Should I upgrade my Sora groupset or my PowerPod first?

A little over a year ago I went from a casual biker, to completely obsessed after losing a bunch of weight. I have been rapidly buying bike equipment since then. I had to go budget on several of my purchases. Now that I have gotten most the essentials, I am looking to upgrade some of my equipment. I do have Felt Z7 bike which is full carbon fiber, but only has a Sora groupset on it. For my power meter I have been using a PowerPod. Honestly the performance from both has been pretty good. I just thought starting with one of these two would be a good place to start my upgrades, I just not sure which I should upgrade first. Any suggestions on what be the most useful to upgrade first?

First, what is your budget?

I am thinking around $750. From what I have found I could buy a 105 groupset online, and have a shop install for me for in this ballpark. I also think I might be able to get a double sided power meter for around that.

What are you hoping to achieve from upgrading from Sora? As long as it changes gear easily then very little reason (in my view) to upgrade. Won’t lead to any real performance improvements. A well maintained Sora will outperform a poorly looked after more expensive set. A power meter however if used correctly could see big improvements. No brainer in my opinion - power meter every time.

2 Likes

You can get both for $750, find a lightly used Ultegra 6800 and a used Stages PM, will both work in that budget.

I agree with @Cleanneon98. You can usually find a decent used groupset that is in good shape for maybe $300-450 and then either a used stages or even a new 4iiii. The 4iiii 105 left onlys go for $350 new.

Or get brand new 105 here: Shimano 105 R7000 11 Speed Groupset | Merlin Cycles

And find a used Stages on eBay. I paid $300 for my Stages Gen2 and its been perfect

I’ll say you can get both got around $750. You can purchase an Assioma UNO at $459 for current system and future upgrade Favero Assioma UNO Power Meter Pedals - Power Meter City and add any 105 groupset or get a 4iii ($329) 4iiii Power Meters - Power Meter City and Shimano 105 for around $335 on Aliexpress or Ebay. ( both sites are blocked on current system couldn’t post links). Results showed up on a Google search. Can’t got wrong with any 105 groupset and 4iii or Stages single sided power meter.

1 Like