Thoughts and advice? New groupset ot new bike?

Seaneh

Right lads.

I bought a second hand Giant OCR 3 with after market Coppi CF fork, Shimano R500 wheels (decent upgrades from originals) and Look Keo pedals.

Got it for crazy cheap from a friend and it's a grand bike.

But the groupset just doesn't suit me, the rear mech is just about knackered too, I'd prefer a compact crankset and more range on the back (12-25 at the min).

I won't be doing anything besides light touring and leisure spins any time soon.

I'm of two minds of whether to buy a new bike (something like a canyon 6.0 sl or similar) or just buy a few groupset like maybe Tiagra10 compact/105 compact or maybe even Sram apex (for the wifli, the range is excellent).

I can get the Tiagra for something like €329, 105 for €469 (both bike24.com) or Apex for €545 (isport.ie).


Would I be as well off just getting the new groupo or would it just make sense to buy a new bike?

The frame is just about the perfect size for me but I do want a new finishing kit.

Anyone have any comments on the tiagra groupo? Is it worht buying or should I just pay the extra for 105 or apex?

I've ignored veloce groupo because I don't like how flimsy the plastic shifters feel.

Any thoughts and comments are welcome.

kingoffifa

i am not a speed demon but i like the challenge of hills. i have apex on my boardman cyclocross and think its the greatest thing since sliced bread.

no hill every causes me to panic cause even if i blow up i can still pedal away.

note - some pro cyclist call contador used it in giro d'italia 2011 i think and used the newer higher spec equivalent lately. if its good enough for some pro then i think we are ok.

i got given out to in work "you will never get stronger that way". he has a point but it means i can go further rather than faster !!

if you're only a leisure cyclist like me and not looking to save weight of some race machine then go for it.

merlin cycles tend to have cheap groupsets - not too sure of the price of full apex set up.

some lads have been selling 105 groupsets in the ads section lately. i suppose a 28 on the back will be smooth enough

Seaneh

:Well Yeah, the idea of the 11-32 at the back and the 34/50 on the front seems perfect to me, plenty of speed there and I could doddle up mountains as well :pac:


But im I better off buying a new bike with a apex kit or just fitting a groupo myself?

kingoffifa

i wouldnt feel qualified to say you should do this or that because i am a novice at this. i do know that apex is savage tack thou

you say you want to do touring. if you do then 34/32 will seem like the best decision you ever made if the bus is loaded up with gear and you are at the bottom of a hill

btw i just checked merlin and they dont have an apex groupset.

from my internet window shopping i notice that very few bikes come with sram groupsets - and when they do they tend to be expensive.

exceptions to this are planet x, boardman and prorace on wiggle.co.uk. but you are still at the 1100 euro minimum spend there. so a little more than what you will pay for a decent alu with some sort of tiagra only or tiagra/105 mix.

its up to you to decide if that is a lot of money.

be warned that pumping money into the giant wont see it increase that much in value.

finally it is September, so apparently this means 2012 stock is being sold cheap now. so you could find yourself a bargain somewhere - or another second hand bike with sram apex on it.

ashleey

Go onto the bike builder of ribble and see what you can get with apex or rival if you have the budget?

DirkVoodoo

Between the cost of getting the groupset installed versus the money recouped from selling your Giant, there is little sense in NOT going for the likes of the Canyon.

Bear in mind that getting a groupset removed before putting a new one on is going to be more labour intensive, most bike shops in Dublin seem to charge ~ 100 euro for an installation.

I don't know what the going market rate for OCR 3s, you might get 250 to 300 euro for it depending on condition and spec (sora?). And new finishing kit? Well that's going to cost at least 60 euro for bars, stem, seatpost and new tape. The effective opportunity cost of not dumping the bike you have has to be factored in to your groupset purchase, otherwise it's a false economy.

So you are already "down" around 460 before you even purchase the groupset.

A brand new, never touched roadlite 6.0 SL is 900 euro (delivery?)

For me, it's a no brainer. Position is easy to replicate and it would have to be one heck of an entry level aluminium frame to make me want to hang on to it.

Seaneh

I'd be installing the new groupo myself, with the help of a friend who is fairly bike canny... If I was going to be paying I'd just straight up buy a new bike as I know the labour cost would be stupid.

Seaneh

ashleey wrote: »

Go onto the bike builder of ribble and see what you can get with apex or rival if you have the budget?

