Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

Upgrading Sora Components

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Upgrading Sora Components

Old 10-21-19, 03:46 PM
  #1  
kvwall23
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 18
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Upgrading Sora Components

I am looking to upgrade my 11x28 cassette to a 11x32 to make those long climbs a bit more manageable. I ride a Trek 1.2 with all of the original Sora components. I'm wondering if I should look into upgrading any other components while I'm at it.

I have a newer gravel/commuter bike that I ride daily with SRAM Apex components so when I switch back to the Trek, the sora shifting feels a bit clunky in comparison. Other than more gearing for climbing, what components should I focus on for smoother shifting? I'm hoping I can mix and match components without investing in an entirely new group set... Thanks!
kvwall23 is offline  
Old 10-21-19, 04:10 PM
  #2  
redlude97
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 4,764
Mentioned: 28 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1975 Post(s)
Liked 232 Times in 173 Posts
the rear derailleur may not work with an 11-32. I wouldn't piecewise upgrade but either a new shimano sora or tiagra groupset are cheap and work so much better than older versions. They have the same ergonomics of the upper tier 105/ultegra with hidden cables and smaller hoods.
redlude97 is offline  
Old 10-21-19, 04:36 PM
  #3  
berner
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bristol, R. I.
Posts: 4,340

Bikes: Specialized Secteur, old Peugeot

Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 663 Post(s)
Liked 496 Times in 299 Posts
Originally Posted by kvwall23
I'm wondering if I should look into upgrading any other components while I'm at it.
I have Sora on an 8 spd bike with 24,000 miles. I find it shifts fine, smooth and quiet. But I found earlier, with only a few thousand miles on the bike, the rear derailler pivot was worn letting the cage flop from left to right by quite a bit. This caused the jockey wheel to be somewhat misaligned and in turn, very sloppy shifting. I replaced it with an Ultegra derailler that has now been on the bike for, probably, 18,000 trouble free miles. I recommendation you have a close look at the derailler.
berner is offline  
Old 10-21-19, 04:50 PM
  #4  
Seattle Forrest
Senior Member
 
Seattle Forrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,645 Times in 6,054 Posts
Replace the chain with the cassette.

Sorry that's not the advice you're looking for, I can't say anything on that front. But it's still good advice if the chain has many miles on it.
Seattle Forrest is offline  
Old 10-21-19, 05:06 PM
  #5  
zjrog
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,753

Bikes: 1986 KHS Fiero, 1989 Trek 950, 1990 Trek 7000, 1991 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo, 1992 Trek 1400, 1997 Cannondale CAD2 R300, 1998 Cannondale CAD2 R200, 2002 Marin San Rafael, 2006 Cannondale CAAD8 R1000, 2010 Performance Access XCL9R

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 284 Post(s)
Liked 385 Times in 207 Posts
I have Sora 3500 brifters on a drop bar 29er, shifting a Shimano SLX RD. Clears 12-34 readily...
zjrog is offline  
Old 10-21-19, 05:09 PM
  #6  
TrojanHorse
SuperGimp
 
TrojanHorse's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Whittier, CA
Posts: 13,346

Bikes: Specialized Roubaix

Mentioned: 147 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1106 Post(s)
Liked 64 Times in 47 Posts
My wife wanted a larger rear option on her 9 speed tiagra triple and the RD wouldn't accommodate a sprocket larger than (I want to say 26, it wasn't very big at all) so I had to get a MTB derailleur.

She's been *****ing about the shifting on her bike for a while now (it's a moving target for her mechanic... me) and the rear is shifting great but the front is problematic so now I'm thinking of just upgrading the whole damn drive train to 105 or something BUT... no more good deals on shimano drive trains and do you really want to put an expensive drive train on a not very expensive frame? Nothing wrong with it of course, so now I'm perusing new bikes. That would put her at 2 and make my repair efforts simpler so i'm tempted to go that route.

Anyway, there's not a HUGE difference between 28 and 32 but if you need it, you need it. Look at the max cassette tooth capacity and the total take up capacity of the RD to make sure it can handle your new cassette.
TrojanHorse is offline  
Old 10-22-19, 05:11 AM
  #7  
Sy Reene
Advocatus Diaboli
 
Sy Reene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,611

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,526 Times in 997 Posts
Sora was updated in 2016, and you linked a 2014 model Trek. If you do swap out the cassette, and if you do need a new RD mid-size to accommodate, I guess make sure if you get the newer Sora 3000 stuff, that it works with your older model shifter.
Sy Reene is offline  
Old 10-22-19, 07:40 AM
  #8  
aliasfox
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 625

Bikes: Lynskey R270 Disc, Bianchi Vigorelli

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 298 Post(s)
Liked 154 Times in 129 Posts
How much money would you be spending to do this? You could do the bare minimum in your garage for maybe $150 I imagine, by buying the chain, derailleur, cassette and tools online. However, if you're planning on upgrading more, such as shifters, or taking the bike to the shop to get it done, it might make more sense just to see what new Tiagra or 105 level bikes are available on clearance. I can't imagine a shop charging less than $3-400 for the parts and labor of upgrading to a 105 rear derailleur, cassette, chain, shifters, new cables/housing and bar tape. At that point, a clearance Tiagra bike might not be too much more of a reach.
aliasfox is offline  
Old 10-22-19, 08:12 AM
  #9  
wphamilton
Senior Member
 
wphamilton's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Posts: 15,280

Bikes: Nashbar Road

Mentioned: 71 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2934 Post(s)
Liked 341 Times in 228 Posts
Chain wrap is probably OK with a Sora DR though, the short cage is 37 which should just handle the 50/34 chain rings with 11/32 cassette. You might clean up shifting a bit with new cables, check the DR hanger etc, "crispness" if that's important you have to buy. My 2cents: upgrade if you want more gears.
wphamilton is offline  
Old 10-22-19, 09:13 AM
  #10  
kvwall23
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 18
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by aliasfox
How much money would you be spending to do this? You could do the bare minimum in your garage for maybe $150 I imagine, by buying the chain, derailleur, cassette and tools online. However, if you're planning on upgrading more, such as shifters, or taking the bike to the shop to get it done, it might make more sense just to see what new Tiagra or 105 level bikes are available on clearance. I can't imagine a shop charging less than $3-400 for the parts and labor of upgrading to a 105 rear derailleur, cassette, chain, shifters, new cables/housing and bar tape. At that point, a clearance Tiagra bike might not be too much more of a reach.
I have the tools and plan on doing the work at home. I'd be willing to spend up to $300 on new components. Would I actually be able to put those 105 components on my bike without upgrading the entire groupset?

I live in Denver and plan to attend veloswap in a few weeks and will be keeping an eye out for good deals on components.

Last edited by kvwall23; 10-22-19 at 09:17 AM.
kvwall23 is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.