What's the best group set for my cycling needs?

July 21, 2010 6:36 AM

I've bought a road bike frame, forks, seat post and headset. I'm a price level down from the Shimano 105 series. What's the best group set and bottom bracket for my needs?

I know this is largely a personal "feel" thing, but I am interested in drawing upon the level of knowledge here at MeFi to help inform my decision making.

A bought a nice 56cm frame from a company in Ottawa called Eclipse (the frame is on this bike (here is a page on the frame, with a geometry option at the bottom.

It came with carbon forks and an integrated headset made by Focus. I am building this with the help of my friendly neighborhood bike shop, but I'm having a tough time deciding what group set to buy.

As far as riding goes, I am a 80-120km kinda rider, on medium hilly roads, with 50/50 good shoulder/bad shoulder and a few potholes. My current bike is a Trek 500 rebuild with Shimano 600 SIS parts, and it's clunky and old, hence the build.

What I want is the Shimano 105 series, but I can't quite afford it (unless I get it at an absolute steal, or used, which I don't want to do). I love the way those parts ride. Given that, and the specs on my frame, what is going to satisfy me?

I'm interested in spending about $400 on the group set, if I can, but if I need to go a little higher, I can steal money from somewhere else I'm sure. I have never gone Italian and am not sure that I can with this frame and headset (help, experts?)

Experienced riders, if you were me, what would you buy?

posted by Hiker to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (20 answers total)

Response by poster: I'm in Canada too, FYI, so shipping costs come into play when ordering from the States.
posted by Hiker at 6:37 AM on July 21, 2010

Best answer: Have you considered Probikekit.com? They ship free to canada. It's still out of your price range, though at CAD$550. Here.

Have you also considered buying a Bikesdirect bike and stripping everything and trying to put it all on your new bike? Obviously compatibility is an issue (and I haven't dug through the specs on your specific frame) but it's always cheaper to buy a complete bike than to piece it together. On the specific bike I linked, the crankset is FSA and not actually 105. It's also a triple. Factor in that you can use the seat post, stem and handlebars.

Maybe you can get 105 shifters and rear derailleur while getting Tiagra everything else? I find the shifters exhibit the greatest effect on the bike.
posted by just.good.enough at 6:58 AM on July 21, 2010

I'd say don't go any lower than 105 or SRAM Rival. Rival is probably as or less expensive than 105 and lighter than Ultegra. The one caveat to this is that SRAM has just or will shortly be releasing Apex, one step down from Rival. I haven't looked closely at it, but I'd bet it's nicer than Tiagra. It's certainly worth a checkout, but if it's not up to snuff, save some more cash and get Rival or 105.
posted by The Michael The at 7:00 AM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

You don't mention handlebars.

You might consider some MTB riser bars with a pair of short extenders screwed on. Riser bars [say, 1.5" or 2"] have a great feel, and with the extenders you can almost get into a road bike posture.

That way you have all the MTB group sets to choose from.

I presume it's a long shot. You sound like a schmoadie!
posted by uncanny hengeman at 7:03 AM on July 21, 2010

I'd say don't go any lower than 105 or SRAM Rival.

This. When I was working at a bicycle shop, 105 was always considered "bottom of the top of the range" or entry level racing kit. Beg. Borrow. Steal. Try and get a good group set.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 7:05 AM on July 21, 2010

SRAM Rival is a good alternative, though it's about the same cost as 105 - it's about the level of Ultegra depending on how you look at it. The Apex group has gotten great reviews, but the savings isn't too much. I also would not buy anything below these groups, as you'll find they are much less serviceable, pleasant to ride, and dependable.
posted by kcm at 7:08 AM on July 21, 2010

The best shifting kit I ever had was - surprisingly - Sunrace.
posted by scruss at 7:10 AM on July 21, 2010

Best answer: Shimano Sora/Tiagra is the next level down from 105, and the Sora group works fine. ProBikeKit has some good prices. But don't you still need wheels? Your choice there will make the biggest difference on your ride quality. I recommend Neuvation as a good value .
posted by TDIpod at 7:12 AM on July 21, 2010

Response by poster: TDIpod, that was my thought too.

I was hoping to get by on a value for the price drop from the 105 (if it existed) to reinvest in wheels, but it looks like the group consensus is DON'T. I may just take a short-term, second job bartending and save up the extra money to maybe even jump from the 105 to the Ultegra. Thanks everyone for your help so far!
posted by Hiker at 7:26 AM on July 21, 2010

Best answer: Ribble Cycles seems to have some good deals on groupsets. I haven't ordered from them personally but have seen them suggested several times on forums.

You could also keep an eye on ebay and craigslist if you're not in a particular hurry, it's fairly common for people to strip the stock groupset from a new bike and put on something they like better and sell the stock stuff.
posted by ghharr at 8:07 AM on July 21, 2010

Best answer: The Tiagra groupset has been reposition as the Touring/Heavy Duty groupset. For a daily rider or an actual touring bike, it's actually a better bet than the 105 group, which is aimed at the race mindset. It's also built for steel -- Tiagra won't shift well on a flexible bike.

