R2000 Claris vs R3000 Sora
 

What are the main differences between Shimano Claris R2000 and Sora R3000 besides the jump from 8 speed to 9 speed cassettes. How much of a weight saving do you get from paying more for Sora. I'm on a very tight budget, but I ride a ton, so I don't want components crapping out on me because they're too cheap.

Are you buying a complete group to upgrade an existing bike or choosing between two new bikes?

I’m choosing the group set for a bike build i’m doing so i’ll be buying it separately from the frame and other components.

If you're buying a new R3000 group, why not look into a used 5800 group on eBay or locally? To me, 5800 and onwards 105 groups are the ideal compromise of parts longevity versus performance, weight, and cost, and you can probably find a complete used 5800 group with low mileage for the same $$ as a new Sora group.

Can you direct me to where i’d be able to find 5700/5800 for cheap. It seems on ebay, most of the groupsets being sold are out of my budget by $100-200.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of difference other than the number of speeds. If I were building up a bike for hard use like commuting or gravel I would consider 8 speed Claris. Consumables such as chains and cassettes will be dirt cheap. I would not pay money for used shifters, IMO they are a pig in a poke. You might get lucky, or not. What prices are you finding for the groups?

I’m finding claris to be 240ish, sora to be $350 ish and 5800 used is about $450. $350 is my absolute limit for a groupset as far as price goes.

REI has been selling 5700 components for about $300 excluding the bottom bracket and crank. Those are brand new components - I feel like you could find a crank out there slightly used for a decent price it build it out. This is actually what I have been looking at doing as an upgrade to my current set up.

Consider Tiagra?? Better than Sora but cheaper than 105. The current version is 10 speed.

edit: I believe if you shop carefully, you can find this groupset within your budget of $350.

Buy each part individually used on Craigslist and FB Market place

https://www.rei.com/b/shimano/c/driv...ts&r=b%3Bc%3Bf

The 5700 shifters are $200, RD is $48, and cassette is $40. That alone is $290 before the front derailleur, brakes, chain, bottom bracket, and crank. I dont see where they are selling the group - crank and bb for about $300.

$200 for 5700 shifters is nuts. Thats 2 generations old at this point. r7000 and 5800 STIs can be found online for less than that.

Merlin has new 7000 series 105 for $438 so rule out the used 5800 for $450. I don't think I would pay $100 more for Sora over Claris. Neither group can be upgraded piecemeal in the future, same with Tiagra. Whatever you decide on, double check that the shifters come with all cables, not an insignificant cost if you have to buy them separately.

REI offers 10% or 15% (cant recall exact) off if you purchase 3 or more cycling components together. But you are right in that I was missing the brakes from my comment.

Look up each component online for each group to find out weights. It will be a couple hundred grams or so of difference.
The Sora front derailleur works better than the Claris front derailleur. I dont own either, but I help maintain bikes with both and the Sora FD has consistently been easier for me to adjust. Thats referring to the last generation and current generation of both groups.

Neither group will 'crap out' on you. I like Sora more and would use that for a build if I chose between the two.
Truthfully, I would look for a lightly used 5800 groupset online first though.

Brakes, chain, and front derailleur are missing.
Yes they give 10% off if you buy 3 or more components together, i saw that and it would cut the FD cost by a good bit since its for $30 on REI, but not listed under 10sp components. Odd.
So $300 gets you shifters, RD, FD, and cassette. Brakes and chain not included. And then the crankset and bottom bracket will still need to be purchased.

For $350 I bet that you could buy a full bike with Tiagra/105.

Please point me to this bike so I can buy it as my commute/2nd bike. 105 equipped for $350? Sure, I'll take it.

+1 Tiagra; the only nasty thing about it is the boat anchor crankset. It's otherwise pretty nice, while I'd say its quite a stretch to describe Sora or Claris as pretty nice. IMO Tiagra is the low-end version of Ultegra's bang for buck.

As far as I have heard, pretty much all of Shimano's latest groups are pretty good. I have experience with the last-gen groups, and can confirm that they are decent, Tiagra good, and 105 (5800) is an amazing step up .... but Tiagra (4600) is quite good, and 4700 is supposed to be better.

As for Sora vs. Claris, definitely go with Sora. Everything is just a little more durable, the front derailleur flexes less, and an extra ratio will never hurt. If you plan to ride the bike for several years, the cost amortized over a couple thousand days in minuscule. if you ride "a ton" then ever bit of quality and longevity, however slight, will add to your enjoyment.

I agree with @shelbyfv, buying used shifters is a risk. I have bought a few sets, and only got one bad unit ... but because shifters cannot really be rebuilt, you have no idea if you are buying a few months of light wear or few months of life left ... I have zero issue buying used parts otherwise, but I always look for "new--take-off" or parts with a lot of pictures showing all the wear marks. The down side is spending a couple hours every other day scanning EBay waiting for the magic deal to appear.

If you ride a lot, spend the cash. You will never regret money spent on the bike, but you might regret money not spent, in my experience.

For my tastes, just having the extra gear and slightly better longevity matters most. The couple hundred grams weight isn't going to make a difference in riding enjoyment. Sharp performance and ready ratios will. Speaking of ratios: Shimano offers 11-30, 12-25, 13-25, and 14-25 (for junior racing, I’d assume.) However, I imagine just about everyone else's cassettes work, including Shimano MTB. Shimano's 9-speed Alivio cassettes range from 11-28 to 11-32, 11-34, and 12-36---though you'd need the medium-cage Sora derailleur for that last one.

Are we talking FULL Tiagra/105? Would this make for a good bang for buck CRIT bike?

Yea, didn't really know your specific budget. It does seem like complete 5800 groups on eBay are going for around $450-500. I do see that you can get a complete Tiagra 4700 group for around $380 with crank and BB-

https://www.bonanza.com/listings/New...MaAisLEALw_wcB

That may be your best bet. Shimano would never say this officially, but having ridden a bike with 4700, it seems like it's basically just re-badged 5700 and is functionally identical, but for less $.

Tiagra group for $302;
https://m.bonanza.com/listings/new-s...EaAiE4EALw_wcB

but the small print is, that’s the price without brakes or crankset. $380 for the full setup.

There are definitely Tiagra and/or Sora equipped bikes out there for $700-800 new, and if someone had the patience to strip the parts off, and resell the frame, wheels, etc they could upgrade a bike affordably.

I checked on Bikes Direct ... you can buy 105 and Ultegra bikes for $1000 .... strip them, resell with cheap parts, there you go.