I've read this (or something to this effect) more than one time;

"...my Tiagra group was smoother shifting than my (105, Ultegra, etc...)..."

I too noticed that Tiagra set-up with
a good crankset (for me) was smooth.
Am I the only one that thinks that Tiagra
just might be the best group for the money?

I'm a 2200 man myself. 15$ for a FD, how can ya go wrong?

I think Tiagra is a really good groupset. It's better than Sora because of the paddle shifters. With well cut cable housing and a good tuning, Tiagra works pretty nicely. Everyone wants ten speeds, but how much faster is that extra gear going to make you... Not everyone thinks SR 11 is better than DA or Red.

I used to have a 2008 Cannondale CAAD9-6, which had full Tiagra. It was alright, but I doubt I had it tuned up perfectly. I recently swapped bikes with my friend so he could try mine. His bike had a Sora/Tiagra mix and I was actually surprised how well it shifted... even under load. I did the same with another friend who had Sora/Tiagra on his bike and I was just as surprised.

$14.93 for Tiagra.

I think in general people give too much credit to the shifters for the "smoothness" of the shifting. The shifter just pulls and releases cable. How well the cables are installed and routed, as well as the adjustment of the deraillers makes far more difference. The front shifting is also going to be greatly affected by the chainrings, the profiling of the teeth, the ramps and pins, etc.

Now, how many people are really running a completely homogenous group? Is that crank really 105 or some FSA thing? Etc, etc, etc...

My rb had tiagra rd. Worked fine for me for almost 4 years. Only changed it to 105 coz had a crash that destroyed the rd, and got good price on 105. I'm using Sora shifters but I haven't noticed any difference.

My CX has Tiagra shifters and rd. I have a very slight preference for tiagra shifters but no deal-breaker for either one.

Would like a 10 speed cassette not to make me faster, but to have closer gear ratios. Again, no deal breaker. In fact I rather like the stronger chain of 8/9 speed over 10.

I have used both Tiagra and the 10-speed Shimano groups and I would say that Tiagra can actually shift smoother than the 10-speed groups under some conditions. However the 10-speed groups have a more precise, crisp, machine-gun feel to them and perform a little better shifting under some load.

Tiagra is great value for money. I suspect that the Shimano trickle-down effect means that Tiagra has got many of the characterisitics of 9-speed Dura-Ace which was as good as it gets back in the day.

Well, I had to change the FD cables since they were hard to shift but now it's much smoother.
My main concern though is still with the FD I sometime have to push it twice so the FD can go on the big ring

Other than that, well I don't know... I only tried an ultegra once and the shifting felt more ''clicky'' and a bit harder to click to the next gear but when I was shifting it was faster and had less hesitation than my Tiagra/105. My guess is that the cables were badly tuned or something.

The Tiagra stuff I run on my touring bikes has been great. If blindfolded it would really be hard to tell the difference between it and 105 or for that matter Ultegra. Not a thing wrong with the stuff in my opinion. Between the 2 touring/commuter bikes I'm well over 20K miles of trouble free shifting.

Damn good value group.

I would agree with this.

I have Tiagra on both my Aurora and my Bianchi.. they both feel so completely different, I wouldn't even think they were both Tiagra if I didn't know. The Aurora feels rough and seems to take more effort while the Via Nirone just feels smooth and easy. I tested a carbon bike with 105 when I got my Bianchi and I didn't notice much difference.

A lot comes down to set up of the cables and derailleurs. It's amazing what a well positioned FD can do to shifting! Or a well tuned RD can do to chain movements.

Tiagra reminds me of Viagra for some reason. Which comes first?

They usually come with FSA Vero cranks.

I never used Tiagra shifters so I can't comment on them.
Both my Tiagra equipped bikes used Sora shifters.
When I speak of how smooth Tiagra is, I am referring to the derailleurs specifically
(especially with my Ultegra SL crankset that made a huge difference in front shifting from the FSA).

In the U.K. they have full Tiagra bikes.

From what I've read, Tiagra rear derailleurs can work with 10 spd cassettes and shifters.



It's amazing how close a Tiagra FD is to a 105 5600 FD.


Pun intended or not?

I've got a Tiagra/105 mix on my CX bike. It's pretty good stuff. Honestly, the biggest complaint I have is that the Tiagra shifters are kind of blockish. They don't fit the hands all that well, and aren't quite as comfortable as more expensive shifters.

I had a better (gruppo) experience with my BD Tiagra set up than I've had with my Ultegra Cervélo.

I think you just kind of made my point.

Mine sucks. I do not know the exact reason, but I have changed cables and housing and still have to retune it every 500 or so miles. I retune it only when it gets really bad. I hate it!

Worst group for the money.

Exactly.

That's why I made sure to include that in my post.

Or...it could be the wrench turner.

Sure. Or...it could just suck.

So if you know that it's because your Ultegra crank and not your Tiagra shifter, then this thread is...

I had a full Tiagra setup on my Allez, and I have a full 105 setup on my CAAD9. I cannot feel any difference in shifting, but the brakes on the 105 are better. This might also be related to different wheels though.

I'd buy either of them again.

I agree its a decent group but I don't know if I would call it the best. I think your quote of "my Tiagra shifters work better than my 105 might have been from one or two of my recent post. If you will read what I wrote after I credited it to the correct adjustments. yes my Tiagra shifters 105 RD shift great and I have no complaints other than the 9sp thing but that's only because its well maintained and finely adjusted. Even DA or Red will shift like crap or not at all if they are set up correctly and well maintained. All in all its not bad stuff especially for the price but there are things I would change. It shifts great though

This is why I've started to pay more attention to cable ends and spending more time getting them perfect. Also, I make sure to cut the cables at a good length.

"...then this thread is..." more deserving of your undivided attention when reading it before you post.

I never talked about "my" Tiagra shifter.
Beee-cause, I never owned Tiagra shifters.
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