older 105 components

[afryska]

I bought my first bike last year, a Trek 1000... it's served me well, but now that I've gotten more into the sport and started racing, I'm looking to upgrade; I've already acquired a nice Tifosi frame and Shimano wheelset second-hand, now I need the parts. A friend is offering me an older ('97/'98) used 8-speed 105 group that appears to be in very good shape, well maintained and all that. My question is how this group compares to todays 8-Speed Sora (which is on my Trek), as well as today's 105. My main reasons for upgrading are for cleaner and more reliable shifting, shifting in the drops, and durability. I'm worried that in 6 years, even the lowest level components (like the Sora on my Trek) have improved beyond the old 105 componets I'm being offered. At the same time, I'm a poor starving college student, I don't have the $2000 for a new racer. Will this old group hold up?

Also, is there a difference beteen S.T.I. and S.I.S.?

Thanks for your help!

 

[fushman]

Originally posted by afryska
I bought my first bike last year, a Trek 1000... it's served me well, but now that I've gotten more into the sport and started racing, I'm looking to upgrade; I've already acquired a nice Tifosi frame and Shimano wheelset second-hand, now I need the parts. A friend is offering me an older ('97/'98) used 8-speed 105 group that appears to be in very good shape, well maintained and all that. My question is how this group compares to todays 8-Speed Sora (which is on my Trek), as well as today's 105. My main reasons for upgrading are for cleaner and more reliable shifting, shifting in the drops, and durability. I'm worried that in 6 years, even the lowest level components (like the Sora on my Trek) have improved beyond the old 105 componets I'm being offered. At the same time, I'm a poor starving college student, I don't have the $2000 for a new racer. Will this old group hold up?

Also, is there a difference beteen S.T.I. and S.I.S.?

Thanks for your help!

i dont like sora, in my experience it breaks

sti is means combined shift and break levers, while sis just means indexed shifting ie clicks

 

[MuzzaB]

The older 105 components were fine, but you still need to be careful. Being well maintained is one thing, but even then, parts of the groupset will wear after enough miles. Are they STI? (i.e. are the gear-change and the brake levers in a single unit) or are the changers mounted on the downtube? If not STI and if you want to upgrade some components to STI and 9 speed, you need to upgrade the major (and most expensive) parts of your group set. You may as well not bother.

Also measure the bolt circle diameter on the chainring. If its 110mm, rather than 130mm (which is standard with newer Shimano chainrings) you may have problems when you want to replace the chainrings. You'll find the bottom bracket is different too, although still compatible with Sora and Tiagra.

 

[boudreaux]

Originally posted by MuzzaB


Also measure the bolt circle diameter on the chainring. If its 110mm, rather than 130mm (which is standard with newer Shimano chainrings) you may have problems when you want to replace the chainrings. You'll find the bottom bracket is different too, although still compatible with Sora and Tiagra.

There is no problem replacing 110 chainrings, and shimano only used them on the 7 speed RSX stuff in recent history. The BB is not comaptible with sora or tiagra,as the spindle length requirements are different.

 

[Gonzo Bob]

STI shifting seems to wear out much quicker than bar-end or downtube shifting and small parts to keep them working are generally not available. I've had my Ultegra STI shifters since 1999 and recently they've started to give me shifting problems. I suspect that they only have a couple of years left. Compare that to my downtube SIS levers from 1986 that have never had any problems. Personally I would be hesitant to buy used STI.

 

[afryska]

Thanks all for the info. Actually, I was looking closely at the group today, and am a bit confused... it's obviously an integrated and indexed system (not down-tube shifters), but all the components are labeled S.I.S. (including the integrated shifter/break levers). This seems to contradict what was said about S.I.S. being only down-tube and bar-end and S.T.I. integrated, since these are definately integrated. Could these perhaps be Shimano's first attempts at integrated systems, before S.T.I.? What does that mean for the shifting ability of the group?

One more question; how does the weight of these older components compare with what's being used today? Is it lighter than Sora? I know that it's the rider and not the bike that wins a race, but I would like to at least have comparable equipment to that of my competitors. Will this older groupo be a handicap? I guess I'm asking which you would rather race on, old or new. After all, it doesn't make sense to upgrade from a low-level but modern group (sora) to something older and higher end if i ultimately end up adding weight and losing functionality.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice!

 

[Gonzo Bob]

All STI are SIS. SIS is simply Shimano's name for indexed shifting. STI is Shimano's term for shifting integrated into the brake levers.

 

[6.74]

hey mate is ur sti starting to not charge as in u dont feel the click when u go to change gears??.
cause if it does then try running sum realy fine oil into the top of the sti and change your gears a couple of times and make sure some oil comes out of the bottom of the sti so you know that there is lots of oil in the unit.

i run a bike shop and do repairs and i have fixed hundread of sti that stoped workig by doing that.

what happens is the grease they use dires up and it stop the sti from working.