agenkin

Still a 9-speed group, but now with concealed housing routing and wider hoods. Still comes with a triple crank as an option. I'm glad to see that there will still be a choice for a modern 9x3 system.
Shimano's New Sora and Metrea Groups | Bicycling

seymour1910

Not bad at all. I wonder how the UK sellers will price the group.

bikemig 

I like it. This could be a good option for touring with the 11-34 cassette and a different crank. I'm no fan of the 50/39/30 crank for touring.

GeoKrpan

Those Metrea integrated shifters are interesting. I reckon the brake lever swivels to shift and other lever is operated by the forefinger.

dr_lha

I doubt it'll be worth it to not get at least Tiagra if you're buying a groupset.

rms13

Well current Sora is around $250. Looks like Sora also has the same style FD as other groups. So in theory if you're getting the same performance in a heavier package with 9 speed for $50 less than Tiagra. What they really need is similar Claris group with all the trickle down so people can upgrade vintage bikes with 126mm spacing without needing new wheelset or squeezing bigger hub in

gsa103

I wonder what cable pull the front & rear derailleurs are using. Tiagra 4700 uses the same design as 5800/6800, and I wonder if the new Sora will as well or if it will share the older SIS cable pulls.

I really like the Metrea group though. Especially the 46/32 cracnk, which seems like an ideal option for urban riding. I may have to do a full conversion on my flat bar mountain/commuter bike...

rms13

This groupset is actually more interesting because it comes in 1x11 and it's only hydraulic disc brakes. The bullhorn shifters are cool too. Makes me want to build a dedicated commuter

Shimano Metrea groupset is aimed at urban cycling market | road.cc

rms13

Sora FD looks like the same design as 4700/5800/6800/9000

12strings

SRAM is done for...

dr_lha

$50 is firmly In the "might as well just get the better group set" category for me. But what do I know, I bought Ultegra when the convential wisdom here was to go with 105.

Spoonrobot 

Sucks they're going to the 4 arm crankset.

agenkin

I'm using the previous generation of Sora (3500) 9-speed STI shifters with a Deore M592 rear derailer. As far as I know, the cable pull on Shimano's 9-speed road shifters is the same as that on 8-10 speed mountain shifters. I'm sure that the new 9-speed Sora (3600?) will have the same pull ratio.

AFAIK 10-speed and 11-speed road shifters (Tiagra and above) are not compatible with any MTB rear derailers. This could be a reason for some people to stick with the new Sora over Tiagra.

GeoKrpan

According to the link there is a 2x11 option.

The bullhorn shifters are barend shifters. I haven't seen a commuter using bullhorns but I gotta' hand it to Shimano for trying something new. They would be pretty vulnerable on the ends of bullhorns.

I would like to see brake levers/shifters with ergonomics specifically for "alt" bars like the Jones H-Bars. MTB levers/shifters work but the ergonomics could be improved.

gsa103

I wouldn't be so sure.

Shimano road 10-speed (other than Tiagra 4700), shares the same cable pulls as 9-speed MTB components. Many people use 10-speed 105/Ultegra road shifters with 9-speed Deore rear derailluers, the same as you're doing. Shimano 10/11-speed mountain (Dyna-Sys) is utterly incompatible with all road hardware (other than cassettes).

When Shimano introduced 11-speed road, they changed the cable ratios. Then when they introduced Tiagra 4700, it uses the same rear derailleur design as 11-speed. This means that Tiagra 4700 is 10-speed group which is incompatible with all other Shimano 9/10 speed hardware. It wouldn't surprise me if the new Sora also uses the new design, making it incompatible with older 9/10 speed hardware.

Tim_Iowa

Yeah, but I believe the main advantage of the 5 arm crankset was the standard bolt pattern (so you could use a commonly-available chain ring).
However, the last couple generation's Shimano cranks have been heavily sculpted (ugly, IMHO) and would look terrible with a non-matching chainring anyway.
So, I don't see the 4-arm bolt pattern as a specific disadvantage.

Like I said, I think all of Shimano's cranks are ugly so I wouldn't buy one at any level.

dr_lha

Apparently there's a 5-arm crankset as well, but nobody seems to have a picture of it.

Darth Lefty 

I admit it, I don't see how that Metrea bullhorn shifter works. I see the release trigger, where's the pull lever? It doesn't look like an STI.

To date, all of Shimano's 9-speed stuff has still been SIS, on both road and mountain side. If this RD goes to the new ratio then that will be a big change for the future.

joejack951

Bullhorns are a pretty popular handlebar option on commuting bikes in Philly, especially single speeds. Shimano definitely intends for these shifters to go on bullhorns. If you read the description in the article it talks about the hand position being similar to riding the brake hoods on a drop bar. That's exactly what bullhorn handlebars do, and flatbars with bar ends.

joejack951

Claris is 8 speed and uses a cassette just as wide as 9 or 10 speed. Or did you mean create a group at the Claris level but 7 speed?

Personally, I don't see the need. Even 126mm spaced aluminum frames easily accept 130mm hubs. And one can always do a 8 of 9 on a 7 speed freehub. Further, 130mm 8/9/10 freehub wheels can have some non-drive side spacer removed and a little more dish added to get closer to 126mm.

dr_lha

Well up until recently all 10-speed road stuff was SIS, Tiagra 4700 broke that, and I expect Sora R3000 to do the same for 9-speed road.

C9H13N 

TA is making rings for 4-bolt 110bcd. The cranksets are still ugly, though, and I say this as a 6800 owner.

Darth Lefty 

Maybe. The reasons for the cable pull change become less pressing with fewer bigger shifts. 10-speed SIS had the smallest pull of any indexing system so far as I can figure. 9-speed SIS was long-running and well-loved and still-current across several other lower groups, unlike 10-speed SIS which was orphaned a while ago.

jfowler85

Nice! On my cross bike I have DA bar ends and cross levers right behind...this could be an excellent replacement.

Edit: after googling - this looks awesome. I'm sold already.

dr_lha

I think you're right. Shimano updated their compatibility table for the new Sora, and they list the old (3500) STI shifters as being compatible with the new rear derailleur.

The new front derailleur is only compatible in a triple though. I guess this is obvious based on the fact that the double uses the design based on the latest 11 speed stuff.