Half Sora v Half 105

dubber

Think I've settled for a CAADx, remianing question is Sora v 105. Seriously looking at the bikes below to get back into general all round (but not club) cycling. 350e extra for a few bits of 105 and few less grams elsewhere. I'm thinking if I feel the urge to upgrade I could get a full 105 groupset for 400e later, with the only potential fly in the ointment being new 11 speed capable hubs pushing up the price. The main criticism of Sora seems to the brakes and old style shifters which don't apply to the bike below. I'm thinking of saving the cash for now as I reckon there's a >50% chance my cycling career won't take off! Am I missing anything, any other reason to go for the 105 version? Ease of resale maybe?

http://www.cannondale.com/nam_en/2015/bikes/road/cyclocross/caadx/caadx-disc-5-105

http://www.cannondale.com/nam_en/2015/bikes/road/cyclocross/caadx/caadx-sora-disc

Alek

The new Sora is yesterday's Tiagra, if not better.

You are going to replace it anyway in a year or two if get the cycling bug - go for the cheaper version

lennymc

sora is 9 speed, 105 is 11 speed. I disagree iwth Alek - you should always go for the dearest

Inquitus

Super Record EPS then, case closed...

dubber

dubber wrote: »

Think I've settled for a CAADx, remianing question is Sora v 105. Seriously looking at the bikes below to get back into general all round (but not club) cycling.

Any particular reason you are going for a cyclocross bike rather than a road bike?

dubber

ronoc wrote: »

Any particular reason you are going for a cyclocross bike rather than a road bike?

Option of chunkier tyres for doing a little off road and potentially a little more comfort, plus I find the geometry a more comfortable. Also, I could see myself getting into cyclocross at some future point, but not road racing.

lennymc

Inquitus wrote: »

Super Record EPS then, case closed...

What about the 30th anniversary edition super record? Anyway, slightly ot.

The 105 11spd is supposed to be a really nice groupset. I would imagine that it is miles ahead of sora in feel. The 9 speed sora hasn't been updated in a good while and with it being 9 spd there may be less parts available as time goes by.

Alek

True. But I have recently built 2 bikes on the new Sora and find it more than adequate for anything but racing. I have the older 105 to compare with.

Also, for the price difference between the two bikes above, you can get full 105 groupset from Merlin or Ribble...

9 spd there may be less parts available as time goes by.

He will already have future Ultegra to care about by the time 9 speed parts go out of stock :P

onthefringe

I bought this same bike with sora off someone who only had it a month..
I swapped it out for campag as that's what I prefer in general
But... I rode it a few times with sora
Shifters are ok...
Rear mech rubbish...shifts aren't crisp enough - mech seems weak
I'd invest in the 105 if I were you as it's a fabulous frame and deserves better than sora
I'm not a groupo snob but that's just what I felt

dubber

Thanks for the opinions folks, I'm thinking now is maybe go for the Sora and see how I get on, maybe add some better wheels with a hub that can take an 11 speed cassette, then add a better groupset later. This way I can get the chainset too for pretty much the same price (in the case of 105). What could I expect to pay in labour for a groupset swap, I know from previous experience that I'm crap at this stuff!?

onthefringe

dubber wrote: »

Thanks for the opinions folks, I'm thinking now is maybe go for the Sora and see how I get on, maybe add some better wheels with a hub that can take an 11 speed cassette, then add a better groupset later. This way I can get the chainset too for pretty much the same price (in the case of 105). What could I expect to pay in labour for a groupset swap, I know from previous experience that I'm crap at this stuff!?

The one main benefit of the sora bike is the bottom bracket
Standard British thread
Other models are bb30 of which I would not be a fan
€80/100 for groupo swap

dubber

onthefringe wrote: »

The one main benefit of the sora bike is the bottom bracket
Standard British thread
Other models are bb30 of which I would not be a fan

Could you explain this one to me or point me somewhere that does? Edit: so basically it limits aftermarket options for the chainset if you don't want to use an adapter? Why didn't they make it bb30 when they have an fsa chainset in it?

onthefringe

dubber wrote: »

Could you explain this one to me or point me somewhere that does?

The bottom bracket is the mounting device that you use to secure the crank to the bike

Traditionally these were threaded ( as per the sora equipped bike )
More recently manufactures use "press fit" brackets ...
Bb30 is variety of the that cannondale use a lot
They are designed to give more stiffness as it allows a larger diameter fr welds or bonds etc
The bearings are pressed in...
In my experience bb30 ends up squeaky a lot ..
Google it ... It's a pretty huge subject to be honest !

