range of speeds.
Like someone else mentioned, make sure the freehub on your wheels is 11-speed compatible if you do get 5800. If it isn't, you don't need new wheels, you just have to buy a new freehub body to replace what's on there-
Reynolds Freehub Body - Road Hubs | Competitive Cyclist