The config I'd want (mid cage rear mech, english bb, braze on frotn mech, 11-32 cassette, 175mm 34/50 chainset, and a few other bits) would only be €485 but they are out of stock.

i emailed Ribble to ask if they'd be back in stock, so I'll see how I get on there.

It's €545 on isport.ie for the same groupo.

Surinam

+1 on sram apex being very good on hills. I managed to get a great deal on my Boardman, reduced from 1050 to 700.

kingoffifa

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

A brand new, never touched roadlite 6.0 SL is 900 euro (delivery?)

I forgot about Canyon !!! savage price in fairness!

Seaneh

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Between the cost of getting the groupset installed versus the money recouped from selling your Giant, there is little sense in NOT going for the likes of the Canyon.

Bear in mind that getting a groupset removed before putting a new one on is going to be more labour intensive, most bike shops in Dublin seem to charge ~ 100 euro for an installation.

I don't know what the going market rate for OCR 3s, you might get 250 to 300 euro for it depending on condition and spec (sora?). And new finishing kit? Well that's going to cost at least 60 euro for bars, stem, seatpost and new tape. The effective opportunity cost of not dumping the bike you have has to be factored in to your groupset purchase, otherwise it's a false economy.

So you are already "down" around 460 before you even purchase the groupset.

A brand new, never touched roadlite 6.0 SL is 900 euro (delivery?)

For me, it's a no brainer. Position is easy to replicate and it would have to be one heck of an entry level aluminium frame to make me want to hang on to it.

the roadlite isn't available in my size and when it is it will be the 2013 model and rumour is that will be €1100,

by finishing kit I just meant new bars and seat really, bar tape i have is pretty much new and grand and the stem is perfect for me (100mm and -/+ 6 degree) but I don't like th bars (want wider and less ramp length) and the saddle (which is always personal I know).

I mean, in total, If I can get it for the ribble price I'd be paying about €570 for the groupo, bars and saddle.

Like I said, I like the fit of my bike I just think it needs a little love on the component side as it's pretty old (6 years?) and has done a lot of milage before I got it.

There is no way I'd get more than €200 for it with the old stock pedals on it (I'd need the keyo's for a new bike anyway) so to be it's spending a grand (minus sale of gaint, whatever I might get) or spending about €570 and having pretty much what I'd want either way?

I mean, once it's stripped do the frameset, the ocr3 is a good frame and the coppi forks are nice, it's not like I'd be dressing out a pos viking with fancy kit...

DirkVoodoo

Seaneh wrote: »

the roadlite isn't available in my size and when it is it will be the 2013 model and rumour is that will be €1100,

by finishing kit I just meant new bars and seat really, bar tape i have is pretty much new and grand and the stem is perfect for me (100mm and -/+ 6 degree) but I don't like th bars (want wider and less ramp length) and the saddle (which is always personal I know).

I mean, in total, If I can get it for the ribble price I'd be paying about €570 for the groupo, bars and saddle.

Like I said, I like the fit of my bike I just think it needs a little love on the component side as it's pretty old (6 years?) and has done a lot of milage before I got it.

There is no way I'd get more than €200 for it with the old stock pedals on it (I'd need the keyo's for a new bike anyway) so to be it's spending a grand (minus sale of gaint, whatever I might get) or spending about €570 and having pretty much what I'd want either way?

I mean, once it's stripped do the frameset, the ocr3 is a good frame and the coppi forks are nice, it's not like I'd be dressing out a pos viking with fancy kit...

You asked for advice, I gave it. The OCR is a basic aluminium frame. I had an SCR and it was nice, but nothing special. The redesigned Defy 2012 was a very nice alloy frame.

What condition is the headset in? What about the bearings in the wheels?

When you say the rear derailleur is knackered, what do you mean? Are any of the body springs stiff or are the jockey wheels in need of replacing? It could be something as simple as a new set of cables being needed. In which case you would only need a new cassette. Are you running a triple crank?

I honestly wouldn't spend more money than was necessary on an old, entry level bike.

Seaneh

The rear mech, the cage is bent, the jockey wheels are gone, few other things, the bike was serviced about a month ago and everything else is grand (wheels are perfect as is headset).

It's really just about what'd the cheapest option available to me.

I don't have a grand to spend on a bike basically.