Shimano Sora R3000 Groupset
 

Shimano Sora 3000 9 Speed Double Groupset - Road Groupsets - Ribble Cycles

Shimano's updated Sora groupset with trickle-down technology from 105 5800. ~$220 at Ribble. Honestly I'm both happy and sad because that costs less than the Claris 8 speed groupset that I set up for myself last year. I'm also happy because I got to try out the groupset (minus crankset and derailleur) on the Specialized Sequoia from my bike shop and the shifting felt amazing.

I plan on upgrading to R3000 as soon as there's no more salt on the ground but until then....

Another group goes away from being compatible with older gen due to cable pull changes.

Heck of a pricing deal for all that.
The 4 arm cranks are fuggo, but they transfer .80001% more power than 5 arm cranks so that of course needed to change.

Whats next, Claris gets under the tape routing next year? Its only been a handful of years since Sora had that thumb button. Man what a change.

I was kind of excited Sora still being 9 speed of being able to add them to my Trek 520 or trying out drop bars on my fat bike, but the whole cable pull thing keeps slipping my mind.

If that price holds true long term, then I could probably anticipate Claris getting phased out a la Tourney. My Claris groupset that I bought last year including shifters, derailleurs, and cranks costed ~$200 not including BB, chain, and rear cassette. While I did pay more for the R3000 parts (not from Ribble), the savings that I had allowed me to buy a higher quality rear cassette

If it makes you feel any better, the Sequoia that I tried out was running an Alivo Shadow SGS derailleur w. 12-36t cassette. Even though I already bought the new kit I'm glad I found out about the cross compatibility issue as I was considering doing just that. It sucks but what can you do?

Wow, I cant believe you can buy a decent groupset like that for so little money. Truly amaizng, imo.

More likely about the less complicated die, less holes to drill/tap, one less chainring bolt to buy/assemble.

Yes, it saves on a chainring bolt per crank.

The 4 arm shimano hollowtech II cranksets are advertised as lighter and stiffer than the 5 arm predecessors. Its been measured, both weight and stiffness. Gotta get that power transferred, no matter how incremental the gain.