legec117

well I thought I had my new bike selection narrowed down, but after riding some bikes I am second guessing everything. It seemed like once I was on the bikes I was focused more on comfort and ride quality.

The bike I actually enjoyed riding most was a sora/tiagra mix. I went in really looking at the 2011 Felt f85. I like the micro shifters, but nothing else blew me away. These bikes were like $250-$300 difference (Felt being more expensive) That being said, being a beginner on a road bike, how much would that difference in groupset "hold me back"? I am sure there are other components on the Felt that are also better, but now that I have ridden some bikes I feel more confused than when I went in the shop.... I thought getting a new bike would be fun, its stating to be a PITA.

Any coments/opinions are greatly appreciated

jrobe

"It seemed like once I was on the bikes I was focused more on comfort and ride quality. "


You are right on track here. These qualities are how you should choose a bike.

Groupset is a fairly minor factor for me because if I have a great frame, the components are disposable and will be eventually wore out and changed as needed. I have one bike with Ultegra and one with Tiagra and they both shift exactly the same. The minimal weight difference makes almost no difference in speed.

legec117

good. glad to see i'm at least doing something right. I am going to another shop this week to ride more bikes (allez, secteur, and via nirone 7) hopefully I can make a decision, but don't want to rush anything.

Carbon Unit

I think everyone makes a good groupset now. The biggest difference I see between groupsets is in the shifters; SRAM, Campagnolo and Shimano all do things differently. If you have the opportunity to try all three, you might develop a preference. I have Campy and I really like the ergonomics of their shifters with the thumb button. Campy is also rebuildable so you don't need to throw them away after a few years. The down side to Campy is that they don't usually come spec-ed on new bikes. You would need to buy a frame and build it up yourself.

I don't think a groupset will hold you back. They really don't improve your performance. The biggest improvement you can make is to work on the engine.

jamesdak 

I'm curious, are you implying that SRAM and Shimano Brifters only last a few years? My 1999 105 and 2000 Ultegra brifters are still going strong. That certainly is more than "a few years". Any just curious as to what point you were trying to make.

Carbon Unit

I am not implying that they only last a few years. I would imagine that you could put 20,000 miles or more out of Shimano shifter before you need to replace it. If you need to replace a Shimano shifter it will cost more than rebuilding a Campy shifter. SRAM may also be rebuildable, or so I am told.

The point that I was making, or trying to make, is that all of the groupsets work just fine. He should pick the one that he feels most comfortable using but a groupset will not make him faster.

adam_mac84

Street Cred = Watts... DA all the way!

(i ride tiagra, and it's just fine). I can't ride sora because my thumbs don't fit comfortably between that little mouse ear and the cable.

I will be running 105 on my next build becasue it is easy to get as other people's takeoffs. If a smokin deal comes up on DA, or ultegra, id run that.

Take my advise FWIW, i ride a motobecane and am going to build up a frame from China *gasp*

Inertianinja

This is one of those questions that will answer itself in time. People obsess over research but the answer is: you wont know what works for you until you ride a while and try new things.

Buy a bike that feels good, and that you can resell.
Ride a few thousand miles. Try things.
After that, youll have a frame of reference for an upgrade.

legec117

inertianinja,
I see you have a felt, masi, and bianchi. Three bikes I am very interested in. I know yours are high end and mine will be low end, but what are your likes and dislikes between them?

Thanks for the help.

Blackdays

My Felt saved my life. That's enough for me to make me a lifelong customer.

(Can't elaborate too much right now.)

legec117

hope you heal soon

agarose2000

You can "learn" to like only top-end gruppos, but there's nothing wrong at all with intro-level gruppos. I've got a Sora triple bike and a DA Cervelo, and the Sora is excellent - I don't miss my DA much when I'm on my Sora. It does need a bit more adjusting after a few months of cable stretch, but I suspect that's more of the triple vs double issue vs the Sora vs DA issue.

Inertianinja

Im a big Felt fan.

The felt F3SL is a great all around bike. Im a huge Felt fan, it was my first road bike (i spent money on the frame, went with RIVAL). Im planning on selling it this winter because i got the AR1, which is made of magic.

