Component upgrades --> Weights?

Lonnie Utah said:

8 speed sora flight deck....

L

Everything on it is heavy and lower rung.The frame is ok,but decent wheels, and light tires will make the biggest difference.

I kinda knew this going in, but wanted an intro bike that wouldn't break the bank. I paid just over $500 for it so I don't feel that bad. It's treated me well so far.

So at this point here's what I'm thinking. Given the total cost of upgrading, I think I would come out better in the long run to just buy a new bike. However, I don't think I'll be able to convince the wife (who does the finances) to let me buy a new road bike this spring/summer, but you never know. "What WRONG with your old one???" 😉 I know I can piecemeal together the funds need to do various upgrades if that's the route I wanted to go. My best hope is to pick something up next fall when the LBS's blow out their stock. A new set of wheels might not be a bad deal, since I'll still be able to use them on what ever I upgrade to at that point. I'll keep my current bike as a trainer, when ever I do that.

And just know I understand 100% about getting in my mileage at this point. I always been pretty blessed aerobically. All of the guys I ride with here at work are on full ultergra machines and have been riding many years. I've got no problem hanging with them on our group rides and quite frequently "win" the sprints and break aways (except when the [censored] hang me out to dry! 😉 ). One of the reasons I was asking this question was I want to level the equipment gap as much as I can.

Thanks for all your help and sorry about the confusion yesterday (I know all of you had good intentions...)
L

Lonnie Utah said:

I kinda knew this going in, but wanted an intro bike that wouldn't break the bank. I paid just over $500 for it so I don't feel that bad. It's treated me well so far.

So at this point here's what I'm thinking. Given the total cost of upgrading, I think I would come out better in the long run to just buy a new bike. However, I don't think I'll be able to convince the wife (who does the finances) to let me buy a new road bike this spring/summer, but you never know. "What WRONG with your old one???" 😉 I know I can piecemeal together the funds need to do various upgrades if that's the route I wanted to go. My best hope is to pick something up next fall when the LBS's blow out their stock. A new set of wheels might not be a bad deal, since I'll still be able to use them on what ever I upgrade to at that point. I'll keep my current bike as a trainer, when ever I do that.

And just know I understand 100% about getting in my mileage at this point. I always been pretty blessed aerobically. All of the guys I ride with here at work are on full ultergra machines and have been riding many years. I've got no problem hanging with them on our group rides and quite frequently "win" the sprints and break aways (except when the [censored] hang me out to dry! 😉 ). One of the reasons I was asking this question was I want to level the equipment gap as much as I can.

Thanks for all your help and sorry about the confusion yesterday (I know all of you had good intentions...)
L

The frame and fork is good enough to hang anything you want to on it. If you are good at sourcing parts and doing it yourself a complete rebuild a few parts at a time can be cost effective.After the wheels, ditch the heavy sora crank and BB. A nine speed upgrade involves shifters,cassette and chain. But, the motor is still more important than saving a few ounces at often high cost.

boudreaux said:

But, the motor is still more important than saving a few ounces at often high cost.

We're working on that upgrade too!

L

One of the guys here just spent about $2500 on his old Merckx frame to save weight and upgrade components. His guideline was $1/gram of weight saved, but not all the new stuff met this criteria. He ended up saving 4.6 pounds, at a cost of $555/pound. His beloved and much-raced classic lugged SLX frame now weighs in a 18.9 pounds.

dhk said:

One of the guys here just spent about $2500 on his old Merckx frame to save weight and upgrade components. His guideline was $1/gram of weight saved, but not all the new stuff met this criteria. He ended up saving 4.6 pounds, at a cost of $555/pound. His beloved and much-raced classic lugged SLX frame now weighs in a 18.9 pounds.

And it's still a tank. Do it because it gives you a warm fuzzy, not because it makes sense.

dhk said:

One of the guys here just spent about $2500 on his old Merckx frame to save weight and upgrade components. His guideline was $1/gram of weight saved, but not all the new stuff met this criteria. He ended up saving 4.6 pounds, at a cost of $555/pound. His beloved and much-raced classic lugged SLX frame now weighs in a 18.9 pounds.

Holy [censored], Batman! :eek: That's quite a chunk of change. He must love her dearly. It would have to be a labor of love to have done that. Besides, that $2,500 figure doesn't include the time he spent working on it either.

For that kind of scratch he could have sold his old Merckx, bought a brand spankin' new 05 Roubaix Comp Triple and probably had some change left over for a water bottle cage or two. And he'd be well under 18.9 lbs too.

Doctor Morbius said:

......he could have sold his old Merckx, bought a brand spankin' new......

Blasphemy.

Boudreaux knows where it's at...you can't sell an old bike that you raced on, no matter how heavy or rusty...at least I can't. And believe it or not, not everyone wants a new off the shelf bike from Specialized et al.

Yes, he loves her dearly. Before the new wheels, fork, and Campy group, he got a retro orange team paint job on it (I didn't even include that cost). The guy weighs about 130 lbs, and still has power to smoke most all of us club riders anyway, so saving a couple more pounds on a new bike doesn't mean much to him.

Seems the retro-bike movement is alive and well around here. Even shined up the chrome and rust on my 1974 Raleigh Gran Sport and took it out....but it's certainly not worthy of upgrades like a classic Merckx frame.

I think my post may have been misinterpreted. I didn't mean to say that he should have, but rather he could have bought a new S. Roubaix for that much and saved considerable time as well. I fully understand the nostalgia/retro movement as many of the newer bikes have no soul. Personally I'd like to have an older Cannondale Killer-V frame. Not that the Killer-V is any better than the newer frames but because it has character.

http://www.dirty-pages.net/bikes/luc_cannondale_killer_v.html