>>1682989The industry just re-defined what entry level was in 2016/2017 with nuclaris/sora and they've been phasing everything in that direction since then
Claris and Sora are now extremely good and those bikes are the entry level.
Cheap 105 is basically nonexistant and Tiagra was always a stopgap group with its own meme cable pull and it's not specced any longer.
The entry level 105 bikes haven't gotten more expensive, it's that Claris and Sora are now the entry level.
Unless close steps between gears matter to you, there is no real advantage of spending more money, except as a weight related frivolity, in which case, you're the perfect consumer, and get the goybucks ready.
Can you really not get a claris/sora road bike with a carbon fork for $1000?