upgrade on my bike or buy a new one!!???

ianbar

currently have a forme rapide bout for about £550. very much into my cycling now and have been looking at upgrading on parts. first wheels but i suspect i wont stop there! the main thing is going from a £500 bike how much would i need to spend to buy a bike significantly better than what i have?

MountainMonster

I don't know anything about the bike company you speak of, but more than likely it will be a decent frame. Wheels would be the first place to start, but I wouldn't both touching the derailleurs or anything as you will not get much better performance, it will be very costly and only a slight amount of weight saved in the grand scheme of things.

The most important thing is that the frame fits you well, as if it is not a good fitting frame, you are wasting money IMO.

MountainMonster

I don't know anything about the bike company you speak of, but more than likely it will be a decent frame. Wheels would be the first place to start, but I wouldn't both touching the derailleurs or anything as you will not get much better performance, it will be very costly and only a slight amount of weight saved in the grand scheme of things.

The most important thing is that the frame fits you well, as if it is not a good fitting frame, you are wasting money IMO.

ianbar

i think the frame is good, its had a decent write up in mags etc. the company are pretty new 2012 will be its 3rd year. the overall weight is about 10.2 kg. new wheels was my first thought, think i can save a hell of alot of weight with some new ones.

EarlyGo

Hi ianbar,

I suspect that to buy a bike that is 'significantly better' than your Forme you would need to spend £1000+. That's obviously subjective but if your current bike is 10.2kg then you'll need to get down to about 8.5kg (ish) to really feel the difference (certainly less than 9kg anyhow).

Your current wheels will be fairly heavy. Take them off and weigh them (i'm guessing they'll be well over 2kgs). A pair of (for example) Shimano RS80s will cost £300 and weigh about 1.5kgs. If you also buy lighter tyres such as Conti GP4000S or Michelin PR3s they will weigh about 210g each and probably save you about 200g a pair costing £60 a pair. Lightweight inner tubes will also save about 50 - 80g a pair and cost about £20. Those changes alone will probably get you to 9kgs. Wheels and tyres are the easiest and most effective way of improving a bike and you'll really feel the difference in acceleration and hill climbing as well as smoother rolling.

Generally though you'll find you get better value for money by buying a whole new bike because manufacturers get their components way cheaper than you or I can buy them. So you'll get a lighter frame, better groupset and lighter wheels all in one package.

For me I chose to save my cash and buy a new bike that cost £1200 more than my previous one. You can really feel the difference with that much of a price difference!

Hope that is of some use?

Regards, EarlyGo

saintdracula

Yeah, just buy a 3k+ bike if you really want a marked step. The thing is that when you're not at the limit a bike like the one you've got will be fine anyway, and the more you cycle and the fitter you get, you'll probably be able to get more out of your bike. Give your bike a chance!

Another great thing about this strategy is that it's potentially really rewarding. Like if you wait now for ages for a really good bike and have become awesome in the meantime, when you get the bike it'll be amazing.

For 3k I think there is a bike without peer: the Boardman SLR 9.4. It has a 1.1kg wheelset! :shock:

Garz

Frame is always important. Once you have a great frame you can add to it over time. I would get a decent frame and move your parts over to it, adding new wheels etc when you can afford to. This would make the best upgrade path, however if you have enough money just buy a decent bike with a bike fit so you know the frame and measurements to stay wih you forever.

ianbar

this is all good stuff. i did weigh my wheels although with inner tube and tyres on and i think combined was nearly 3kg if i remember right. i do sometimes think it would be really good to pass people on really expensive bikes! i think the frame is ok. i have this issue in my head that because the groupset is a very unknown one i have to change it at some point. soes a groupset make any real difference or is it more a showing off thing at my level.

EarlyGo

ianbar,

Just to make it clear and to reply to saintdracula's post, I certainly wasn't saying go buy a £3K bike!!

At beginner level, personal fitness and losing body weight will be a massive factor, but you asked about bike stuff!

If your current wheels/tyres/tubes weigh 3kg then you'll save about 1kg for an outlay of £400 on the set up I mentioned.

A new groupset could reduce weight, but it won't be cheap. Keep in mind that you'll be looking at £400-£600 for a semi decent new groupset that might save you 400g ish. Your microshift groupset is doing it's job and isn't outrageously heavy so I'd stick with it and ignore the snobs that might say "micro who?"! Wheels & tyres are a more effective way to reduce weight due to their rotating mass.

I'm sure the Forme frame is fine, but it is still only the frame of a £500 bike and you'll get better value for money with a whole new bike or even (if your feeling rich) a custom build frame that you can keep for life. If you were to upgrade the wheels and tyres now, then you could easily move them onto any new bike

If it was me I'd get the miles in, lose weight and eventually buy a new bike. (Which is what I did do!) If I had a few hundred quid that was burning a hole in my wallet then I might upgrade the wheels/tyres and subsequently move them onto any new bike.

Regards, EarlyGo

ianbar

thank you. i think i have been convinced to save for a new bike in the future. i may look at wheels still as the ones i have been looking at i think are lighter than most that i would probably get on the bikes i would be looking at so may make a bit of sense to buy and then put them on my future purchase. looking at a new bike i do think i would be looking £1500 at a minimum really and i certainly dont have that right now. i think the problem wa spartly that there seems good sales at the mo so good time to buy.

i will focus on getting fitter and stronger (doing a evans ride it event in thirsk in a couple of weeks)

ianbar

oh on the saving for a bike i will be comuting to work i think so hopfully save some petrol cash that can go towards the bike and of course once i buy a new bike could sell this one and make atleast something back. new bike all the way.....but in the future lol

optimisticbiker

Forme Rapide spec here: http://www.formebikes.co.uk/bikes/road/rapide.php

The SunTour-branded MicroShift-manufactured components aren't unknown but but aren't top of their class either. However the bike got a good review in Cycling Active and the frame was well thought of if a little heavy at an all-up weight of 10.5kg.

The Kenda tyres (210gm ea) on One23 alloy rims (2,300gm/set) are pretty basic. An upgrade, putting these tyres on a mid-spec Shimano wheelset e.g. RS20 say (at 1,840gm/set assuming compatibility with your cassette) would cost around £200 and would save nearly 450gm of rotational mass, meaning (crudely) they'll spin up 20% faster for the same input effort...

That should make the bike feel more lively. Upgrading the groupset would have little effect other than to give smoother gear shifts.

saintdracula

Yeah, I was recommending it as more a long-term plan.

ianbar

this cycling isnt half complicated lol im used to slapping some trainers on and running a few miles lol its all very interesting though. i am going to put the money aside and save. just browsing a moment ago and the bikes i liked were nearer £2000 than £1500 but they certainly made me want to buy them so that will be my target. if i see a good buy on wheels i may buy some for the time been. i may set myself a training goal and then allow myself to look at wheels again once achieved it.

saintdracula

ianbar wrote:

this cycling isnt half complicated lol im used to slapping some trainers on and running a few miles lol its all very interesting though. i am going to put the money aside and save. just browsing a moment ago and the bikes i liked were nearer £2000 than £1500 but they certainly made me want to buy them so that will be my target. if i see a good buy on wheels i may buy some for the time been. i may set myself a training goal and then allow myself to look at wheels again once achieved it.

Absolutely, that's the spirit! I think planning on rewarding yourself with an amazing bike as opposed to a very good one will work wonders for motivation. When you're tempted to upgrade your existing bike, just think of your dream bike.

ianbar

niiiiiiiiiice