I tried posting this in the road forum, but I discovered that it's crawling with snobbish cyclists who are obsessed by bike weight, and don't understand my desire for more durable components. Sram components are said to be lighter than their shimano counterparts, which makes me wonder if its components will wear down faster than shimano components. in the grand scheme of things, durabiity is probably not a big deal, but it's still more important to me than bike weight, which is really only relevant if you're climbing or racing. double tap vs STI is also not important to me. I don't care about shifting noise or how I slick the levers... durability..

I ask because I'm thinking about getting a gravity bike from BD that carries Tiagra 4600 components for $600. However, BD will probably give out some sweet deals toward holiday season, and I've seen some great deals with sram bikes.

This was asked about a week or so ago https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ram-durability

You say double tap vs STI isn't important; would try some bikes out with the different systems, as they will give a very different feel to how the bike shifts.

For weight, having light weight wheels will make more of a difference than the groupset, and there is little point in getting a bike which weighs less than 6.8kg. It's doable, although probably not for your budget, but as it's below the minimum UCI allowable, it's pointless.

In any company's line, the most proven and durable are usually at the B or C level, these are usually nearly as light as the A level, but often have a bit of extra beef, since they aren't as weight driven as the A line. They are also usually the best dollar values giving you something like 95% of the performance of the A line at 65 % of the cost.

Comparing equal level groups, it's hard to say that Sram is weaker, but there might be some of that in the A level - Red - road line, for instance in the FDs where many serious riders trade down to Force.

The truth of the matter is, that it's hard to wear out anybody's components these days, except for the lowest groups. But if your bikes see rough service, you might want to stay away from some of the carbon parts like brake levers, that often don't fare as well when abused.

Is it worth spending an extra $100 for shimano 105 5700 groupset, than tiagra 4600 (10 gears)? From what I've read, shifting is the main difference, along with a small weight consideration.

spectastic, Except for some of SRAM's early mountain groups, mainly shifters, their parts are pretty good. For the most part I've used Shimano equipment without any unreasonable problems. FB's post is spot on, I feel. Not that Sora or Tiagra won't work well for years, the 105 group is the entry level racer's group and/or the recreational rider's best group in the Shimano offerings, IMHO. The Force group is much the same level for SRAM, also just my opinion.

Brad

As a general rule of thumb, you can expect durability to improve as you go up the ranks to the second tier.

Record/DA/Red, aside from being all about performance at the cost of all else, are a bit like beta software - they occasionally include a failed experiment.

It really depends on what that $100 means to you, and how and how much you expect to ride. If it's a matter of forgoing dinner for two at the restaurant next Thursday, and you expect to do some serious sport riding it's a decent value. But if you're already near your budget for this bike, then you're probably better off hanging onto the dough. It's really easy to progressively work your way into bigger dollars on a bike, because each added feature seems like small dough in the big picture, but you have to draw a line and spend what your comfortable with.

So it's a simple question of what the $100 is worth to you.

the initial hope was to get apex/105 for as cheap as possible. I've never had any interest in ultegra/force. And yes, it does look like a slippery slope. This new, impressionable bicycle mind has read just about every argument regarding cost/benefit of the various gradations of groupsets. Some of them put tiagra and 105 in two different categories between recreation and racing, while others view the current tiagra just as good as 105 from 2 years ago, due to the new 10 speed tiagra, and the apparent similarity between the new tiagra 4600 and the old 105 5600. If it's just a gearing issue, 9 speed is good enough, considering they'll probably be cheaper to replace anyway, and upgrading to 10 spd is irrelevant to me at the point. But if 105 is just overall better than tiagra in every aspect, then I'll settle for 105, and not worry about upgrading for a long, long time. Then, of course, there is apex, which 'rivals' 105 in quality and wipes the floor in terms of cost/benefit, or at least from what I've read. I'm probably thinking waaay too much about this, but that's just the way I am, take it or leave it

since I don't need the bike, I'll probably wait til november/december to make my move.

There is no easy answer. In your shoes, I'd focus on the overall bike and consider which seems best suited to my needs and budget. I'd gladly take a small step down in component group if I could get better wheels, frame or even saddle for the same dollars.

Components today are all very good, and all groups benefit from trickle-down as the A-line stuff is improved every year or two. That's why, even though I'm in the industry, and distributed Campagnolo for a number of years, I've always ridden Chorus which I feel gives me 95% of the features of Record, at roughly 65% of cost.

