Upgrade or new bike?

alidaf

I started road biking nearly a year ago and have proved to myself that, for once, I can keep at something. I have invested in a lot of gear but I have serious upgrade fever at the moment. I have a Giant Defy 2 2011, which came with the Sora groupset. I've been a bit disheartened by the fact that the year previous saw the bike fitted with Tiagra, and this year most of the groupset is Tiagra. A friend has just bought a full carbon bike with 105's and I'm just a bit envious. I'd really like a new bike like a Bianchi Infinito but feel that I haven't got the best out of the Defy. I'd like a new saddle (Fizik Aliente?) and a new groupset (Campy Chorus?) but these will end up costing more than the bike itself. Is it worth it?
I figured that I'd appreciate the difference more if I upgraded gradually over the years but gradual upgrades will end up costing so much more. Cycling has become a real joy but I'm so obsessed with my pitiful Sora set and it's clunky gear changes, not to mention my sore bum from the stock saddle now that my distances are stretching ever closer to serious sportive territory. Is it worth spending serious money on serious upgrades now, upgrading more gradually, or new bike? I've upgraded the tyres to Conti 4000s (23mm down from the 25mm Kenda), which made a nice difference.
What upgrade paths have you tried and were they worth it?

jibberjim

It's worth spending money on the tyres and tubes - for performance and comfort.
It's worth spending money on the saddle - for comfort.

Otherwise, there's not a whole lot of return for your money. Again, things like size of stem, handlebars, crank length can change how the bike fits, and therefore how performant and comfortable it is, they aren't really upgrades.

Certainly Sora is not as nice a groupset, but it won't really make you a faster cyclist, or increase your performance.

If cycling is seriously going to be part of your life going forward, then you will want a 2nd bike (as a spare, or winter bike, or pub bike, or whatever) so you're going to buy a 2nd bike anyway oneday. Save your money for that, your bike doesn't need upgrades. Learn some maintenance to keep it running well.

alidaf

jibberjim wrote:

Certainly Sora is not as nice a groupset, but it won't really make you a faster cyclist, or increase your performance.

I'm not out to win races. I challenge myself with distance rather than times. There are a lot of hills on my routes and changing gear is noticeably clunky and quite unnerving at times with the load pings and crunches. I fancy something with a bit of class but maybe I'm just thinking of that wonderful greener grass on the other side of the fence. Having said that, I'm trying to progress to the hoops but can't use that damn piddly little thumb button.

springtide9

It's rarely 'worth' spending money on either upgrading the components or the full bike.

Personal opinion is that it's a joy to own a 'good ride', so rather than compromise on the ever upgrading of parts (obviously replace what needs replacing as needed), just keep the money and save for a bike with the components that you really want (within reason).

If the Bianchi Infinito is your 'dream bike' and you know you'll not be wanting to upgrade for a very long time, and that you can easily spare the cash for the new bike, there are worse things to 'waste' your money on in life so don't feel bad about it.

If the wife/gf wants a new bathroom and you never seem to have the money for that, keep the Defy and save for that bathroom.

bus_ter

I upgraded from an Aluminium 2300 (below Sora) bike to a full Carbon Ultegra. It cost nearly 5x the price of my old bike. All I can say is it's very 'nice' with lots of comfort improvements, by which I mean less shock through the carbon, smoother gear changes, less weight etc. However looking at my GPS times in regular routes it really isn't that much faster!

letap73

I have an Advanced Defy, upgraded to:
Saddle - Fizik Aliante - made a huge positive difference.
Wheels - Bontrager RXL - made some positive difference.
Tyres - Continental GP 4000 - jury is out.

Hope this helps.

si2k2000

It really does depend on your budget. Upgrading to a decent wheel set will always make a noticeable difference. It's no fun if you don't have confidence in your gears so maybe it is worth addressing that first and a decent saddle can be normally be found second hand for a fair price.

As for myself I started out with an old ali Giant but quickly realised I had the bug so upgraded to a Giant TCR C3 with Ultegra with a few bits of Dura-ace thrown in. That was about 6 years ago and I changed out bits and pieces over the year. Upgraded the Groupset to the latest Ultegra, got a nice set of Mavic Kysrium's and changed lots of saddles before settling on a Fizik Arione.

It's still a great bike but I decided to treat myself this year to a brand new Giant TCR Advanced SL with full Dura-Ace with a set of Mavic Comic Carbone SLE's but will continue to use the TCR C3 as my winter/wet weather bike.

alidaf

I'd like to thank everyone for their input. I'll have a word at my local bike shop and see what deals they have for getting a new bike but keep the Defy for commuting duty. A new seat is a must and I think I'll definitely invest in that. One of the reasons I wanted to upgrade was to learn more about the mechanics and appreciate the benefits of each component of the new gear but upgrading in one fell swoop would make that a bit difficult.

Some nice bikes you lot have. Thanks for sharing. While I like the Bianchi, Giant do make some good bikes but I think I'd be better off trying a few out rather than settling on brand before I walk into the shop. They have Pinarello, Giant, Bianchi, Peugeot and a few others. Happy biking.

alihisgreat

its only worth upgrading if the frame is a great frame that you want to keep.

and then you'll get the best return with wheels and tyres (which you can transfer to a newer bike anyway) -> so i would keep the Defy and get some new wheels for the summer...


or keep the defy and get a new bike for the summer.