Difference Between Shimano Tiagra and Sora

discombobulate

Have my hopeful bike choice down to 2 bikes the Cube Aerial and Cube Peleton.

The Aerial has Sora parts and the Peleton has Tiagra art with a different stema nd bars also. Theres about a €130 difference in the price of the bikes and I was wondering if this would justify going for the Peleton or not.

Any advice appreciated!

discombobulate

Just to add would be used for some short distance commuting the odd cycle up to about 100k and then possibly a week in Europe at some stage during the summer

DirkVoodoo

No, not a lot of difference really. The most important difference comes down to the Tiagra shifters sharing more with the more expensive Shimano 10 speed groupsets. If you are worried about the cheaper bike being slower, don't. Sora is now 9 speed also, so I think the difference between the two is really one of comfort (Shimano's higher level STI levers are nicer to use).

For 130 euro you are getting a nicer shifter lever setup, but just as important you get a carbon fork, which is nearly worth the price alone.

Go for the more expensive one if you can afford it, but don't feel like the bike will be holding you back if you don't.

discombobulate

Thanks. Was talking to cycle super store this evening and have both in stock anyway so hopefuly get out on them both tomorrow. Price isn't really an issue would just prefer not to throw away needless money.

As a matter of interest why would the carbon fork be preferable? I know carbon probably weighs less but the bikes weigh pretty much the same. Sorry to be a pain of a newb to road biking here little questions like this will hopefully help me give out advice instead in the future!

sy

Carbon fork will be more comfortable on our bumpy roads. As dirk said probably worth the price difference in itself. The tiagra is def a better purchase than the sora. Good luck with purchase

DirkVoodoo

It will weigh less, but more importantly an aluminium frame tends to amplify road buzz. Your weight over the back wheel, coupled with a padded, well proportioned bum, means that most of the discomfort will be felt at the front wheel, through the bars and onto your hands, arms, neck, etc.

A carbon fork helps smooth a lot of this out. I have a carbon fork on an aluminium frame and it's quite comfortable, not quite at the level of a carbon bike but much better than a Trek 7.1 I rode which had wider tyres but an alloy fork.

Frankly, I wouldn't buy an aluminium road bike without a carbon fork. It's the easiest upgrade you can make to increase comfort without sacrificing any front end stiffness or handling.

papac

+1 on going for the tiagra/carbon option for all reasons above.
The tiagra shifters are much nicer to use in my experience.