# Bike Help



## MA3RC

I’m in the market for a new road bike to replace my very basic Carrera Zelos 14 speed. 

A Cannondale Optimo has taken my fancy. But I have a question around group sets? 

The Optimo comes in a couple of forms - Claris and sora. £100 difference in the price of the bikes. But what justifies The difference....

I cycle around 200 miles a month purely for pleasure so would i be better getting the sora Groupset. 

Apologies for the newbie questions :lol:


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## THE CHAMP

There will be very little between the groupsets if they are set up well. If you want to spend extra money the best place to spend extra money on a entry level bike is the wheels


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## ChrisHGTV

Personally I’d go for Sora if you can. It’s 9 speed rather than 8 so you will have more choice if you ever want to upgrade parts of the drivetrain. 8 speed is pretty old now. I do agree that the best place to spend money is on wheels, but unless you’re going to spend a few hundred quid on wheels I think you’d get more enjoyment from having 9 speed, and maybe upgrading the tyres when you need, to something like continental gp4000. The other things to consider are pedals. Are you using clip less? (I.e your shoes clip into the pedals). If not, moving to clipless would be the biggest advantage!


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## Coops

I have Sora on my Boardman, very capable for what I do which is just riding for pleasure.

Looks like the Optima has Vittoria tyres on which are OK but definitely consider swapping these out when they are worn. I replaced mine with GP4000 II and really noticed the difference.

Nice looking bike btw


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## MA3RC

ChrisHGTV said:


> Personally I'd go for Sora if you can. It's 9 speed rather than 8 so you will have more choice if you ever want to upgrade parts of the drivetrain. 8 speed is pretty old now. I do agree that the best place to spend money is on wheels, but unless you're going to spend a few hundred quid on wheels I think you'd get more enjoyment from having 9 speed, and maybe upgrading the tyres when you need, to something like continental gp4000. The other things to consider are pedals. Are you using clip less? (I.e your shoes clip into the pedals). If not, moving to clipless would be the biggest advantage!


That's good to hear, thankyou! I guess you could say it future proofs the bike somewhat? I'm already running SPD SL'S, took a while to get used to but wouldn't be without them now. Also thanks for the heads-up on the tyres


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## MA3RC

Coops said:


> I have Sora on my Boardman, very capable for what I do which is just riding for pleasure.
> 
> Looks like the Optima has Vittoria tyres on which are OK but definitely consider swapping these out when they are worn. I replaced mine with GP4000 II and really noticed the difference.
> 
> Nice looking bike btw


Ooh thanks! That's good to know. What's the biggest difference you notice with tyres? Less rolling resistance? 
Yeah the looks really caught my eye. Always been a fan of neon colours haha


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## Andyblue

MA3RC said:


> Ooh thanks! That's good to know. What's the biggest difference you notice with tyres? Less rolling resistance?
> Yeah the looks really caught my eye. Always been a fan of neon colours haha


I did coast to coast couple of years back - to celebrate mates 40th and raise money for charity. Had some continental all season 'touring' tyres on, larger profile and deeper (in effect bigger tyre), no issues with punctures and comfier (although that was minimal) ride - swapped to a set of 25 (I think) slim profile tyres and the difference in rolling resistance and sharpness is there - was like riding a different bike...


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## kingswood

visit your local bike shop and speak to them there, better if theres an indie near you.

my friend owns one and is always happy to give advice.


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## Coops

MA3RC said:


> Ooh thanks! That's good to know. What's the biggest difference you notice with tyres? Less rolling resistance?
> Yeah the looks really caught my eye. Always been a fan of neon colours haha


Better grip, less resistance. Just felt more comfortable all round.


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## jenks

I have a Carrera Crixus cyclo-cross which has the claris set up, 8 speed, and a Cannondale synapse with a 10 speed tiagra groupset. Apart from the extra 2 gears the difference is quite small, especially considering the tiagra is 2 rungs up the Shimano ladder. The tiagra has a slightly shorter action on the gears shifters and different hood shapes but that is about it.
My Carrera has done over 4k miles in 4 years and the claris set up has been faultless. It gets service every year with new cables and looked after by me in between.
I've just had to swap out the jockey wheels as they were grumbly and swapped the cassette and chain as I wanted silver ones.
Hope this helps, either way enjoy your new bike


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## Oats

I just had a look at my local bike shop (Drakes Cycles in Leeds) to see the specs. They've an Optima 105 Tiagra for £749 or Claris for £489. I think that makes it a 105 for Sora price at Evans. And Tiagra is a nice groupset. Thinking ahead, it's easier to change he wheels yourself than change the groupset.


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## jenks

105 and tiagra are separate group sets. I guess for £749 it's tiagra. It's a good price though and yes tiagra is a nice group set


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## bigrace

Tiagra on mine. Done about 5000 miles in 2 years. Only had one frayed cable on rear mech. Gets a new chain about every 1000 miles









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