Upgrading a road bike

corblimey

This may well be a well worn subject, but I did search and nothing specific turned up. I got a roadbike (Defy 3) last year, and it's going grand, it'll certainly do me for this year and more than likely next aswell, but I'm thinking that if I get into this lark a bit more seriously, I'll need a more serious bike.

So what do people do with their 'starter' bikes? Do you upgrade the parts individually (assuming compatibility), and if so, where do you start? Or do you buy a brand new better bike and toss the old one on adverts.ie or keep it and use it for those mucky days when you don't want your pride and joy getting dirty? Let's pretend money is no object, but you're still being sensible.

Lemag

It's always handy to have two bikes. I sold my second bike a couple of months ago and I'm on the lookout for its replacement. I'm waiting on a part for my current bike so, as it currently stands, I have no working road bike. When the weather is this good you'd rightly kick yourself for finding yourself in my situation.

corblimey

corblimey wrote: »

Let's pretend money is no object, but you're still being sensible.

Tks Lemag, yeah I think I answered my own question. If money is no object, obviously you'll buy a second bike for those occasions when one is in the shop. If money is an object, you'll need to think smaller, doing bitpart upgrades, etc.

I guess I'll see what sort of position I'm in come the time.

iregk

Depends on what you're upgrading to I suppose. If you are replacing your Defy 3 with a good expensive machine then I'd keep the defy and use that as a winter bike. A lot of people on here will have entry level machines for winter and the proper bikes once the ice clears off the roads.

Much better to have a fall in February and bust a Tiagra rear d than an Ultegra etc... Of course if the bike that you're replacing your defy with is a marginal upgrade then I'd tend to sell the defy and use that money to fund the new machine.

petethedrummer

iregk wrote: »

Much better to have a fall in February and bust a Tiagra rear d than an Ultegra etc...

I'd go along with that, replacing tiagra is half the price of ultegra.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=40591
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=tiagra+derailler

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=ultegra+cassette
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=tiagra+cassette

You can use the Defy for touring or commuting with a rack and panniers. You couldn't do that with a race specific bike.

LCRC_BAX

Lighter stiffer wheels and race tyres like Michelin Pro Race 3 will make the biggest difference to your bike. You can spend any amount on wheels but Fulcrum 3's or the like are top class and not too expensive (around €400 a pair). After that you will be limited by the frame & groupset so spending lots on carbon bits and bobs won't really make a huge difference, but it will look nice

blorg

It is generally cheaper to buy a new bike with better frame and components than to upgrade bits individually. If you try to upgrade with say a whole Ultegra group, it will be expensive, a hassle to fit and you will still be stuck with a heavy entry-level aluminium frame. Selling the Defy and putting the proceeds to a new bike you could probably get a carbon bike with Ultegra for similar money than buying Ultegra and fitting it on to the Defy.

Bit upgrades are a bit pointless as once you go up from what you have you have to go up in speeds which basically means you have to change most of the group at the same time.

The only upgrades that really make sense are saddle (as what is comfortable is personal), clipless pedals if you don't already have them, and wheels/tyres, as these can be easily transferred to a new bike and the originals put back on if you sell the old bike. New bikes tend to under-spec the wheels also, plenty of carbon Ultegra machines where you will never need to upgrade anything else come with Mavic Aksiums or Fulcrum 5/7s, grand wheels but very much entry level.

Good tyres are probably the best bang for buck out there. I wouldn't go for Pro3s myself as while great feeling they are a little punctury... but Schwalbe Ultremo or Continental GP4000S are just as good and a bit more robust. Tyres are a consumable anyway rather than a permanent upgrade.