Upgrades? Bling or performance?

bluedoggy

Was wondering do people upgrade there components because of the 'Bling' factor or for the performance factor?
Does that £200 2nd hand Dura Ace Crank set really make me faster? Or am i buying it because it looks the dogs? I understand the 'Athletic' and 'Fitness' chaps out who benefit but what about the average jo blogs who would spend that amount of dosh?

TakeTurns

If you have a DA component on your bike, you MUST ride faster. Otherwise imagine what you'l look like when a women on a bike with a shopping basket filled with overflowing vegetables overtakes you.

So yes, it will make you faster.

nunowoolmez

Personally always go for substance over style, but in a lot of cases you will find the better performing products are often the best looking too. I am quite partial to the odd Castelli garment, but i find their kit to be best quality anyway. There are items in all areas of cycling that do the same job but don't do it as well. These items are usually cheaper. You are not necessarily paying for 'bling', but for superior technilogy, better material, stronger or lighter products. You get the drift. Your example of the Dura Ace crank set for example. Most people who use Dura Ace will say it's best feature is is reluability & consistency. The parts are largely 'fit & forget' which means it's performance is excellent. It also happens to look pretty sweet! I guess what i'm saying is that mist gear & kit that looks the best, slso performs the best!

bluedoggy

nunowoolmez wrote:

Personally always go for substance over style, but in a lot of cases you will find the better performing products are often the best looking too. I am quite partial to the odd Castelli garment, but i find their kit to be best quality anyway. There are items in all areas of cycling that do the same job but don't do it as well. These items are usually cheaper. You are not necessarily paying for 'bling', but for superior technilogy, better material, stronger or lighter products. You get the drift. Your example of the Dura Ace crank set for example. Most people who use Dura Ace will say it's best feature is is reluability & consistency. The parts are largely 'fit & forget' which means it's performance is excellent. It also happens to look pretty sweet! I guess what i'm saying is that mist gear & kit that looks the best, slso performs the best!

Totally agree. I buy a better component because it 'feels' better and less likely to fail etc. Again as you mention, they look the do das.

lotus49

It does rather depend whether you ride for fitness and pleasure or racing. If it's the former, you aren't going to get fitter with a better bike or more expensive components.

Having said that, once you get interested it's hard (really hard) not to start thinking "ooh, look at that carbon thingummy, my bike would be 17g lighter if I had one of those" but realistically, a lot of upgrades make relatively little difference, especially as the heaviest component on any setup is the rider. Go without dinner for a few days and you will have made far more difference that that £1800 set of wheels would.

Let's face it, Cav could get on a Raleigh Chopper and still see most of us off but that doesn't stop us wanting to look like pros even if we don't openly admit it.

simon_masterson

lotus49 wrote:

It does rather depend whether you ride for fitness and pleasure or racing. If it's the former, you aren't going to get fitter with a better bike or more expensive components.

Having said that, once you get interested it's hard (really hard) not to start thinking "ooh, look at that carbon thingummy, my bike would be 17g lighter if I had one of those" but realistically, a lot of upgrades make relatively little difference, especially as the heaviest component on any setup is the rider. Go without dinner for a few days and you will have made far more difference that that £1800 set of wheels would.

Let's face it, Cav could get on a Raleigh Chopper and still see most of us off but that doesn't stop us wanting to look like pros even if we don't openly admit it.

This.

The weight savings with top-end groupsets are miniscule and I doubt that the performance gains are anything to write home about. Electronic shifting is the only thing I would buy expensive componentry for, and that assumes that I have the frame and wheels befitting!

But I know what's really important as I 'started out' on vintage steel and it's still what I ride. I'd rather have reliability than marginal gains I don't need. Eg. no carbon fibre wheels or components (it would seem that some pros prefer metal for derailleurs and pedals anyway), and I wouldn't buy a carbon fibre bike unless it were a decent one.

TurboCraig

You'll find that most people riding ultra-exotic 'tricked out' bikes are merely dick-waving their earnings about the place. 9 times out of 10 they arent outstanding riders & are just seeking the admiration from owners of lesser bikes so they can look down their noses at them.
It is also true in most cases that a bike draped in aftermarket CNC'd parts wont actually function aswell as a run of the mill bike kitted out with factory spec full groupest for example 105. Being an ex shop mechanic I've witnessed the detrimental affect anodised CNC jockey wheels can have on gear operation, or coloured (non SIS) gear cables & aftermarket chainrings.

FlacVest

TakeTurns wrote:

If you have a DA component on your bike, you MUST ride faster. Otherwise imagine what you'l look like when a women on a bike with a shopping basket filled with overflowing vegetables overtakes you.

So yes, it will make you faster.

Every time I come up on somebody on the trail, it turns into a scenario where I have to decide whether to go for it and haul ass for a while, or just coast by them and hope they don't latch on.

Because passing somebody and having them hold on or, heaven forbid, pass you back, is asinine.

mrmahoosive

I'm currently doing an exercise like this on my 2010 Boardman. I'm ditching most of the components for lighter ones, which is the main reason I've done it. I thought I'd end up with all carbon fancies, but I quickly figured out that just because it's carbon, doesn't mean it's lighter.

Upgrades naturally look better, and they're fun to fit.