What was your most effective commuter bike upgrade?

DonDaddyD

I've upgraded/modified/changed a reasonable amount on my road bike (Giant SCR 3), some of it worth the expensive others have caused more trouble than good.

What were your best/most effective upgrades?

Hopefully this thread will help guide others to making sensible choices when modifying they're bikes

DonDaddyD

When I look back the three best upgrades I made on my bike (in order of effectiveness) were:

Tyres
First I upgraded from cheap Kenda tyres to Continnetal GP4000s. GP4000s are super grippy and the low rolling resistence was incredible, I noticed I was rolling faster than many were pedalling. The tyres are also really puncture resistant, but South London's brutal roads even pushed them to their limits.

So I changed to Conti 4 seasons, which do everything the GP4000s do though makes sacrifices in the grip and rolling department (but not so much as not to be impressive) for increased puncture resistance.

Seat post
My original aluminium seat post was stolen so I gladly upgraded to the a Bontrager XXX lite carbon seatpost. Noticiable difference, smoother ride, less vibration a lot more comfort.

Wheels
Went from Alex DA22 to Fulcrum Racing 7's. More responsive, faster and the sound of the fulcrum hub is truly pleasurable.

DonDaddyD

Edit.

roger_merriman

I'd go for tires they can make a fairly fast bike go even faster or make sure that a bomb proof bike is also fairy proof, or what ever really is needed but tires can make quite a differnce.

always_tyred

DDD, is it okay for other people to use this thread?

amnezia

Tyres

singlespeedexplosif

Tyres. Conti ultra gatorskins, to be precise. Grippy all year round, fast, puncture proof. And resilient - get around 8000km out of them, both on- and off-road.

Deadeye Duck

I said pedals, simply because my bike come with toe-clips and I didn't get on with them at all. Got myself some clipless SPDs & shoes and it has made a huge improvement on my confidence at roundabouts.

UndercoverElephant

I haven't actually upgraded my tyres yet, but I suspect that would help a lot, so I said brake pads. The reason being that fitting them was the first real time I'd adjusted by brakes in the eight years since I bought my bike from the supermarket. Now they not only have really good stopping power, but also they don't rub against the wheel constantly so my bike goes so much better. It also meant I adjusted the spoke tension on the rear wheel which had gone out of true. It's like a new bike (I still want a new bike though).

Other than that I'd say my rather nice memory foam saddle, a huge relief from the broken bottle the bike came with.

:shock:

soy_sauce

Tyres. from MTB tyres to semi-slick, the different is amazing. alot faster with less effect.

Rich158

Wheels, I went from the crap heavy wheels that came with the bike to a set of Bonty Race X lites. What a difference, the ride felt instantly more compliant, they were lighter, climbed better, accelerated better, and generally made the bike feel rather sprightly rather than dead and slow. They are also maintenance free, the properly sealed cartridge bearings have survived our harsh winter and nearly 10 000 miles, and are still going strong, I've only ever broken one spoke, and they've never needed to be trued

On the other hand the Bonty Race lites that came on my Madone were truly crap, needed truing within 1500 miles, and I was told that if they went out of true again they'd need to be completely re-built :evil: I upgrade these to Mavic Krysium Elites and haven't looked back (unfortunately I couldn't get 08 Bonty Race X lites or I'd have had those).

Upgrading the wheels is the single best upgrade you can make imho

Gazzaputt

What was your most effective commuting upgrade?

Getting fit.

Agent57

Other: mudguards

Admittedly they're only SKS Race Blades due to the lack of mudguard eyes or space between the frame/brakes and tyre, but they made the ride more pleasant in the rain.

CiB

Saddle, from the default lump of plastic to an Italia Gel saddle with a slot down the middle.

Brakes - from the standard 105 GS 'stop then, anytime soon would be nice...' to a set of nose against the handlebars jobbies. They were good, only lasted about 5 months tho.

Tribars - aerobars, call them what you will. Had a huge effect when I fitted them, and amazingly a huge effect when I took them off again. Seems the answer is to toggle them on & off every couple of months and just keep getting faster.

jonginge

Clothing: bibshorts and wicking baselayers.

Commuted for ages in baggies even when I was using bibs for all my other riding. Wish I'd made the change earlier...

Roastie

Agent57 wrote:

Other: mudguards

Admittedly they're only SKS Race Blades due to the lack of mudguard eyes or space between the frame/brakes and tyre, but they made the ride more pleasant in the rain.

+1

In my case full SKS Chromoplastic guards. I don't enjoy getting my rear soaked and my brown stripe of road grime up my back.

Plus, when I'm getting around on my bike dressed in normal clothes, it is nice to just ride straight through any water on the road (which happens even when it it is sunny) and rather than have a keep-clean panic.

singlespeedexplosif

Wheels, I went from the crap heavy wheels that came with the bike to a set of Bonty Race X lites.

Bonty X lites for commuting? That is flash

biondino

Deadeye Duck wrote:

I said pedals, simply because my bike come with toe-clips and I didn't get on with them at all. Got myself some clipless SPDs & shoes and it has made a huge improvement on my confidence at roundabouts.

I also said pedals, as my bike came with clipless SPDs and I replced them with Eggbeaters

bluesacs

Moving closer to the office.

Kieran_Burns

I put other as the best upgrade was a new bike. I've changed the pedals, tyres, added mudguards, and a rack to it - but really the best thing was the new bike

Deadeye Duck

biondino wrote:

Deadeye Duck wrote:

I said pedals, simply because my bike come with toe-clips and I didn't get on with them at all. Got myself some clipless SPDs & shoes and it has made a huge improvement on my confidence at roundabouts.

