Originally Posted by
barti0
I'm researching on the Merit 3 too as we speak! From my reading, the Shimano 105 is worth the upgrade and way better than the entry level Shimanos as I understand.. Good luck!
Shimano 5800 is nice, for sure.
Shimano 3500 is absolutely perfectly great for 85% of riders though. If someone wants better, thats awesome and totally great, but really, 3500 components will be more than fine for most all users. They perform reliably. 3500 components brake, shift, and spin wheels as expected.
And while 3500 components arent high end, they also arent exactly entry level. There are 2 groups under Sora.