Shimano’s strategy to trickle down technology first seen at the top-end to its more affordable groupsets continues, with the announcement today of its new Sora R3000 , which features a refreshed appearance, 11-34t cassette, mechanical disc brakes with flat mount calipers and new thru-axle wheels.

Shimano launched its new Tiagra groupset last year, which we were hugely impressed with. Sora sits one step below Tiagra and is a 9-speed groupset aimed at, in Shimano’s words, “sports and fitness cyclists” but is also “a perfect groupset for winter or urban commuting bikes”.

– Review: Shimano Sora 3500 groupset

What’s new then?

The main difference is a visual one. Shimano has treated Sora to the same four-arm chainset design that first appeared on Dura-Ace a few years ago, and was introduced to Tiagra last year. There’s also a new two-tone black and grey gloss finish for the chainset, shifters, levers, brakes and rear derailleurs. 

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Shimano Sora R3000 13 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

The other big change is to the shifters. Like Tiagra, the cables are now routed under the bar tape, providing a much cleaner appearance, and gives the groupset a more upmarket look. Bikes with Sora fitted should look really good, we can’t wait to see the first examples of it in the coming months.

– Shimano Tiagra 4700 first ride review

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Shimano Sora R3000 4 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

Sora is intended to fulfil several different roles, from road bikes to flat bar commuters. For this reason, the chainset is available in four-arm double 50-34t and triple 50-39-30t configurations and, for flat bar bikes, a five-arm chainset in 50-34t or 50-39-30t version, the latter with an integrated chain guard.

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Shimano Sora R3000 6 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

There is also new 11-34t cassette with a long cage rear derailleur and a long arm front derailleur.

“Spinning up hills suddenly got easier with two extra teeth over the previous SORA, while the small 11T sprocket makes sure you have enough high-end range to put the power down,” says Shimano of the new cassette.

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Shimano Sora R3000 5 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

Discs and thru-axles for the masses

Disc brake technology is getting more affordable, with Shimano releasing the new Sora level mechanical disc brakes with a flat mount caliper.

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BR-RS305-R_zz_zz_STD_S1_draft (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

Flat Mount is the method of attaching the caliper to the frame/fork and it’s a cleaner and lighter system than the other current standard, post mount.

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SM-RT81-S_zz_zz_STD_S2 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

The new brakes can be used with a choice of steel of stainless steel rotors. 

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WH-RX31_zz_F_L_S1 (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

Shimano has updated the RX31 wheelset with new AX720 hubs with E-Thru technology, based around 12mm thru-axles. E-Thru is an existing technology with Shimano, it first debuted it on its mountain bike line of components last summer.

– Your complete guide to Shimano 2016 road bike groupsets

There are no prices or availability information at the moment.