Upgrade Tiagra to 105 - worth it?

[sutty451]

hi, I have 9 speed Tiagra (with sora brakes) on my 2011 defy 2.

Is it worth the upgrade (will cost me about $500) to go to 105 (5700)?? I was considering a 2nd hand dura ace that someone from the club had, but it was going for more than I paid for my bike... , so figured the 105 might be a better option.

any thoughts?

[Richard.L]

The new tiagra comes in 10speed now if u want to pay less than 105.

[TDC]

depends on what outcomes you want.

[sutty451]

The new tiagra comes in 10speed now if u want to pay less than 105.

the 105 gruppo im picking up is a second hand one, came off a malvern star oppy when the owner switched to campy. its only done around 200kms and still looks mint, so Im thinking its a fairly good deal.

depends on what outcomes you want.

Well...ideally I'd like to be 10kms an hour average faster, and about 20kgs lighter (me..not the bike) but I think I might be pushing it a bit there....
Originally I just wanted to upgrade the brake calipers as I wasnt happy with the sora kit on mine. 105/ultegra seemed to be the way to go so I bought brand new ultegra from Wiggle and then was chatting to one of the club riders over coffee one saturday morning and his 105 set came up.

moving from 9sp to 10sp is something I'm after...find myself trying to change up at times when im on a fast run only to find im already at the top. The Tiagra has been great, so 105 can only be better..??

[Ozkaban]

The new tiagra comes in 10speed now if u want to pay less than 105.

the 105 gruppo im picking up is a second hand one, came off a malvern star oppy when the owner switched to campy. its only done around 200kms and still looks mint, so Im thinking its a fairly good deal.

105 5700 groupset from ribble is $518.94 plus shipping (shipping appears to be 0). $500 second hand is a bit steep, I think.

depends on what outcomes you want.

Well...ideally I'd like to be 10kms an hour average faster, and about 20kgs lighter (me..not the bike) but I think I might be pushing it a bit there....
Originally I just wanted to upgrade the brake calipers as I wasnt happy with the sora kit on mine. 105/ultegra seemed to be the way to go so I bought brand new ultegra from Wiggle and then was chatting to one of the club riders over coffee one saturday morning and his 105 set came up.

moving from 9sp to 10sp is something I'm after...find myself trying to change up at times when im on a fast run only to find im already at the top. The Tiagra has been great, so 105 can only be better..??

It will shift nicer, and you'll have that extra cog. what's the largest cog in your current tiagra setup? The ranges are typically the same with an extra cog in the middle. If you're already running 12-25 then you might find 12-27 or similar is good. Another option is chaning to a compact crankset (50/34 down from 53/39) which gives you an extra couple of gears effectively. Mate it with a 11-25 cassette and you'll have the same top speed and a much lower bottom speed. There are bigger gaps but the 10 speed will help that.

Cheers,
Dave

[Reman]

One option is to just upgrade to the 9 speed 105 rear dérailleur. My flat bar runs all Tiagra with the 105 rear dérailleur and once it's adjusted properly it all works very well.

The only thing I am really unhappy with is the clunkiness of the front shifts, but I'm not sure a 105 front would be much better.

[jules21]

you're not going to be able to objectively justify spending $500 to go from Tiagra to 105. it won't make you measurably faster. if it makes you happy though, feel free.