Shimano Sora

Price Paid:  $70.00 at Koslow

Favorite Ride:
Great western trail illinois

Bike Setup:
felt F55

Summary:
a really study, cheap crank.

Strengths:
sturdy, cheap, triple

Weaknesses:
it makes up half the weight of my bike. I live in Illinois so I'm not going to use the smallest chainring.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
The sora came with the GT Series 4 that I bought in 2006 - end of season sale. The derailleur performed perfectly for 20 months, needing only three cable tunes to correct mid-cassette jumping. Quiet and smooth, it was reliable and got me through some pretty tough century-plus rides. Until the derailleur unit broke off and became one with my wheel. It lasted 14300 km, and broke through the solid aluminium casting around the position-adjuster screws. I now use 105.

Strengths:
smooth operation, reliable shifting, no ghost shifting.

Weaknesses:
easily fatigued aluminium casting. check your for fracture lines.

Price Paid:  $450.00 at BikeStop

Favorite Ride:
local roads

Bike Setup:
Sora shifters, Sora front and rear derailleurs, Fuji branded crank, low-spec, no-name-possibly TekTro brakes, Alex A500 wheels, Fuji Velo saddle

Summary:
Well, being that this gruppo came with the bike I purchased, a 2006 Fuji Newest 3.0, it can easily be faulted for the price I got the bike for. For the purposes the bike was made for, it serves it purpose just fine, but for someone like me, who as delusions of road racing grandeur, it doesn't inspire with the faults. The Sora components included in my bike were the shifters, front and rear derailleurs, and the cassette. The brakes were Tektro no-names, and the 3 chainring crank was Fuji branded.

Negatives.
I've had the bike professionally tuned a couple times since my original purchase. Most recently, about 4 weeks before this typing. The rear derailleur can be precise and quick when I need it to be so, but unfortunately, it can be that without me pressing any shift button/lever. Occasionally, when I'm putting in a bit of power up hill, the system shifts up one or two gears without my consent. Now, if this were down hill, I wouldn't have a problem, but that isn't the case. Like one other person mentioned in a previous review, he called it "ghost shifts". I would have to agree with him. The low spec system doesn't seem to be designed from the start as something you can stick with for years.
The shifters themselves, although adequate for what I use the bike for, don't really seem to be much in the way of a quality product. They are made of cheap plastic and don't seem to be anything to talk about. The small shift lever is also in a very odd place as well. Not bad for when you are on the hoods for practically all day, but when I want to go to the drops, well.... up shifting isn't something I can do, for both shifters. Another negative for the left shifter is that when I drop from the largest chain ring to the smallest, or even the middle to the smallest (remember it's a triple), the upshift lever likes to stick. I can brake, but I cannot go from the small ring to the middle unless I damn near brake the unit. This has happened enough times for me to almost treat the bike as a 1x8, instead of a 3x8. Another thing about the shifters, for both of them, is that the length of the throw from one ring to the next, regardless of the derailleur, is quite long. There is almost or more than an 1.5 to 2 inches of travel from "neutral" to full extension. If the shift length was shortened by about 1/2 an inch, I think it would be much more comfortable and quicker too. The final thing with the shifters is the length of the brake/shift lever. When in the drops, it is somewhat far from a comfortable grip for me. When on the hoods, the shape of the shifter, including the levers length, don't allow to much in the way of the ability to pull the levers to stop with as much force as I want.
Lastly, the components aren't really made to be rebuilt, just pull and replace, no salvage, no repair. Kind of reminds me of the medical model, "When in doubt, cut it out."

Positives.
The units are cheap, and since that is a main point for the gruppo(any almost all of Shimano stuff), replacement parts are inexpensive should you get into a wreck. Additionally, the component are compatible with some higher end Shimano stuff. For example, you have probably seen some low spec bikes, like the Specialized Allez or the Masi Alare has Sora shifters with a Tiagra rear derailleur. This low spec compatibility does allow some cash strapped riders to equip their bikes with somewhat better components should the need or opportunity arises.

Overall, for the price and it's intended use as to get people used to road riding, it isn't bad, but for prolonged use, something better should be chosen first off. Tiagra is so much better in every way that I fail to see why Shimano wants to do a Campy rip-off with Sora, when they can be unique and have the same kind of shifters across the line. I'm so glad that my bike is currently being converted to Campagnolo Mirage.

Strengths:
Low cost of acquisition and ownership

Weaknesses:
cheap product quality, low cost design, doesn't really invigorate the road riding rookies into wanting to compete or get better

Similar Products Used:
SRAM Force, Shimano Tiagra, Shimano 105

Price Paid:  $500.00 at Benotto

Favorite Ride:
Road

Summary:
After 4 years using my road bike in Mexico, SORA group has been almost perfect. I have been in 2 Triathlons and many outdoor races. I have 3 different cassettes (12-23, 12-25 and 13-26 which I easily converted into a 12-26), I use it 3 times a week. I don't have problems with shifts. For those who know Mexico, I have traveled form Mexico City to Acapulco in a team with very expensive bikes, and I wasn't the last biker... nor the first of course. I have a girlfriend with the very expensive Dura Ace group and I always go first, she has 15 years experience with bikes.

Strengths:
Price

Weaknesses:
Weight, BUT, let me tell you, I'm about to make those tiny holes on every "star" in the cassette to make it look more like a 105, Dura Ace, etc.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at came with my first r

Bike Setup:
Bianchi Brava with full Sora drivetrain

Summary:
When I first set out to buy my first road bike, there were a lot of people who told me "Sora's a perfectly fine group. A properly tuned Sora drivetrain will shift just as well as Dura-Ace." The second lot of people told me, "Go for 105, or you'll regret it." I was on a budget and not really familiar with the nuances of buying used at that point, so I bought my first bike - a Bianchi Brava with Sora. Now I wish I had listened to the second group.

While it might be true that Sora shifts well when tuned up, Sora doesn't like to stay tuned. The rear derailleur never indexed completely accurately, even after multiple tunings by my LBS mechanic. This would lead to 'ghost shifts', or shifts that would happen whenever too much pedal pressure was applied. Sora's also low on features: the front derailleur only has three positions for a triple crankset, and the lack of a 'trim' means that many chain combinations result in deathly annoying chain-cage rub.

The positioning of the thumb lever on the Sora shifters is far from well designed. While in the drops, those without super-long thumbs will find it hard to shift up. The fit and finish of Sora is also generally lacking in quality.

I find it annoying that Shimano, a company with such huge resources, couldn't have invested a little more in their low-end group. I almost feel that Sora is purposely engineered to suck so that road cyclists will inevitably become sucked into the constant cycle of upgrading and lusting over higher-end parts. It's a shame that this is the group that most people have to ride when starting out.

Not recommended. If you're looking at buying a Sora bike for your first ride, instead consider a used 105 bike from your local classifieds.

Strengths:
Shifting can be quiet and accurate when tuned.

Weaknesses:
Won't stay tuned.
Sub-par fit and finish.
Lack of features such as front derailleur trim.
Badly positioned thumb shift button.

Similar Products Used:
Campagnolo Veloce
Shimano 105
Shimano Ultegra