In Shimano there seems to be some sort of artificial line with 105 being the lowest in the "racing" group and Tiagra at the top of the recreational groups, but that's more about marketing than technology. Whatever you decide, don't fall into the trap of buying with the intent of upgrading. That's the most expensive way to buy a bike, though I make an exception for saddles.

In my 45+ years riding and in the industry, I've never pulled off and upgraded a working component, though I often replace with better if one dies.

It's the chains and cogs, and chainrings , that wear, clean and lubed is user work.

bearings get cleaned and lubed too , ride what you get, keep it maintained,
and you will have many Kilo-miles of riding.. replace upwards in the future..
if you wish.

great tips, thanks

The Alex rims all appear to be pretty good budget wheels. Also, I've never understood frames beyond the materials. All the bikes within my range are made of aluminum alloy, with carbon forks.

Do test rides, see how they feel on acceleration, cornering, and if there's a hill in the area on descents. There are lots of subtle subjective differences between various bikes so within a bunch of comparable quality, buy the one that feels best.

If they feel the same, then buy the one that looks best.

BTW- once you decide, don't look back. Push comes to shove, the biggest difference between bikes is the engine. Put a decent engine on any bike and it'll ride fine.

yea, maybe I should join my school's bike club; make some friends who actually know about bikes.


I've tried out STI and SRAM shifters at the LBS, and I can't say I would prefer one over the other. Just for reference, I only have experience with friction shifters on road bikes, so it's not like I'm complaining either way. Same for bike feel; I'm probably too much of a noob to distinguish anything that's not on paper.

Right now, I'm leaning towards getting Apex over 105 because it has a more natural grip. However, 105 is in theory more durable because shimano apparently went the distance in quality control, while some believe that sram's super light weight advantage over 105 is a cause for concern, and that it lacks finesse in comparison to shimano and campy.

I have two fairly similar bikes, one with Tiagra 9-speed shifters and one with SRAM Apex. They do work a little differently, but both work well and I don't have trouble mis-shifting when I switch back and forth between bikes. One very noticeable difference is that the Apex shifters make a much louder click than the Tiagra, which makes it sound a little clunky even though it isn't. I really don't care about that, but some might.

With SRAM, it's the missing tooth "Open Glide" cogsets that local riders are finding to wear more quickly.
Just as well, their chains are not the longest-lasting either.
The Open Glide sprockets also shift with a very loud clack under power.

Although Shimano hardly rest on their laurels (Campy might a little), you've gotta hand it to SRAM. These guys came from basically nowhere to deliver kick-arse gruppos that knocked the big two for a loop in terms of price to weight, albeit with a few rough edges. Given the advantage Shimano and Campy have over SRAM in terms of established manufacturing tech and decades of engineering expertise, IMO SRAM punch way above their weight.

So considering the big picture, I'd say SRAM are doing the most to deserve your money. Not so much in terms of what you take home right now, but most definitely in terms of what they'll spend it on and come up with in future...

And if I was a Yank, it'd be a no-brainer. Wish I could buy an Aussie gruppo...

Hi Spectastic.
I know nothing about different group-sets and the sex-appeal of one versus the other. Just so long as you know that most of the branding and talk about bikes is mostly sex-appeal. I have a off-the-rack bike (my third road bike) which is a bit of a moungrel when it comes to its group-set: brakes are different to the shifters;both hubs are different; and the crank is Suntour which is also different to the rest of it. Bikes are only a collection of working bits afterall. But is does have Tiagra brake/shifters and Tiagra rear derailer and after years of training and racing on it I can find no fault with it. It also has Alex rims which I have found to be very strong after running over a large hole one day and thinking it must have put a flat-spot in the rim, which it did not. I hope this settles-down your worry that Tiagra is not durable or suitable for use with the racing stress and the many kilometres you will be doing. It may, however, not be to your liking in the 'street cred' area.
David

Should see my bike!

600 (6400): RD, rear brake, headset
Ultegra (6500): brifters, cassette body, cassette
Dura Ace: chain
105 (champagne paint): hubs, front brake
Daytona: cranks
Veloce: FD
Velo Orange: BB

It's a right mongrel, but it's fettled to perfection