formula4

Here's a simple question (I think). What part of a groupset makes the major difference in reliability vs another lower-end set? I want to upgrade from Sora because of shifting reliability mainly. Would just upgrading to Ultegra brifters make the difference? Or must it be more than that?

cpk0

it's probably more an issue of maintenance/adjustments and the rear reraileur than the shifters. even properly maintained sora components should be perfectly reliable. If you are looking for _better_ shifting, than you can start looking to upgrade. If that is the route you want to take, it becomes an issue of comatibility. I would upgade the deraileur before shifters, but your shifters may not be compatible with a 9/10 speed ultegra RD, so you would have to buy both.

formula4

That's what I meant.

sweetnsourbkr

Perhaps it's the manufacturer's way of saying "hey, buy our stuff" but I think their tolerances in their higher priced components are tighter, making them perform better. I can seriously tell the difference between a set of shimano grip shifters against the SRAM X.0 grip shifters I replaced them with. It shifts smoother, more precise (no need to "eek" the thing to get it to move over to the next cog), and lighter to boot!

ryanhulce

I went through this same thing. The problem is the Shifters and Front Derailer. I put some Ultegra Shifters on and it helped, but still have some issues with the FD. I may pickup a 105 FD to fix it. RD works flawless, I also had to upgrade to 9 Speed Cass.