What do you think of Shimano ditching rim brakes in 105 and higher?

[bikeworkshop]

My 11 hydro 105 is the nicest shifting/braking I've got,
although my xtr 8 with xt hydro is very very close, and 9 deore with mt200 hydro is only a hair's breath behind.
9 speed sora mechanical is the worst of mine, but also the cheapest so surprise surprise

 

[ChromeChainstay]

all my bikes are 11spd and a 8spd claris bike

 

[Woz]

My 11 hydro 105 is the nicest shifting/braking I've got,
although my xtr 8 with xt hydro is very very close, and 9 deore with mt200 hydro is only valid hair's breath behind.
9 speed sora mechanical is the worst of mine, but also the cheapest so surprise surprise

I've pulled both the 4600 STI and the 9 speed 3500 STI apart - visually very similar from the outside - and you would immediately think they are identical (like a lot of the bullshit reviews of the time). Nothing could be further from the truth. The Sora made in Malaysia, material quality very low grade, re-designed mechanisms with corners cut where possible.

 

[bikeworkshop]

I've pulled both the 4600 STI and the 9 speed 3500 STI apart - visually very similar from the outside - and you would immediately think they are identical (like a lot of the bullshit reviews of the time). Nothing could be further from the truth. The Sora made in Malaysia, material quality very low grade, re-designed mechanisms with corners cut where possible.

You can feel the quality difference in the shift.

 

[georges1]

10 speed was dumped because the shifting is poor, too short cable pull with 6 speed heritage running across 10 sprockets! - later tiagra (4700) 10 and road 11 speed massively increased the cable pull.
Consequently stock of old 10sp 105/ultegra stis was flogged off at half price for a couple of years.

I think people have discovered though that old road 10 is cross compatible with 7/8/9 mtb rear derailleurs, meaning touring setups (oh, sorry, I mean gravel adventure) are inexpensive and adaptable.

You just need very clean cables, preferably not internal or full cable runs.

And now that surplus is gone

dura ace 7800/ ultegra 6600/105 5600 worked and works fine and without any problems. Price of new old stock mint in box dura ace st 7800 brifters is above 1000€, very good ones from 300€ to 500€. These older STIs didn't have cable shifting eating issues unlike brifters with internal cable unlike dura ace 7900/ultegra 6700/105 5700 and their sucessors. Use deore XT 8000 if you want something robust and bulletproof for mountain bike trail riding or trekking or gravel.

 

[georges1]

Exactly. Looking in my records I bought:
- 2 x pairs of new 5700 STIs (a double and triple) for 280€
- 2 x new 5700 long cage rear mechs for 60€
- front mechs were practically growing on trees and you could take your pick.

I love tinkering with this stuff but not ridden it much . I absolutely stayed clear of the Tiagra 4700 - the Tiagra 4600 with gear cables out in front just doesn't seem to want to give up - always smooth and never ghost shifted. The Sora was pretty inferior, especially the left hand shifter.

I dumped all my 11 speed off a few years ago now.

I only purchase Dura Ace ST 7800 brifters for doubles and only Dura Ace 7800Rear Derailleurs, Front Derailleurs, Brakes, bottom brackets and crankset. I have a road bike projects, I sadly won't spend money on Dura Ace 7900, 9000, 9100 and 9200 because more fragile, more difficult to repair and less aesthetic. No 22 speeds and no 24 speeds for me

 

[d8mok]

This week I’ve swapped out my 12 speed chain on my Di2. The noise is significantly better but still not silent like GRX 11 speed.

I think even though my chain didn’t have much stretch it obviously was done. The new one is almost silent so I doubt it would be noticed now


I’ve also added another bike to my stable with 12 speed 105 mechanical. This is a great groupset for the money. It’s seamless and very quiet.

 

[ChromeChainstay]

Shimano released the new 12 speed mechanical 105 groupset this year, which is Hydraulic disc only. I personally don't think its a good idea to ditch rim brakes when there are hundreds of millions of bikes on the road made of carbon, steel and alloy that can only fit rim brakes. Ultegra and Dura-Ace phased out rim brakes a few years ago.

Tiagra 4700 still comes in rim but its got kinda heavier components. Wouldn't surprise if the next Tiagra is disc-only in a few years. This will leave only Sora and Claris which are low end groups and not high performance.

not quite