So today I decided to see what the difference is between all the components.
I started out riding this...
It's a GIANT OCR with SORA components. The shifting was on par with my SunTour XL equipped Cannondale. I know the bike was new and may have been out of adjustment but it took forever to shift.
Next I rode a Trek 1000 which is around $650. It was equipped with a Tiagra rear derailleur which shifted noticably better than the Sora bike.
The next step up was a Trek 1500. The 1500 uses the same frame as the 1000 but has nicer wheels, shifting components, and a double chainring vs. the triple on the 1000. The Ultegra derailleur was definately a step up from the Tiagra but not as much of a difference as the Sora to Tiagra step.
Of course I had to try out the full Ultegra components as well so I rode a full carbon bike. Again I'm not very experienced with bikes but the Ultegra was the quitest and fastest shifting of the bikes I rode around. The Ultegra was really nice but I don't think I am a good enough rider to make paying extra for it worthwhile. I'm sure that opinion will change with more experience.
Overall I think I will steer clear of the Sora bikes and try to get into something with Tiagra at a minimum. The bike shop owner suggested trying to find a shop with a Trek 1200 (Tiagra front/105 rear derailleur) left over. The problem will be finding a left over 63cm 1200.
The Felt F80 was also suggested to me so I'm going to look at that tommorow.
