Planned Upgrades

tgotb

Veronese68 wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

MRS, it is on Tiagra and is a grand.

Strange. I looked at one in the Specialized shop in Kingston and it was on Sora and a grand. Evans had a couple of CX bikes with discs and 105 for a grand which looked rather better value. The Pinnacle had 105 and BB7 brakes.

If you don't mind building your own CX bike, you can put together something quite good for well under a grand, especially if you're prepared to use some second-hand components. Mine came in at not much more than half that price, including (good) new frame, new BB7s, and 105. Most of the groupset was second-hand, as were the bars/stem/seatpost. Wheels were second-hand, but unused. I was lucky to spot a decent frame on eBay, but they do come up regularly.

veronese68

rubertoe wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

MRS, it is on Tiagra and is a grand.

Strange. I looked at one in the Specialized shop in Kingston and it was on Sora and a grand. Evans had a couple of CX bikes with discs and 105 for a grand which looked rather better value. The Pinnacle had 105 and BB7 brakes.

just assumed at that price point it would be tiagra!

What disc brakes does it use? r505?

It comes with BB5s. I think the spec is pretty stingy considering what's available elsewhere. I was hoping you were right and it was Tiagra.

anthdci

I haven't decided yet, either upgrade the Tricross to the 105 groupset or N+1. I'm leaning towards N+1 but not too sure how the missus will take me getting a third bike when stuff needs doing in the house, whereas she wouldn't notice the groupset

asprilla

anthdci wrote:

I haven't decided yet, either upgrade the Tricross to the 105 groupset or N+1. I'm leaning towards N+1 but not too sure how the missus will take me getting a third bike when stuff needs doing in the house, whereas she wouldn't notice the groupset

Upgrade the groupset.

That means you'll have a spare old groupset knocking about. Probably best to get a frame to hang it off, just for tidy storage purposes you understand.......

anthdci

Asprilla wrote:

Upgrade the groupset.

That means you'll have a spare old groupset knocking about. Probably best to get a frame to hang it off, just for tidy storage purposes you understand.......

that makes complete sense, i already have a spare set of wheels to prop it up too.

veronese68

TGOTB wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

MRS, it is on Tiagra and is a grand.

Strange. I looked at one in the Specialized shop in Kingston and it was on Sora and a grand. Evans had a couple of CX bikes with discs and 105 for a grand which looked rather better value. The Pinnacle had 105 and BB7 brakes.

If you don't mind building your own CX bike, you can put together something quite good for well under a grand, especially if you're prepared to use some second-hand components. Mine came in at not much more than half that price, including (good) new frame, new BB7s, and 105. Most of the groupset was second-hand, as were the bars/stem/seatpost. Wheels were second-hand, but unused. I was lucky to spot a decent frame on eBay, but they do come up regularly.

What frame did you get? I'd have thought disc brake frames were not so common second hand as they are fairly recent. The frame for my Jake could then be sold. I do like the look of that Cotic frame though.

asprilla

anthdci wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

Upgrade the groupset.

That means you'll have a spare old groupset knocking about. Probably best to get a frame to hang it off, just for tidy storage purposes you understand.......

that makes complete sense, i already have a spare set of wheels to prop it up too.

The sacrifices you make for a tidy garage; you must be some kind of saint.

anthdci

Asprilla wrote:

The sacrifices you make for a tidy garage; you must be some kind of saint.

really am

tgotb

Veronese68 wrote:

What frame did you get? I'd have thought disc brake frames were not so common second hand as they are fairly recent. The frame for my Jake could then be sold. I do like the look of that Cotic frame though.

I got a Voodoo Wazoo for a shade under £200; was unused, but being sold off by a bike shop clearing old stock. You have to look out for them, but decent disc frames do come up from time to time. Planet X also have a couple of cheap options, though I've no idea how good they are. It's pretty much the end of the cross season now, so quite a good time to pick up second-hand kit.

SteppenHerring

Mostly I'm planning an engine upgrade.

Well, a lot of tuning and shaving some weight off the old iron block.

anonymousblackfg

Dither about turbo or super charging the Z

Fixing everything I broke in December seems to be the way forward along with finally making a decision as to rebuilding the MTB and getting some bombproof or bling wheels for the winter/summer bikes given they share the same set.

spasypaddy

Rolf F wrote:

Big plan is weight weenie-ing the Look. I've already got the carbon rail Arione - must have saved me 50g

Then it will hopefully be 3T Ergonova bars (which will replace the Pro PLT bars thus eliminating evil Shimanoness from the bike) and some sub 1500g wheels. Either Shamal Ultras or something handbuilt if they can be built lighter than the Shamals (which are pretty light for alloys).

