Comparing Rear Derailleurs

Medic_Pilot said:

Howdy,

I currently ride an older (10 year) MTB which came with Shimano Avilio rear derailleurs, however I am only riding it on streets. I am looking to add a road bike to my inventory and I need to decide what model of derailleur to equip it with.

The two models for the road bike I am looking at are the Sora and 105.

My question is where does the Avilio land in overall quality when compared to the Sora and 105. I know that the Avilio is MTB and the others are for road, but I am looking for an evaluation of quality only.

I am familiar with the type of ride and shifting I get with the Avilio, so that is my baseline. I am not interested in other models (i.e. Ultegra) for budgetary reasons and the type of riding I will be doing.

Thanks for your help.

before Upgrading to 105, I had a sora rear, And it worked fine. Many people say that the minimum one should get is a 105, but I believe this is more related to the fact that sora groupsets come with a 8 speed rear, meaning that you would have to change your shifters to 105 to accomodate a 9 speed cassette. so if you don't plan on needing a 9 speed or even 10 speed rear, get to sora, in any case you can pick up a 105 der. later.

Medic_Pilot said:

Howdy,

I currently ride an older (10 year) MTB which came with Shimano Avilio rear derailleurs, however I am only riding it on streets. I am looking to add a road bike to my inventory and I need to decide what model of derailleur to equip it with.

The two models for the road bike I am looking at are the Sora and 105.

My question is where does the Avilio land in overall quality when compared to the Sora and 105. I know that the Avilio is MTB and the others are for road, but I am looking for an evaluation of quality only.

I am familiar with the type of ride and shifting I get with the Avilio, so that is my baseline. I am not interested in other models (i.e. Ultegra) for budgetary reasons and the type of riding I will be doing.

Thanks for your help.

I "love" Shimano derailleurs because, in general, the least expensive Shimano derailleurs function as well as the most expensive Shimano derailleurs ... that's probably true for the Campagnolo & SRAM derailleurs, for the most part, too.

AFAIK, your 10 year old Alivio is probably a comparable group level to the Sora at some point in time ... but, trickle-down improvements means that your rear derailleur is BELOW the 9-speed SORA & 105. I think the ranking at the bottom of the Shimano "road" groups is Sora, Tiagra, 105 ...

The more expensive Shimano derailleurs are lighter, have a nicer finish, and are slightly easier to adjust than their less expensive brethren.

Although the rear derailleur you are spec'ing is for a road bike, you may want to consider a Deore or an LX (comparable to a 105) because it is hard to get a Shimano ROAD rear derailleur to accommodate a MTB cassette (it can be done in some instances, but what a hassle) IF you think that is ever going to be a future possibility ...

Medic_Pilot said:

Howdy,

I currently ride an older (10 year) MTB which came with Shimano Avilio rear derailleurs, however I am only riding it on streets. I am looking to add a road bike to my inventory and I need to decide what model of derailleur to equip it with.

The two models for the road bike I am looking at are the Sora and 105.

My question is where does the Avilio land in overall quality when compared to the Sora and 105. I know that the Avilio is MTB and the others are for road, but I am looking for an evaluation of quality only.

I am familiar with the type of ride and shifting I get with the Avilio, so that is my baseline. I am not interested in other models (i.e. Ultegra) for budgetary reasons and the type of riding I will be doing.

Thanks for your help.

[font=MS Gothic]Alivio (MTB) just about ranks as Tiagra (Road) - refer to attached.[/font]

[font=MS Gothic][font=Arial][/font][/font]

Great. Thanks for the information. Especially that table comparing the MTB and Road derailleurs.

alfeng said:

I "love" Shimano derailleurs because, in general, the least expensive Shimano derailleurs function as well as the most expensive Shimano derailleurs ... that's probably true for the Campagnolo & SRAM derailleurs, for the most part, too.

Yes, it's that extra grams of weight saving and those fancy material looks that separates most the middle range group to the top $$$ group. For most non-racing cyclists, it's probably not worth the extra expense.

sogood said:

Yes, it's that extra grams of weight saving and those fancy material looks that separates most the middle range group to the top $$$ group. For most non-racing cyclists, it's probably not worth the extra expense.

Nasty confession time: I broke the bolt on the rear Campy Mirage 8 speed derrailleur on my road bike a while back, while climbing a hill coming home.

I went down to the LBS to try to have it replaced but they didn't have any campy stuff in stock. I've got an Alivio (or whatever it is) MTB rear on the bike now and it works just as well as the campy one did. In fact, since it isn't worn out like the old busted one was, the bike is riding better than it has for a while. Embarrassing isn't it!

However, I did this to save money - I've ordered a new Orbea bike to replace my old steel framed one, otherwise I would probably have stumped up the cash for a new campy one.