porker2307

which one do you prefer and why?

crispy010

Why are you asking this question? Ultegra is a completely different class of components that Sora. Compared to Ultegra, Sora is complete ****.

Plus, the thumb lever drives me beyond bonkers. What a stupid idea.

And yes, I've ridden on both groups.

txvintage

As a Campy rider I actually lol'd.

crispy010

And this is why I can never, ever, put Campy on my bikes

fosmith

besides the class warfare muckity muck. i don't like sora because you can't hit that thumb button from the drops. you can only shift from the hoods.

mzeffex 

With campy you can shift from the drops.

rugerben

There are people who prefer Sora to Ultegra?

dauphin

I know a Korean woman named Sora...all I think about is shifting whenever I see her.

mzeffex 

When they can't have Ultegra. Or even Tiagra. They say that they love the thumb lever, just so they don't feel bad.

rugerben

^^^ I dunno. Maybe some people genuinely prefer it. I mean, it certainly baffles me. But i work for the criminal court system. I hear weirder things every day.

eippo1

But you can reach the thumb shifter in the drops on campy and you can't on sora

Keepfiring

I sometimes wonder if Shimano is taking a jab at Campy by keeping thumb buttons on their lowest level of components. I have no evidence of this, but wouldn't that be some sinister fun if it was the case?

Nachoman

Fail.

pkpsu

I have sora and I certainly do lust over 105 and higher, but I don't think it is limiting me. If I am in the drops I do have to twist my wrist quite a bit to be able to hit the thumb button (forget about it while sprinting out of the saddle) but even if you can't do this, lifting my hand off the drops to hit the thumb button (while an inconvenience) i think it may have taught me to be more stable on the bike. Could be totally making that up, but being able to lift one hand off the drops while hammering hard is certainly a developed skill. All said and done, I trade up for ultegra in a second if I had the disposable income. Frankly, I'd rather have a nice set of wheels.

f4rrest

What's this about can't reach from the drops? Small hands or what?

grolby

Sheldon Brown claimed to like the Sora mechanism better, and there's no reason to doubt him. He was never shy about sharing his opinions, nor one to be impressed by high prices. I think that Sora doesn't work nearly as badly relative to Ultegra as some people here tell themselves (and others) it does. No, it's certainly not as smooth and refined, but functionally it shifts just as well under normal conditions. I remember riding on the stuff lo many years ago as a complete n00b and being quite impressed. And small wonder; Shimano is not run by idiots. Consumers who have good experiences on entry-level Shimano shifters and derailers are more likely to buy expensive Shimano shifters and derailers down the line. So Sora works very well within certain limits, like weight, feel and ergonomics.

I certainly wouldn't choose Sora over Ultegra, partly because it's not available in 10-speed, mostly because not being able to shift from the drops is a major negative, and I'll admit it, Sora just doesn't have the cachet of higher-end stuff; it's not "nice."

grolby

Reaching the thumb button from the drops requires enormous, long, flexible thumbs. If you can reach the button and others can't, it's not because they have small hands. It's because you have enormous, freak-of-nature hands. The button is totally out of reach for 95% of people.

gabdy

Wrong

agarose2000

I still think $500ish is still a lot to pay for pretty much zero improvement in time performance from Sora -> Ultegra. No doubt Ultegra will be crisper, and I wouldn't turn it down if offered to me, but for anyone wishing to save a buck, the current incarnation of Sora (even the 2200) won't hold you back at all, even for stronger riders.

rufvelo

It is not. Sora is unfortunately in a different league. If you really like thumb shifters go Campy. Your $500 argument may apply when going from Ultegra to DuraAce.

noise boy

I just bought my first road bike in 25 years, and it is a Sora brifter equipped CAAD9-7. Honestly I don't think that the shifter design is holding me back, and so far has not presented any issues. Also I will point out that my mountain bike from 1993 (Specialized Rockhopper) has the Altus group on it and I have never had any problems with it in the 16 years I have owned it, it still works as well as it did new. As the poster above points out, Shimano is not stupid, if the low end stuff didn't work, nobody would be interested in upgrading to their better groups later, for fear of it being crap as well.

helmut

If the thumb shifter was lower down on the shifter body (like it is on Campy), it would be my preferred system. My Sora shifts smoothly and quietly, but I hate not being able to reach it from the drops.

joe_5700

I have 2200 shifters on my Jamis and 105 on my Felt. I can easily shift from the drops with my 2200 shifters. It takes a split second to quickly move one hand up out of the drops to shift up or down. Doing this does not change my aero position or slow me down one bit. I sometimes forget that I can shift from the drops without changing one of my hand positions on my 105 equipped bike. Someone who never gets in the drops may favor the thumb shifting of a Sora, but that is just my opinion.

spinerguy

I'm sort of a frugal guy but I don't go any lower than 105 and not higher than Ultegra to match precisely my riding skillz.

ElJamoquio

Maybe YOU can. For some reason my thumb isn't good at that.