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I currently own a 2013 steel cyclocross bike that I use for daily commuting (approximately 1 hour per day). The model I have is equipped with a Shimano Sora groupset. I am considering moving to a steel road bike, and am looking at a used 2011 model with a Shimano Ultegra groupset.
Can anyone tell me whether there will be a noticeable difference moving from a Sora to an Ultegra groupset?
The cable routing is different. Ultegra is designed to allow both cables to route along the handlebar (instead of that cable sticking out the side of the brake lever like on Sora), to give you a cleaner look and less chance of the cable getting in your way.
Ultegra is higher quality than Sora. It should shift a bit better, or at least go more miles before it needs adjusting to shift perfectly again. It should last longer.
Ultegra is basically the same as Shimano's absolute top of the line (Dura Ace), except a bit heavier.
If you're shopping around and looking at any other bikes, you may also want to consider Shimano 105. 105 is basically the previous generation of Ultegra without any carbon fiber.
Go for Shimano 105 instead of Ultegra. The levers are basically the same (alu instead of carbon) at a lesser expense with the same cable routing along the bar as with Ultegra. I run a cross-bike with 105 and a road-bike with Ultegra. Both work without a noticeable difference.
