Bike Upgrade

Gallant_JJ

On the back of the conversation here about groupsets and components, I'm looking for some advice. I'm currently on a Specialized Allez, i bought it 6 months ago and I love it. Getting in about 400 - 600 km a month. Generally doing a couple of short spins during the week with a larger spin, 80 - 110km at the weekend generally averaging between 28-29kph.

After doing quite a bit of reading on here, I'm thinking of upgrading. Firstly most on here recommend upgrading from the standard wheels which should make a noticeable difference. I was thinking Mavic Askiums, I'm a big build, which I'm working on, but I need something quite robust.

Secondly I find the 2300 setup somewhat frustrating especially with the hand positioning. Would love to upgrade to 105 or SRAM equivalent.

My question is should I look to upgrade my own bike or sell it and look to purchase something else altogether . Would the weight difference help too? I know in the other thread some people were saying the difference in quality between 105 and ultegra was negligible. Would the difference between 2300 and 105/ultegra be noticeable in terms of shifting?

Here are a couple of examples I was thinking about, the rose bikes in particular seem great value.

http://www.roseversand.com/article/rose-pro-2000-double/aid:557610

http://www.roseversand.com/article/rose-pro-sl-3000-compact-530340/aid:530391

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3073

route66

I would guess the upgrade from 2300 to 105 would be noticable - most especially in the operation of the STI levers.

I like the Rosebikes myself and they have got some good reviews. A word of caution though - at this time of year, they discount the 2012 range of unsold bikes but this also brings the downside of reduced availability of sizes, etc; I see you have linked the Pro-SL 3000 and the Canyon as a compact and the Pro-2000 as a double. Might want to check that - do they not have what you want in your size/gearing combo?

CaoimH_in

Howdy, I'm pretty sure a 105/Apex upgrade would be extremely worthwhile. However, I would wait until you've ran your wheels into the ground before an upgrade there. Mavic seems to be a brand tied to durability, but every wheel is different. It's frustrating but it is worth looking through a lot of user response comments/reviews when you think about buying a wheel even if they keep telling you contradictory things. (Always keep in mind that many reviews are targeted as ways to convince you to buy the wheels from the people writing the review, for instance CompetitiveCyclist does youtube reviews). You do end up with your own picture at the end. I dunno if expensive new wheels would be worth it yet because you've really not put that many Ks into the ones you have. You'll need legs before you'll need fancy wheels.

For sure the groupset upgrade sounds like a good option. I have a Shimano 2300 group on my winter trainer and I have found it to be bad and frustrating, but after a few hours of tinkering I have got it to switch smoothly while in the saddle and when out of the saddle I have worked on my ability to shift my weight so it doesn't jump very badly. I find switching to the big ring to still be rather stiff and it does affect what gears I'll choose to use. But I still have managed to get it to be fairly functional, fairly good, etc. You would probably have my support if you were to look at getting a 105/Apex, or something fancier if you were getting a great deal and were sure cycling wasn't just a short-term hobby.

Hope this helps.