I also said pedals, as my bike came with clipless SPDs and I replced them with Eggbeaters

I am tempted to get myself some eggbeaters when/if I ever upgrade. I've heard quite a few horror stories of them getting incredibly loose, incredibly fast, though :?

jedster

This sounds a bit silly because I've had good results from tyres and SKS chromoplastics but the single best upgrade to my commuter has been using a dynohub front wheel and B&M LED lights.

For most of the year I need lights for at least one leg of my commute. Out of town, a fair distance is on unlit roads. The lighting system makes life utterly painless - nice and bright, standlights for when you are stopped, always works, never need to replace or recharge, never need to remove/refit when locking/unlocking my bike. Just ultra convenient.

The other bonus is that I leave the lights switched on a lot, particularly in the early evening when many cyclists wouldn't bother with lights. I think I get seen much more easily when in the shadow of hedges/trees etc.

Another less obvious upgrade has been using locking skewers and seat post clamp on my station bike - means I can lock it up effective with just a u-lock without removing wheel/seat post etc - again v. convenient.

Do you see a pattern?

J

biondino

Deadeye Duck wrote:

biondino wrote:

Deadeye Duck wrote:

I said pedals, simply because my bike come with toe-clips and I didn't get on with them at all. Got myself some clipless SPDs & shoes and it has made a huge improvement on my confidence at roundabouts.

I also said pedals, as my bike came with clipless SPDs and I replced them with Eggbeaters

I am tempted to get myself some eggbeaters when/if I ever upgrade. I've heard quite a few horror stories of them getting incredibly loose, incredibly fast, though :?

Strange. I don't think they get loose, as they don't have any method of adjustment (unless you reckon the spring itself slackens?)

Certainly mine are much looser now but I thought that was probably the cleats rather than the pedals - I have a spare pair of cleats I'm going to fit this weekend so I can report back.

I did manage over 2000 miles on them before they became noticeably loose, but then again 2000 miles isn't all that much for a pedal. Hmmm.

vorsprung

Tyres

Since using marathon plus I haven't had a commute deflation

They might be slow, heavy rubber but they are dependable

Deadeye Duck

biondino wrote:

Deadeye Duck wrote:

biondino wrote:

Deadeye Duck wrote:

I said pedals, simply because my bike come with toe-clips and I didn't get on with them at all. Got myself some clipless SPDs & shoes and it has made a huge improvement on my confidence at roundabouts.

I also said pedals, as my bike came with clipless SPDs and I replced them with Eggbeaters

I am tempted to get myself some eggbeaters when/if I ever upgrade. I've heard quite a few horror stories of them getting incredibly loose, incredibly fast, though :?

Strange. I don't think they get loose, as they don't have any method of adjustment (unless you reckon the spring itself slackens?)

Certainly mine are much looser now but I thought that was probably the cleats rather than the pedals - I have a spare pair of cleats I'm going to fit this weekend so I can report back.

I did manage over 2000 miles on them before they became noticeably loose, but then again 2000 miles isn't all that much for a pedal. Hmmm.

Yeah there's a few vids on YT of people riding like 50 miles and having a lot of play in them. I think you can actually buy tightening kits/replacement springs for them though, so don't worry about it too much.

il_principe

Mmm several.

Biggest was upgrading the whole bike - Ridgeback Hybrid to a Spesh Allez!

Then wheels on the Spesh from Alex rims to Shimano R550.

On Focus it was going from Fulcrum 7's to 1's and sticking on GP4000S.

On Pearson it was binning the nasty Shimano freewheel for a White Industries ENO 16T and jumping to a 50T at the front and running Rubion Pros, oh and swapping the wheels for Halo Aeroage.

On Prince - nothing really as it was specced to my preferences!

biondino

Il Principe wrote:

Mmm several.

Biggest was upgrading the whole bike - Ridgeback Hybrid to a Spesh Allez!

Then wheels on the Spesh from Alex rims to Shimano R550.

On Focus it was going from Fulcrum 7's to 1's and sticking on GP4000S.

On Pearson it was binning the nasty Shimano freewheel for a White Industries ENO 16T and jumping to a 50T at the front and running Rubion Pros, oh and swapping the wheels for Halo Aeroage.

On Prince - nothing really as it was specced to my preferences!

Yeah but you know Super Record would make it 10000000 times better

il_principe

biondino wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

Mmm several.

Biggest was upgrading the whole bike - Ridgeback Hybrid to a Spesh Allez!

Then wheels on the Spesh from Alex rims to Shimano R550.

On Focus it was going from Fulcrum 7's to 1's and sticking on GP4000S.

On Pearson it was binning the nasty Shimano freewheel for a White Industries ENO 16T and jumping to a 50T at the front and running Rubion Pros, oh and swapping the wheels for Halo Aeroage.

On Prince - nothing really as it was specced to my preferences!

Yeah but you know Super Record would make it 10000000 times better

Clearly, along with a set of Lightweights!

jedster

commuting guys, commuting...

il_principe

jedster wrote:

commuting guys, commuting...

I commuted on my Pinarello this morning so it counts!

Mikelyons

SPD Pedals

Changing to SPD pedals meant my feet stayed on the pedals no matter how lumpy the road surface was and having to use dedicated bike shoes meant I didn't ruin my work shoes or trainers.

I nearly said tyres but my bike came with fast tyres originally. I only changed to Specilaized armadillo's when they wore out. Speed is much the same but puncture resistant is miles better.

Mike