mstateglfr 

Tourney is not good. There is really just little reason for it to exist, except to have the word Shimano on a big box retail bike. The Tourney road shifters are not good compared to alternatives and if they didn't exist, nobody would complain.

Claris and Sora?...yeah they are fine to me. I don't have them in my bikes, but have worked in countless road bikes with both and they are super easy to set up and maintain. Really reliable too.
They are simply heavier than the higher level groups. They also use some odd bits for the sake of using odd bits to justify the lower cost. The Current claris FD cable routing is like no other Shimano road FD...past or present. It's like they had to design that to justify pricing the higher level FDs at a higher price. But the design works fine and is easy to set up so whatever.

icemilkcoffee 

What exactly is not good with the Tourney shifters? I've never used them but I did have Sora ST3300 7 speed brifters, which I gather is very similar to today's Tourney ST-A070 brifters. Except the latter has the helpful gear indicator windows. The Sora 7 speed brifters were perfectly fine. The shift feel was a bit unrefined, but functionally speaking there was zero issues.

PeteHski

Consolidating their mid-tier groupsets will make it easier for shops, who currently have to stock multiple, incompatible product lines. It will be less confusing for their customers too, with simple differentiation by number of gears i.e. 9, 10 and 11 speed. Upgrading will also be much easier across the range. I also noted that CUES is designed for e-bike usage, so it's likely to be more durable.

I expect parts will be readily available for the old systems for decades.

So let's see if everyone goes bust just because Shimano have introduced a brand new groupset range.

mstateglfr 

The Tourney A070 shifters are not nearly as smooth in shifting as any of the higher level shifters, they arent even as smooth as mid-level shifters from 20 years ago, the thumb button is a bad design just like it was on Sora and exists only to separate it from the higher levels(vs actually being a beneficial design), and the gear windows are worthless because why do I need to know what number cog I am using at any given moment? Just shift based on feel like so many countless cyclists do every day.
Microshift speed shifters are, in my view, significantly better in quality and function that the A070 shifters. Thats why I said A070 dont even need to exist- something better already exists and it costs less too.

This, like all other analysis of value and worth in this thread, is opinion.
And its OK that you find gear indicators useful- one of my kids really likes them too. Everyone has different preferences and luckily there is endless product available to fulfill those preferences.

Maelochs

This is interesting .... when I went from 6 to 7 cogs on my old Cannondale, I bought Tourney brifters .... and sent them right back. I used Claris and suffered with the extra click (the derailleur was locked out so it didn't drop the chain either side.)

I eventually went with Micronew, a Microshift clone---also with a button, but much better placed IMO ... and it has been faultless. I agree Tourney (unless it has been updated) doesn't interest me at all.

I stayed with the Claris left shifter because Shimano has dialed in trimming so well.

icemilkcoffee 

The thumb button works fine when you are riding on the hoods. It solves a pretty important problem- sometimes when you are in a hurry, or wearing thick gloves, you could accidentally push in both levers when you only meant to push in the small lever on the traditional Shimano brifter, and jam the brifter. Anyways, the good thing about the Sora 7 speed brifter is that it's lighter than all the other contemporary Shimano brifters, it's smaller all the way around and easier to wrap your hand around, and the reach is adjustable via a screw. I have no idea why they make the reach adjustment so clumsy on the other Shimano brifters (ie. with the additional spacer shims, etc)

Microshift works fine too. The problem is one of the shift paddles sticks out and digs into your fingers.

Maelochs

Here is an odd observation .... people have different hands.

Ultegra and 105 mech brifters are tiny stubs which I find hard to firmly grip. However, they work wonderfully as shifters and brakes, so I adapt.

I like the Microshift button, which is almost flush and unobtrusive, whereas the Tourney paddle stuck out like 3/8 of an inch. It's that crazy "different hands" thing .....

mstateglfr 

This has been interesting to read.
I am not sure what button exists on Microshift or Micronew. Those shifters at the 7-10sp level with external cables, have 2 dedicated paddles that shift and no button.
As for a paddle digging into a finger, Im curious to see how you hold shifters while riding because I cant see how that would be an issue. I also cant figure out which of the two paddles sticks out.


Oh well. Like Maelochs said- differences for different hands.

Welshboy

For many years I was a bit of a bike snob and very much a 'Captain Campag' only ever using Chorus or Record in the 8, 9 and 10-speed era on my road bikes although I did run Centaur on my PBP Audax machine in 2007. I then had a bit of a break from cycling and when I came back I bought either Shimano equipped bikes or built-up frames using Shimano and have tried everything from Tourney to 105 11-speed on my bikes and also have a Dura Ace equipped road bike waiting in the wings. I'm so impressed with the low-end Shimano stuff and the Tourney equipped 'catalogue store' road bike I bought on a whim was really sweet shifting and all I needed at that time although I would not use it now. I have a Claris equipped road bike that's going to be my dry day commuter and the gears and brakes are amazing for the money I paid.

icemilkcoffee 

The upper shift paddle is what digs into my fingers. See how far it protrudes out beyond the brake lever?