Btw the upgrade from Rival to Red is noticeable and worth it.

The Masi is beautiful. But its a bit heavy and flexy at the BB for me. Also the geo isnt as aggressive as my felts. It has Shimano 105, which is nice and smooth, but i hate using the brake lever to shift and i dont like the hood shape. Personal preference.

The bianchi is a track bike, so its not really relevant.

Honestly, dont stress about the group for a first road bike. Youll appreciate an upgrade down the road more if you cut your teeth on something basic. Not that Sora will be "bad"

Personal advice: skip the shimano mixie matchy game and get Rival. Sram makes ****** ish.

DScott

Groupsets are a medium big deal.

A smooth and efficient drivetrain, shifting, and braking makes riding more enjoyeable. Most of them do that. It's best when it's totally forgettable, when it just works without having to think about it.

andrewluke

Groupsets are part of the comfort equation in the sense of shifter feel. I can't get comfortable on Campy so I stick with new Shimano (105 or better style) or SRAM (the choice at the moment).

Otherwise, they all shift and get you where you want to go... you won't notice the difference between Dura-Ace and 105 or Apex and Red (well, the zero-loss is really nice) too much at lower levels... I know I really can't - I just went top-end because I found smokin' deals.

jr59

Personaly I STRONGLY disagree.

You want street cred? Campy Super record!

DA works quite well, but when someone rides up on a nice bike, with a full Campy set up;
You can bet he didn't buy the bike with those compants on it. He thought enough of his ridding and bike to use the best.

legec117

I see your location is New Orleans, I live about 45 minutes south. Which shops in the NOLA area do you recommend, I am not extremely familiar with NO, more familiar with BR, but wouldent mind looking at shops in NO

Carbon Unit

I am a Campy guy but if the price of DI2 comes down to something reasonable, that is what I would buy. However, if I was buying a bike and cost was an issue. I would probably put SRAM Rival on it.

crhilton

Ignore this. Broken down shifters don't seem to be a major problem with any of the big three. I don't know about microshift though (I wouldn't say it's a nicer setup than sora/tiagra, in fact I'm shocked to see microshift on a major producers bike).

Most of what I've heard of shifters breaking down has been right after buying and then you replace it under warranty.

ahsposo 

Given your location I would say unless you are planning to regularly travel a long distance to ride where there are elevation changes your choice of a gruppo is no big deal. You'll shift when the wind changes. Maybe.

echotraveler

campagnolo is for skinny guys...since im a fatty i stay with sram and shimano....

jr59

Well I have ridden in the Death ride, Triple bypass, Bridge to bridge, Assult on Mt Mitchel and the hilly hundred.

I like the flats. But I do know how to shift.

Groups are always a big deal.

Blackdays

Oooook

Psimet2001 

I tend to not care what I ride anymore, but let me relate this experience we had this weekend.

When building up a new cross bike for racing this season I decided to not just go buy more gear and start re-purposing a lot of the stuff I have sitting around. I had a pristine DA7800 group on my previous premium road rig - that I no longer ride because I didn't want to wreck it. .......'der.....

So - instead of letting it collect more dust I decided to cross it. I ride Rival on the road if that gives you any idea.

I can't tell you the number of times I have been re-struck with exactly how amazing DA 7800 really is. I still say it's one of the best groups that has ever been made. I shifted beautifully in every dicey situation I found myself in.

By contrast I had a teammate who is new to this whole thing and just about without any money for gear. He bought the exact same frame as me. We cobbled together a mixed up Shimano drivetrain. Poor shifting performance on the lower grade parts - specifically a Sora FD and an FSA Gossamer crank - lead to a chain jamb and to him breaking his chain.

Lots of things factor into that, but in the end - doing it right with good gear from the start eliminates that headache - or at least minimizes its chance of happening. Ask my teammate if he wishes he had spent $30 on a nice FD instead of sticking with what he had and having a mechanical while near the top 10 in a race he paid $35 to enter.

crhilton

How much of that is that he got low end and how much is that he mixed and matched? And how much is just straight up FSA's fault?

My Sora chainrings shift really great. Can't say that I'm in love with the cranks, but the shifting is fantastic.