Should get it to the sub 7kg mark for no reason other than because I can 8)

Oh, and finishing my Orange P7 into Orange Crush build that I am currently dithering on.

Wheels - get the mavic rsys-slrs sub 1300g clinchers...


and for myself...
either sworks shiv or cervelo p5.
Di2 on the frame
and a pair of new wheels either the rsys slrs or a pair of enve 3.4s.

If the wheels i get are the r-sys then ultegra di2 on the caad9

gtvlusso

You guys have all got way too much money!

Ben6899

N+1 in titanium. From Pretorius.

spasypaddy

gtvlusso wrote:

You guys have all got way too much money!

i wish. its from the pay out from when i had my accident on the Look back in august.

Would i rather have a TT bike or no pain? simple answer really...

rolf_f

spasypaddy wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Big plan is weight weenie-ing the Look. I've already got the carbon rail Arione - must have saved me 50g

Then it will hopefully be 3T Ergonova bars (which will replace the Pro PLT bars thus eliminating evil Shimanoness from the bike) and some sub 1500g wheels. Either Shamal Ultras or something handbuilt if they can be built lighter than the Shamals (which are pretty light for alloys).

Should get it to the sub 7kg mark for no reason other than because I can 8)

Oh, and finishing my Orange P7 into Orange Crush build that I am currently dithering on.

Wheels - get the mavic rsys-slrs sub 1300g clinchers...

Sub 1300g sounds nice but for the price of an RSYS wheelset I can get 2850g of Shamal (ie two sets ) - I reckon £600 is all I would ever want to spend on a wheelset and even that statement sounds a bit silly.......

And I'm always a bit sceptical of the durability of Mavic posh wheels (eg how much to replace a spoke?) though, to be fair, these wheels would never get that heavily used so maybe it doesn't matter too much.

rolf_f

etc etc

spasypaddy

Rolf F wrote:

Sub 1300g sounds nice but for the price of an RSYS wheelset I can get 2850g of Shamal (ie two sets ) - I reckon £600 is all I would ever want to spend on a wheelset and even that statement sounds a bit silly.......

And I'm always a bit sceptical of the durability of Mavic posh wheels (eg how much to replace a spoke?) though, to be fair, these wheels would never get that heavily used so maybe it doesn't matter too much.

Fair enough.

i have to say since spending top dollar on the enve 6.7s i can understand how much of a difference these things make. that and how pro they look 8)

gbsahne001

building up the road bike that's a collection of bits at this point, replacing the bent hanger on the CX, possibly getting rid of the BSO, although given how easy the hanger on the CX bent I might keep it around to use Dec thro Jan.

paulg99

rubertoe wrote:

Planned upgrades over the coming months for the focus.

105 Chainset and BB, BB7 mechanical brakes and some tarty yellow bar tape.

All the while saving for a new Canyon.

+1 x 2

gtvlusso

SteppenHerring wrote:

Mostly I'm planning an engine upgrade.

Well, a lot of tuning and shaving some weight off the old iron block.

Does this mean; losing weight and getting a haircut?

nich

Totally un-impressed with the handling of my on-one pompetamine.

Crashed my road-rat and trashed the frame, so got this as a cheap(er) replacement.

I think he forks are screwing up the handling (they are the cotic ones that came on the roadrat), so I've ordered some on-one ones (the pompetamine ones).

The front Avid BB7 brake is also rubbish (the rear is great), so something is not right there. Tried swapping the rotors out and also the pads...but it' still has no stopping power and is basically dangerous. grrr.

So my planned upgrades?

- Change the fork
- Switch to some hydraulic disc brakes
- Switch to a flat bar and a new stem.

That will keep me going for a while ;]

davis

nich wrote:

Totally un-impressed with the handling of my on-one pompetamine.

Crashed my road-rat and trashed the frame, so got this as a cheap(er) replacement.

I think he forks are screwing up the handling (they are the cotic ones that came on the roadrat), so I've ordered some on-one ones (the pompetamine ones).

The front Avid BB7 brake is also rubbish (the rear is great), so something is not right there. Tried swapping the rotors out and also the pads...but it' still has no stopping power and is basically dangerous. grrr.

So my planned upgrades?

- Change the fork
- Switch to some hydraulic disc brakes
- Switch to a flat bar and a new stem.

That will keep me going for a while ;]

Funny. The brakes on mine are really pretty awesome.

I partially agree with the handling comment though. I bought mine with the full On-One fork and Alfine. It feels a bit like I imagine one of those revolting big old American station wagons would. Even my Roubaix feels like riding a coked-up weasel downstairs by comparison.

veronese68

nich wrote:

Totally un-impressed with the handling of my on-one pompetamine.

Crashed my road-rat and trashed the frame, so got this as a cheap(er) replacement.

