Shimano Tiagra Groupset Guide

It's just bloody good...

Mark Lovatt has been putting the miles in aboard a Tiagra 4700 equipped bike. We'd built him up a new bike using our standard spread of Tiagra parts, exactly the same groupset as we use on our Pro Carbon and RT-58 V2 alloy pre-built bikes, exactly the same as you can buy from us. With decades of experience on a bike Mark's ridden every iteration of every groupset from Shimano, Campagnolo, and SRAM in the last twenty years, so this weekend we sent him out on one of our unbranded alloy road bikes kitted out with a Shimano's Tiagra 4700 groupset to find out what he thinks.

Shimano Tiagra has always offered value for money and reliable performance, for a lot of people who are new to road cycling a Tiagra equipped bike maybe be their first. In the past, the leap between Tiagra and 105 (the next groupset in the Shimano hierarchy) seemed to be a fairly large one, but the latest version of Tiagra, 4700, Shimano have raised the bar.

First of all the clunky looks and feel of previous Tiagra groupsets has been streamlined and been brought up to date borrowing from the higher spec Shimano groupsets. Tiagra is now finished in a dark gray metallic finish that’s not a million miles away from the look of Ultegra. The similarities don’t end there either, Tiagra now also features Shimano’s latest four arm crank technology allowing for extra stiffness and greater functionality when it comes to swapping between different sized chain rings. Tiagra 4700 offers a 52/36, 50/34 and a 50/39/30 option giving plenty of options for every type of rider.

The Tiagra rear mech is available in small and medium cage, but unlike the other Shimano ranges Tiagra’s medium cage option has the capacity to take an 11-34 cassette. This offers the widest range of gears of all of Shimano’s ranges, making Tiagra the perfect groupset for a touring set-up.

The Tiagra shifters have been redesigned in line with the higher spec Shimano ranges and now all cables run internally underneath the bar tape, this is the first time a Tiagra groupset has offered this feature and it really adds to the overall look and feel of the groupset. Shimano has also re-designed the Tiagra hood shape to be much smaller and easier to grip making the shifting and braking more accessible and fluid. The Tiagra range also offers a flat bar shifting option for anyone looking to run a flat bar road bike.

It's really what Shimano have done under the hood that makes the difference, new STI mechanics with a lighter more responsive lever feel for both shifting and braking. Tiagra has really come of age with all these changes and now rightly deserves its position on Shimano's top table. There's even a flat bar shifter option if you're looking to build a flat bar, commuter, hybrid or gravel bike.

Tiagra is perfectly suited to the demands of all recreational cyclists. Whether you're just coming back to cycling or starting to get serious about it for the first time, it's so good that it really makes you ask the question, why pay for anything more expensive? Your cycling friends might have opinions about Tiagra based on the previous versions of the groupset, but until they've ridden Tiagra 4700 they just won't know how good it really is. Make the smart choice for your next bike, chose Tiagra 4700.