Road Groupset Hierarchies 2015

[jamiebae]

Partly out of interest, and partly because I thought it would be useful for others, I wanted to start this discussion. Shimano basically own the market for fully built bikes, but if you're building or modifying a bike then maybe you're considering SRAM or Campag too. What I don't really know, is how they all compare, I like the looks of Campag, the feel of SRAM and the VFM of Shimano.

Shimano Groupsets (in order of price/quality)

Tourney - 7 speed, the old 2300 kit but losing one cog, thumb shifters and not great to use, but thankfully confined largely to the BSO market
Claris - 8 speed, similar to Sora, but one less cog
Sora - 9 speed, with paddles for downshift like Claris
Tiagra - 10 speed, slightly nicer shifters than Sora but still with cables sprouting from the sides of them
105 - 11 speed, concealed cables, feels like the biggest step up in the range since the Tourney - Claris jump
Ultegra - 11 speed, a lighter and slightly smoother version of the above
Dura Ace - 11 speed, never played with it so no idea!

SRAM goes Apex, Rival, Force and Red with all bar Apex being 11sp and is generally lighter than Shimano for the same cost, but the shifters are love or hate.

Campag - I have no idea, other than the cassettes seem silly (13-26?!) and the chain sets look great.

Please add your own wisdom and knowledge below!

[jamiebae]

How do the different manufacturers ranges compare? Red - Dura Ace, Force - Ultegra, Rival - 105, Apex - Tiagra, but the SRAM ones are 300-500g lighter at the lower end of the scale from what I read.

Can anyone explain how Campag fits in with the above?

[Dammit]

I think in general you establish what your prejudices and assumptions are, then pick a groupset to suit.

[Steve vRS]

jamiebae said:

SRAM ones are 300-500g lighter at the lower end of the scale from what I read

That much difference?

[anonymous-user]

Dammit said:

I think in general you establish what your prejudices and assumptions are, then pick a groupset to suit.

Way too accurate!...

[jamiebae]

Steve vRS said:

jamiebae said:

SRAM ones are 300-500g lighter at the lower end of the scale from what I read

That much difference?

http://www.totalcycling.com/en/Component-Weights/cc-8.aspx

This shows Rival as 400g less than 105, obviously the gap is less between Red and DA.

[bakerstreet]

Steve vRS said:

That much difference?

SRAM Force has always been lighter than Ultegra, but generally its usually much more expensive by a £100 or so. You can get full SRAM Force for around £580, where as Ultegra is around £450.

Loads of the pro teams were running SRAM Red in 2012, but I think only one pro team is running SRAM now. Hopefully they will change when they finally get the wireless electronic system to market. However, IMO, its just too late. Di2 has been around a while now and I think SRAM have just taken too long.

FSA are meant to be launching their own electronic groupset later this year.

I run Force on my Giant and 10sp 105 on my CX. I will probably keep the CX on Shimano, but of I get a new carbon bike this year, I'd like to get the Planet X Nanolight which runs Rval 22, so I can slowly migrate it to Force 22.

I was talking to a local bike shop owner the other day and we agreed that most SRAM equipped road bikes nearly always end up heavily discounted in the sales due to low demand. Cannondale launched a SuperSix with Rival 22 for their 2015 range and I bet that will be heavily discounted come August of this year.

[jamiebae]

I have Force 10 on my main road bike and really like it, but the fact I can buy 105 for less than Apex puts me in a dilemma when I build my next bike. I want a Genesis Equilibrium frame which isn't light, so saving a few grams isn't the end of the world, and Shimano is unbeatable VFM, but I prefer the feel of SRAM and as my commuter runs an Alfine with a bar end shifter so that would be 3 different drivetrains! To complicate things further silver 105 looks terrible, but an Equilibrium in last year's red colour scheme with silver Campag bits would look stunning...

[bakerstreet]

jamiebae said:

I have Force 10 on my main road bike and really like it, but the fact I can buy 105 for less than Apex puts me in a dilemma when I build my next bike. I want a Genesis Equilibrium frame which isn't light, so saving a few grams isn't the end of the world, and Shimano is unbeatable VFM, but I prefer the feel of SRAM and as my commuter runs an Alfine with a bar end shifter so that would be 3 different drivetrains! To complicate things further silver 105 looks terrible, but an Equilibrium in last year's red colour scheme with silver Campag bits would look stunning...

The latest 105 shifters look much better as they look like the Ultegra 6700 shifters from last year.

[jamiebae]

bakerstreet said:

The latest 105 shifters look much better as they look like the Ultegra 6700 shifters from last year.

Yup, but the rest (especially the chainset) looks horrid in silver.

Still, not as bad as the Tiagra chainset, I've no idea who let that design get off the drawing board!

[nammynake]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Is that possibly because 105 is on your winter bike and subjected to mucky conditions? I've been using the 10 spd 105 for a couple of years and it's been great. The new 105 even better.

[TheLemming]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Same feeling about Rival on my winter bike. Well set up it's pretty damn good - after a winter of abuse it's crap compared to the Force / Red setup on my summer bike that came out to play on Sunday.

Both on fresh perfectly adjusted setups there's really not a lot of difference between Force and Rival - but my summer bike gets looked after better and abused less.

[JEA1K]

jamiebae said:

Still, not as bad as the Tiagra chainset, I've no idea who let that design get off the drawing board!

Same as the DA FC7800 (almost).

I had the view that DA for summer bike and Tiagra for winter bike so if I had a fall, it would be cheaper to replace. Problem is DA 9000 feels so good when shifting, it made the Tiagra feel like something from the dark ages. In fairness the Tiagra was well used so wasn't as smooth as if it was new ... I suspect new Tiagra shifters would feel more positive.

My solution was to put Ultegra 6800 on the winter bike which has made it feel so much better ... very little difference in feel between Ultegra 6800 and DA 9000. On the plus side it gives me some compatibility between bikes when I need it.

[Andy JB]

Whilst I cannot comment on 2015 groupos, i can comment from experience having all 3x manufacturers parts on different bikes.

The latest from SRAM amaze me that they are so much lighter than Shimano, a lever combo for example in SRAM Apex or Rival is considerably lighter than Ultegra Carbon levers, for the same price point as 105/Tiagra; it shifts very well too, although i can't comment for longevity at this stage for SRAM - otherwise its a no brainer.

Campag on the other hand while slightly heavier than my Shimano, Athena/Chorus v Ultegra Dura Ace combos do shift much cleaner and look much nicer aesthetically than Shimano. So all horses for courses.

IMO the offerings from SRAM should worry the established two considerably on price, accuracy & weight, they only lose out on Kudos which is important to cyclists

[ALawson]

That website http://www.totalcycling.com/en/Component-Weights/c... doesn't list a weight for Tiagra, anybody got any ideas?

[scherzkeks]

pablo said:

Way too accurate!...

Not really; depends on when you started riding. Shimano was known to be soft in the past, but they have improved.

[anonymous-user]

scherzkeks said:

pablo said:

Way too accurate!...

Not really; depends on when you started riding. Shimano was known to be soft in the past, but they have improved.

yeah and Campag used to be Italian....

[Magic919]

I'll say Fred here, before it starts.

[scherzkeks]

pablo said:

yeah and Campag used to be Italian....

I've got a bent Dura Ace crankset in the basement. Want it?

[Raven Flyer]

I'm using Force 10 chainrings, Force 11sp cassettes and 6870 Di2.

If you draw a triangle of weight, strength and cost, it sits right in the middle. It is, for me, the perfect drivetrain.

You could also say that Force 10 chainrings are as pretty as anything from Campag.