I think he forks are screwing up the handling (they are the cotic ones that came on the roadrat), so I've ordered some on-one ones (the pompetamine ones).

The front Avid BB7 brake is also rubbish (the rear is great), so something is not right there. Tried swapping the rotors out and also the pads...but it' still has no stopping power and is basically dangerous. grrr.

So my planned upgrades?

- Change the fork
- Switch to some hydraulic disc brakes
- Switch to a flat bar and a new stem.

That will keep me going for a while ;]

What was the Road Rat like? I really fancy getting a Cotic >X< cross bike and sticking BB7s on it. Was considering a Kaffenback as a cheaper option but you're making me think I should go for the Cotic.

davis

Veronese68 wrote:

What was the Road Rat like? I really fancy getting a Cotic >X< cross bike and sticking BB7s on it. Was considering a Kaffenback as a cheaper option but you're making me think I should go for the Cotic.

I've built a Road Rat up for my dad. It's a blinking hoot. Brake clearance was a bit marginal with normal MTB brakes.

nich

Veronese68 wrote:

nich wrote:

Totally un-impressed with the handling of my on-one pompetamine.

Crashed my road-rat and trashed the frame, so got this as a cheap(er) replacement.

I think he forks are screwing up the handling (they are the cotic ones that came on the roadrat), so I've ordered some on-one ones (the pompetamine ones).

The front Avid BB7 brake is also rubbish (the rear is great), so something is not right there. Tried swapping the rotors out and also the pads...but it' still has no stopping power and is basically dangerous. grrr.

So my planned upgrades?

- Change the fork
- Switch to some hydraulic disc brakes
- Switch to a flat bar and a new stem.

That will keep me going for a while ;]

What was the Road Rat like? I really fancy getting a Cotic >X< cross bike and sticking BB7s on it. Was considering a Kaffenback as a cheaper option but you're making me think I should go for the Cotic.

I loved it. It felt like a weapon, very quick to change direction if that makes any sense - it felt light too (configured as s/s with avids). The steel frame certainly gave a more comfy ride on London roads and soaked up the bumps.

I don't think the drop-bar version is available anymore though, but the cotic-x is similar (I think I should have got one)..

The pompetamine currently feels like a lorry, and doesn't want to turn. I'm hoping that can be resolved soon though

tgotb

nich wrote:

very quick to change direction if that makes any sense

That's presumably a geometry thing. My Voodoo is exactly the same, completely different handling to any road bike I've ridden, but exactly what you want for cross racing.

Try as I might, I can't figure out exactly *what* geometry differences would provide this sort of handling, though it's obviously something to do with the head tube angle and the fork "offset". The head tube angle on my CX bike is way different to my road bikes (from memory I think it's slacker), I've never compared the forks.

MisterMuncher

No upgrades. No replacement except through wear. The wallet is on a diet. It has to fit into a CAAD 10.

Initialised

TGOTB wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

MRS, it is on Tiagra and is a grand.

Strange. I looked at one in the Specialized shop in Kingston and it was on Sora and a grand. Evans had a couple of CX bikes with discs and 105 for a grand which looked rather better value. The Pinnacle had 105 and BB7 brakes.

If you don't mind building your own CX bike, you can put together something quite good for well under a grand, especially if you're prepared to use some second-hand components. Mine came in at not much more than half that price, including (good) new frame, new BB7s, and 105. Most of the groupset was second-hand, as were the bars/stem/seatpost. Wheels were second-hand, but unused. I was lucky to spot a decent frame on eBay, but they do come up regularly.

You gits, put me back into procrastination mode. I don't have spousal clearance or the space and tools to build a bike so the grief I'd get and the extra tools I'd need would offset any gains.

I do have clearance for a new bike and can probably do about £1k. Also been looking at the Pinacle Arkose 3 which gets a mix of Tiagra and 105 and gets BB7 brakes (rather than Sora & BB5 on the Spez). But I like the Roubaix geometry on the Specialized and could probably do a phased upgrade program. But that doesn't stop it being a Spez. I was chatting to a bloke on a Pinnacle cross (frog leg brakes, dark grey frame) this morning, he seemed to like it but struggled to out pace me despite having a much lower apparent FCN, drops, slicks, tights etc... But I passed a guy on a Spez Roubaix up a big nasty hill last year so I guess it's not all about the bike. Anyway should I go with one of these or something else?

veronese68

I'm in pretty much the same boat as Initialised. The Pinnacle looks like better value, there's a disc braked Norco in Evans at £990 with 105 that looks good too. I think some test rides may be in order. The Cotic X is still looking mighty fine, if pricey.
If Initialised buys a Specialized will he have to change the spelling to Initialized?