First Bike/Ride To Work Questions...

I purchased my bike under the cycle to work scheme last April. It was probably one of the hardest decisions I've made, weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of tiagra or 105 on paper. In the end it became the easiest decision I had ever made once I had visited evans and had a blast. 105 is slicker, smoother and more responsive. In my opinion it was a pretty easy choice once I had road on both. I will confess away from your question that I threw my leg over an ultegra 11 speed steed, dug my hand deep into my pocket and parted with the extra £250. There was no comparison.

If you're after an adventure / cross type bike. I wouldn't rule out this from my local bike shop, they've just put them on offer.

www.bikesheduk.com/specialized-secteur-elite-disc-2014

Regards the above debate on groupsets, I am also of the opinion that 105 is the best compromise, especially when aesthetics are brought into the equation. If I were buying a groupset on it's own, then 105 represents the best performance, style and weight for the money. But on a bike, you'll no doubt find ~£700 bikes with 105, and ~£1400 bikes with Tiagra. Both will do the job for your commute equally well.

Only if I were going for a dedicated race bike would I feel the need to step up to Ultegra, but then I'd probably go to Di2 anyway!

Both 105 and Tiagra work pretty well: personally I find 105 the best compromise between performance, price and durability, but Tiagra isn't far off. My best advice would be to go for the bike you really enjoy riding and don't worry too much about the details. There are plenty of cyclocross-type bikes around at the moment, just find one you like.

I sort of agree and yet disagree with the Judge. When he says that Sora and Tiagra are excellent value for money he is spot on. I have recent experience of both and cannot fault them for the price; they are rugged and work impeccably for a long time. Yes, the more you pay, the lighter and smoother it gets but it's the old diminishing returns thing. You have to double the cost to get a 25% improvement.

Where I disagree with m'Lord is in his opinion of 105. To my mind it's all the groupset you will ever need and yet it can be bought for under £300. It is just that little bit better than Tiagra, slightly slicker and certainly nicer looking. For me it's probably the best compromise, but it's your money, you decide.

Best of luck.

If you're new to the whole proper bike thing, then in my opinion, you wouldn't notice the difference in the groupsets, unless you went from a total P.O.S. groupset to an Ultegra or something. I would say you were correct in your assumption that it's better not to spend more than you need to to begin with, then upgrade, as the original bits wear out. For me, the 105 groupset is overrated, I'd be just as happy with a Sora or Tiagra. There is a big difference between the 105 and Ultegra, and the Dura Ace is night and day different again. That is, of course, in my opinion, I'm aware some will disagree.