Maelochs

Okay, sorry ... Micronew has buttons and paddles, is I guess the accepted language. Tourney had a paddle and a flat, projecting thumb switch on the inside of the brifter which was just in the way for me. Shimano has two paddles --- if we are calling the brake lever and the spoonish-shaped protuberance under it "paddles." i definitely prefer the two-paddle (or one-paddle/one brake-lever) system ..... but I also like having a brifter which matches my cassette.

In any case .... whatever people like as long as it isn't hurting me or anyone I know .... have a ball. It's only cycling after all.

Maelochs

That photo got me interested so I went out to check ... what I had been calling a "button" is in fact a miniature paddle .... Hilarious in that I installed the thing and somehow didn't look at it.

CrowSeph

Is just a matter of time until microshift release a 12s groupset. Until then we can still talk about those obsolete stuff, let's be honest those groupset are nothing special since with a low budget you can easily swap to 12s.
(i have a 10s setup on my mtb, with the right coupons i almost got everything for a 12s upgrade. Why wait a lot? i want wear my cassette before the upgrade. With less than 140€ i have all parts.. )

Bearhawker

Subscription-only city (e-)bikes so no need for groupsets.

With 15-minute cities and restricted (forbidden?) movement outside of urban centers there won't be a need for recreational cycling.

I hope I'm wrong.

mstateglfr 

RoadWearier

Never had a problem with Sora. Had a Claris RD on a relatively cheap Giant road bike and I spent more time adjusting it than riding it. Sold it for the little I paid for it. My current hybrid has 15 year old Sora RD that has never been adjusted and works great. MaybeU got lucky. The bike is 26 lbs but I can make the total ride 20 lbs lighter if I'd lose some weight!

sjanzeir

I, for one, don't find any of this CUES thing a reason for concern, simply because, as Maelochs had so eloquently put it many a post earlier, Shimano isn't the only game in town. Countless other manufacturers who have already been producing HG-compatible products for decades aren't about to stop making them overnight. As has been stated earlier, any of us will still be able to get a replacement seven- or eight-speed cassette for decades down the line, and the Microshifts and L-twoos of the world will continue to churn out perfectly good - if not excellent - replacement FDs, RDs, and shifters for every number of speeds. All you have to do is vote with your wallet. Now switch off Panic Mode and get out and ride whatever bike you've got handy!

Arrowana

As someone who loves to cobble bikes together out of disparate used parts, seeing the ever changing standards the bike industry introduces every year is quite an annoyance. But considering that durability is a main focus of Linkglide and CUES, I actually like the idea of it. Might even grab a groupset to try out once it's available.

sjanzeir

I'm sure everyone will agree as to what a nuisance it is that so many standards exist for a single, simple component, but the bike industry is hardly unique in this regard. I've been researching the possibilities for relighting my man-cave and was staggered by how many light bulb mounting "standards" there are! E14, E27, B22, GX23, GU10 (and all the adapters to get one standard to fit another...) and the list goes on.

The same goes for the automotive industry. Back in the day when owners were able to change out a burned-out headlight or tail light bulb themselves, you had to make sure to get the same lamp as the one you're replacing, and there were many types. But that was back in the days when changing a burned-out bulb cost three bucks and two minutes of Father's time. Now it may cost upwards of $300, two days in the shop, and body panels may need to come off!

seypat

Bill in VA

One part of me can see the benefit of interchangability concept, IF THEY CAN KEEP THE PULL RATIO STANDARD for more than 5 years. However that runs deeply against Shimano corporate philosophy. Change parts for the sake of change, put lipstick on it and call it new and better. I like their bike parts, and my Tiagra Group has been dead reliable, but parts availability for Shimano has always been hard as they change the pull ratios so often. The handwriting has been on the wall for a while with the compatible 10-speed freewheel selection dwindling.

But, they are the same with their fishing gear. Just try to get parts, even on high end pro-level reels. It is why all my surf equipment is Penn and the majority are 25-40 years old, with parts still available and still working well due to the initial overbuilt design.

I have already decided that if I take a tumble and trash a brifter, I will go to friction and DT or bar-con shifters rather that hunt for Shimano replacements from so many generations ago (7 whole years), but my Suntour and Mafac stuff from 1973 still works perfectly.

Bill in VA

Do not even think of the replacement for a new LED headlight assembly, $300 is a downpayment for even a basic one.

sjanzeir

That's one of about a zillion reasons (a major one being... see my avatar) why I lost all interest in new automobiles after about 2009 (the model year of the last - and probably final - new car I bought.) When the W213 Mercedes-Benz came out in 2015, I heard that in case of a crash repair, each headlight assembly was well over $7,000! And we used to think that sealed beams were pricey!

seypat

Viva La 110/74 BCD cranks!

PeteHski

That's what car insurance is for. But another way to look at this is the crash repair cost of yourself after an accident. I would much rather be in a modern car if I was unfortunate enough to be involved in a serious crash. A lot of progress has been made in both active and passive car safety since 2009. I certainly wouldn't ignore that for the sake of component costs that you are unlikely to ever have to actually pay for. Whenever I've run older cars (>10 years old), they have cost me a lot more money overall in maintenance anyway.