[Dunbar]

I just saw that Bikes Direct has started selling a bike with the new Shimano Claris group. This is the latest version of what used to be called 2300. It looks to get the same upgrade as Sora with proper STI shifters (and no thumb buttons) but 8sp instead of 9sp in the case of Sora. Has anyone tried it?

Shimano Claris Groupset - First Look - BikeRadar

 

[Quod]

I ordered the Motobecane Mirage SL which comes with Claris shifters, derailleurs, and brake levers. Should be here Thursday and I'll be doing a lot of riding this weekend. I'm a noob but I'll give you my first impressions after I've put a few miles on it.

 

[hirschmj]

I ordered the Motobecane Mirage SL which comes with Claris shifters, derailleurs, and brake levers. Should be here Thursday and I'll be doing a lot of riding this weekend. I'm a noob but I'll give you my first impressions after I've put a few miles on it.

Any impressions of the Claris shifters?

 

[CleavesF]

It's been 2 months. I don't think he made it back to the forum xD

 

[Ride4Him]

I bought a 2014 Specialized Tricross that came with Claris. I'm returning to cycling after nearly 2 years off. I've ridden Sora, Tiagra, and Ultegra. Of those three I liked Tiagra the best for it's no nonsense performance.
Now the Claris has so far exceeded my expectations. It hits every shift with a positive engagement. The hoods are very comfortable when riding up top. When in the drops the levers are perfectly placed so I dont have to stretch to reach them. The rear derailleur is amazing, really love it. The front derailleur is way better than Sora ever was, even has trim positions ( something not usually found on entry level ). The crankset is ramped and pinned to work flawlessly with the derailleur.
I'm very satisfied with this groupset and give Shimano 5 stars for taking the entry level price point seriously.

 

[High-Roller]

Worked with it in my shop alot in the last few months. Its a solid group, very similar in feel and performance to the old Tiagra except 8spd. Same hood shape, same routing, bit heavier if anything, but not bad for the money. Better than the lame thumb button.

 

[tonkabaydog]

Just came back from the LBS today... the warmer weather....10F, has me all fired up for Spring. I searched the web and am not finding much out there reviewing Shimano Claris with real feedback other than this thread. One guy on Youtube completely bashed it on his new Jamis. I was riding Ultegra 6600 a few years before getting rid of my bike. Worked nice, but like all gear, you need to make sure it is properly adjusted. I suspect the guy who bashed it, needed to properly adjust his Claris, b/c it looked like he mail ordered and assembled it himself.

At the LBS, I was surprised at how decent the Claris looked and felt compared to the other Shimano group sets.

I did not take it out on the road, but rather shifted each of the group set in the store. Darn close... all of them. Sure the Dura Ace would be nice, but since I am not racing and older... the Claris or Tiagra would be just fine.

Anyone else riding Claris and can comment "firsthand"?

 

[wim]

Put a pair of Claris brake-shifters on a bike just recently and have to say that they look, feel and work better than the current 105 shifters. They've been photoshopped out of the photo above, but the shift cables are exposed. A good thing in my view—you can easily pull the housing out of the shifter body and see how your cable ends are doing.

 

[dayfour18]

This is a bit older thread, but the views keeps going up, so I'll add my thoughts...

Rebuilt an old steelie last year with a (low-end) Shimano mix: 2300 FD, Sora RD, 2300 crank, HG chain and 2300 levers. I wasn't thrilled with the 2300 levers and the hated thumb shifter, but they did shift pretty well. I worked with them for a year, and decided I wanted to get to full 2-lever STI, but really didn't feel the need to add more gears. I picked up a set of new Claris levers early this month (less than $100 eBay) and have a few rides and 100+ miles on so far.

The Claris levers are night and day difference from 2300. They feel more solid. The shift levers are more angled to the outside, so easier to reach from the hoods, and the rubber boot on the hoods is easily twice as thick on the outside edge than the 2300s. It should wear much better. I can't vouch for how others say they compare to higher-up models, but am VERY pleased with the performance so far...even at the budget price point. The all-Shimano drivetrain shifts extremely smoothly...a quick tap of the large/up lever gives a 1-gear hop, a long sweep gives the 3-gear jump...very nice when coming to stop or hill. It was a short adjustment from the thumb to lever for downshift, but can see now why the full 2-lever is so much more preferred. As for the orange gear indicators that kind of scream "entry"...a trimmed piece of electrical tape takes care of that

I ended my paying twice for my levers, but was totally worth it. If all you need is 8-speed, Claris looks to be a solid option.

 

[nsk1]

I assembled a Caad8 today with the Claris groupset. I was really surprised when I test road the bike. I prefer it over the Sora. The quality I feel is on the level of Tiagra but costs 400 to 500 dollars less. I don't feel that gaining 2 more gears makes up the difference in cost. On my commute I may use 3 or 4 gears depending on wind and how big of a hurry I'm in so I don't feel it's a sacrifice having only 8-speed.

I think what's happening is that the Claris groupset, with it's 8 gears, can shift above what it's price point leads you to expect due to it having loser tolerances. The 10 and 11 speed bike are a higher quality but have to be adjusted and maintained properly since they have to squeeze 2-3 more gears in the same amount of space.

The real problem I think that comes with buying such a low spec'd bike isn't in the claris groupset, but when the manufacturer's substitute components like brakes or a no-name crankset with a square taper bottom bracket instead of a newer bb30 design. But again, this isn't honestly a problem if its a commuter bike or a bad weather bike. I still feel that if you're racing or doing quick group rides, 105 is the value groupset. For anything else less demanding, I'd personally look at the Claris as a great budget friendly option.

I'm looking at a Caad8 or maybe an Alloy Synapse with Claris as a commuter/ bad weather bike. I wouldn't be as afraid to lock it up somewhere and walk away as I would with my 105 bike.