How much to make a difference ?

ric7481

How much do you need to spend to notice a difference when upgrading............I come from the world of motorcycle racing, where generally speaking the biggest difference per £ is the initial upgrade, after that the gains get smaller as the price goes up.

As an example - my Alex S500 rims on Spesh secteur sport, standard all-condition armadillo tyres

If I spend £170 - Shimano RS10 with GP4000s - will that be a noticeable improvement over the current set-up ? or do I need to spend £270/£300 Ultegra/Ksyrium equippe et al with tyres to notice, or would that just be a minimal gain over the RS10's ?

I guess the question is, if the standard wheels were 'aftermarket' where in the range would they sit ?...as with all things, generally the more you spend the 'better' it is, however there is that limiting factor - ie. me - and there is no point in speccing the bike much better than the rider if I can't utilise the benefits ........I'd say I'm an average rider - generally hold approx. 16mph over most courses and distances (60-70 mile sportives) and try to cover 60-100 miles per week...also do a fair amount of mountain biking.

I generally only upgrade when things are bust....thoughts ?

indjke

first of all, you are going right way - wheels are the best possible upgrade. they play one of the most important roles in ride feelings

second, I think ultegra wheels worth it. it is upgrading from stock to RS10 that would be a minimal gain and waste of money, but if you can spend an extra £100 to get Ultegra - you should do it, and then forgot about wheels upgrade for a long time.. as anything of higher level than Ultegra gives small gains at a huge price.

tyres' cost is relatively small, so choice is easy - get a top ones

IMO

markos1963

Save your money up, the best upgrade per £ is tyres so spend on these first. I doubt you'll notice much difference with RS10 or even Equipes. I reckon about £300 is the amount you'll need to spend on wheels to really notice the difference.

ric7481

appreciate the feedback..........was thinking I'd need to be looking at the thick end of £300 to really notice a difference with wheels...thankyou