Is 105 still entry level?
 

In '88 I got my first adult bike.
Columbus Matrix frame and fork.
Full 105 6 speed group.
Mavic MA2 rims.
Don't recall the cockpit.

$700 CAD.

According to Bank of Canada inflation calculator, $700 then is $1500 now.

Can you actually get a "basic" 105 bike for $1500 now?

My assumption back then was that 105 was entry level (affordable) road "racing" components. No interest in Exage or lower.

Haven't kept up with gruppos or pricing in many years.
Are Tiagra, Claris, Sora now the affordable road racing entry level stuff?

Short answer, no.

$1,500 now barely gets you a Tiagra level bike with an aluminum frame.

105 is the "lowest" racing group. Ultegra and Dura Ace are above it.

Below 105, in descending orders, there's Tiagra, Sora, and Acera. Sora functions fine but is heavy.

I think of it as entry level for high end bikes.


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Conventional wisdom among young novices is yes. Lots of collegiate racers on consumer direct $1k bikes like this.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ntnoir_xii.htm

(or second hand big brand variants of course)

Not for me it isn't.

This is my perspective as well.

Unrelated to the above, I recently rented a Giant equipped with Sora and was surprised by how well it worked. This said, I was happy to go back to my Force AXS, DA di2, Campy Record and GRX groups.


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I'd say current gen Tiagra is as good or better than 105 was a decade ago, and that's what I'd recommend someone get for an entry level bike (budget permitting).

https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bik.../caad-optimo-1

:butt:

No

Agreed. Current Tiagra is easily as good as 10 year old 105 level and as robust.

Wasn’t Exage just below 105 back in the late 80’s?

Last of its kind with the rim brakes. They should put that thing in a museum :)

Disc brakes have definitely negatively impacted value at all levels. This is the best selling drop bar bike at our shop:

https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2022-gestalt-2

While it is actually quite nice, it is still an aluminum frame with Tiagra components (and with mechanical discs, to add insult to injury) whereas in the rim-brake days, that price would get you 105 level components. On the flip side, the discs allow for much larger tire clearance which is nice (and we encourage all of our customers to take full advantage of that). Not to mention Tiagra 2x10 works incredibly well.

Agree with what most others have said, 105 is great, Tiagra works exceptionally well. With trickle down technology groups lower end groups have gotten better and better.

In fact, I would go so far as to say, that 96.384% of Paceline members could use a Tiagra group on a quality aluminum frame and suffer no meaningful impact to performance/enjoyment on how we use our bikes. We have all convinced ourselves that we need a "high end" bike or need some special feature, gearing, or a bike that is 1 pound lighter for our 178 pounds. When in reality, none of that really impacts our ride. I am just as guilty of this myself, but have been doing better, with my last bike being built up with 105. After buying a top of the line S-Works Tarmac Red Etap many years ago, I realized it was a really nice bike, but not any better in any measurable way than one of their models that was almost half as expensive. /heresy

I was all prepared to buy the new 105 groupset in 12spd if it was mechanical and had rim brakes.

A good workhorse groupset.