Traditional bb's are much much easier to work with if nt as modern

dubber

onthefringe wrote: »

The bottom bracket is the mounting device that you use to secure the crank to the bike

Traditionally these were threaded ( as per the sora equipped bike )
More recently manufactures use "press fit" brackets ...
Bb30 is variety of the that cannondale use a lot
They are designed to give more stiffness as it allows a larger diameter fr welds or bonds etc
The bearings are pressed in...
In my experience bb30 ends up squeaky a lot ..
Google it ... It's a pretty huge subject to be honest !

Traditional bb's are much much easier to work with if nt as modern

Thanks, do you know what model year yours is? Some retailers mention bb30 for the 2015 model, although the cannondale website doesn't. It looks like the fsa chainset is bb30 with an adapter to the frame? In practical terms, buying the sora model means I can get a shimano or campag chainset without faffing about with adapters?

onthefringe

dubber wrote: »

Thanks, do you know what model year yours is? Some retailers mention bb30 for the 2015 model, although the cannondale website doesn't. It looks like the fsa chainset is bb30 with an adapter to the frame? In practical terms, buying the sora model means I can get a shimano or campag chainset without faffing about with adapters?

Mines 2015 model
Was the sorta spec
And yes
You can easily put shimano hollow tech or campag ultra torque or powertorque afterwards if you buy the sora bike
You can get adapters to do so for the bb30 frame too though

joxerjohn

I 've ridden Boardman CX with 9 Speed Sora and found it to be very good with little appreciable difference to 10 shimano groups which I have on other bikes. The 9 speed Sora offers very value for money and looks to me like a very durable option.

Re the Wheels and 11 Speed compatibility, Mavic hubs on Aksium and Kysium wheelsets are all 9/10/11 speed compatible. Good online deals at Marrey Cycle of Ballinrobe on Mavic at the moment with better value than CRC and Wiggle !

So I would recommend going with the 9 speed Sora and put the money you save to a better Wheelset.

dubber

OK, made the fatal mistake of trying the Ultegra version ... I was expecting Sora ... biggish step up to 105, then small step up to Ultegra in terms of shifting performance. Now they mightn't all have been setup perfectly, but it seemed like Sora was pretty good, 105 a little better, Ultegra a good bit "better". Price difference is less that I had previously thought, +250 for the 105 and +835 for Ultegra. The Ultegra version also gets you hydraulic brakes. I suppose the sensible choice would be the 105 version, then maybe add an Ultegra RD later? Paint job on the full Ultegra version is nice though, I could see myself on it!

lennymc

10 or 11 spd 105?

dubber

lennymc wrote: »

10 or 11 spd 105?

11 speed.

Alek

Go for ultegra then (if you can afford!), hydraulic brakes are worth it.

dubber

Alek wrote: »

Go for ultegra then (if you can afford!), hydraulic brakes are worth it.

I was hoping to be talked out of it

jon1981

How easy are disc brakes to tune/fix yourself? That's what I like about callipers, ease of maintenance (granted performance is not as good as disc brakes)

lennymc

I would agree with Alek IF you are not going to go cyclocross racing. Most people who go cyclocross racing will lose a derailleur and hanger at some stage.

Personally, i would go for a rim brake. But that's just me

Alek

How easy are disc brakes to tune/fix yourself?

Mechanical ones can be a pita. Hydraulics are more or less fit-and-forget.

Most people who go cyclocross racing will lose a derailleur and hanger at some stage.

Learned that last year - for this season both mechs are sora

dubber

I know I said I didn't want a road bike, but this looks like much better value for another €200 (based on german prices) over the CAADx, latest CAAD12 frame, full Ultegra and better wheels ...

http://www.cannondale.com/nam_en/caad12/bikes/

lennymc

and 200 on top of that gives you another bike. Repeat for ever (then before you know it, you have spent 10k on a bike)

there is always a better bike.

dubber

lennymc wrote: »

and 200 on top of that gives you another bike. Repeat for ever (then before you know it, you have spent 10k on a bike)

there is always a better bike.

Sure the budget has doubled already! An interesting compromise might be the the CAAD12 105 model, it has hydraulic brakes and is "only" €300 more than the equivalent CAADx model equipped with mechanical brakes and ****ty crank. Once the wheels don't buckle on the odd bit of gravel or pothole!