Remember: Racers replace their bikes *every year*, if not more often. Thus, longevity isn't critical on race parts. The 105 group is built to last, but the Dura Ace is built to be fast and lightweight, and the Ultegra is a cross between the two. The more you spend, the more powerful you can be and more flexible your bike can be -- I wouldn't run anything buy Dura Ace on a full carbon frame, then again, if you can afford that, you can afford Dura Ace.

For a pure road bike, 105 or Ultegra is a good bet. Dura Ace is overkill -- unless you are actually racing professionally, the best way to get the weight difference of the Dura Ace group off the bike is to ride a little harder and lose a pound of weight. :-)

Older groupsets are cheaper. You can save a bunch by getting the 5600 series 105 components, rather than the 5700 series, which are current. Indeed, if you can live without 10 on the back, anybody with a 5500 series (or the 6600 or 6500 series Ultegra sets!) will probably give you a great deal. They won't have all the fancy frills that the leading edge does, but hey, if I don't want a 10 back, a 6500 series Ultegra set will run nicer than a current 105.

Finally -- you can mix components from the same manufacture (and sometimes, from different ones!) Forex, you could get Tiagra hubs (tough, but heavy!), 105 deraliers, and Ultegra shifters.
posted by eriko at 8:41 AM on July 21, 2010

I just bought a new drivetrain for my steel roadie. It's mostly older Ultegra (6500), and runs great and was not that expensive.

I would save up for 105, wait for Apex, or get NOS (new old stock) 105 or Ultegra.
posted by supercres at 8:51 AM on July 21, 2010

Best answer: I'm interested in spending about $400 on the group set, if I can, but if I need to go a little higher, I can steal money from somewhere else I'm sure.

Good luck on that. I work in a bike shop, and even with access to wholesale prices I can't get a decent groupset in Canada for $400.

And I wouldn't recommend you buy from the US. When you factor in shipping, brokerage, HST and the hassles involved with returns / warranties, it's just not worth it.

I have never gone Italian and am not sure that I can with this frame and headset (help, experts?)

By "Italian", you mean Campagnolo groupsets? They're great. The two areas where compatibility is an issue are:

1) Bottom bracket threading - English (1.37" x 24tpi) vs Italian (36mm x 24tpi). Just buy the correct BB cups and you're set. Most bikes use English threading these days.

2) Cassette & freewheel spline pattern - SRAM and Shimano use the same pattern, Campy does its own thing. You have to match your freewheel to the type of cassette you'll be using.
posted by randomstriker at 9:48 AM on July 21, 2010

Response by poster: I work in a bike shop, and even with access to wholesale prices I can't get a decent groupset in Canada for $400.

That's what I thought, I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything along the way in my research. Thanks for the Canadian expertise, any online shops you know of that are Canadian?
posted by Hiker at 10:54 AM on July 21, 2010

I've ridden Tiagra (2 years) and Sora (very briefly) and now both of my road bikes are 105. Tiagra was ok, but noisy and hard to tune perfectly. Sora did the job, but was very inelegant at it, and I found their brifters to be very uncomfortable and cheap feeling. If I were you, I'd do whatever I could to go 105 -- there are lots of great component deals on eBay, including lightly-used takeoffs. A good place to compromise is the crankset -- I use this Sugino triple with 105 derailleurs on a Bianchi, and they work together very well. Additionally, you can pair a 9-speed 105 rear der. with Tiagra brifters, which are cheaper than 105 and work about as well.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 11:12 AM on July 21, 2010

BTW, did you get your frameset at a killer deal or are you particularly attached to it? Maybe you should just flip it immediately while you can still get a good price for it, and just buy a new bike whole.

Thing is that, contrary to common myth, it is usually BETTER value to buy an entire bike these days, as bike manufacturers have become very lean and operate on the thinnest of margins. Aftermarket parts are, on the other hand, sold at significant markup.

E.g. check out this Kuota Korsa with full 105 for CAD 1499 (before tax).
posted by randomstriker at 12:09 PM on July 21, 2010

Or this MEC Col road bike, also with full 105 for CAD 1400 -- boring paint job but will work as well as any "branded" bike.
posted by randomstriker at 12:13 PM on July 21, 2010

Response by poster: I got the frame at a pretty great deal (I also rode the 105 level version of the Eclipse bike they sell and loved it, which is why I jumped at the offer), so flipping it isn't out of the question. I did like the idea of taking my abilities from a maintenance to a build level, but realistically, if that involves buying a bike and replacing parts if necessary, that's probably a great idea too. I'm both a schmoadie and a project guy, so fusing the two interests was where I was going with this.
posted by Hiker at 12:41 PM on July 21, 2010

For your first bike build, have an experienced mechanic doing the following:

1) check your work, especially the brake setup

2) face & chase the BB for you. The tools cost thousands of dollars, and doing it wrong will fuck up your frame.
posted by randomstriker at 12:49 PM on July 21, 2010

As far as building your own, agreed on the letting someone else do the BB and setting the crown race / fork cutting. Return on investment is just not there. On the other hand, building wheels is actually fun!

I've had D-A on a road bike for about 15k miles now and have only replaced the front deraileur due to a crash. That said, agreed on it not offering the best ROI - that's Ultegra. Be careful on NOS, since both Rival and 105 tend to pick up features from Force/Ultegra of yesteryear, and this year's groups were no exception.
posted by kcm at 4:41 PM on July 21, 2010