Spend £350 on upgrades or £550 on new bike?

nochekmate

elderone wrote:

Personally I would upgrade.I have the carrera virtuoso ltd from halfords which also came with a standard crank unlike the standard virtuoso.So Ive changed the crank to compact and also added a 30-11 casette,plus added carbon forks and I will add some shimano rs30 wheels from ribble next.Now all that lot including fitting at local bike shop will be about £250 -£270.
Now some will say spending that on a bike that cost £350 quid is mad,but to my mind I have a bike made from 6061 aluminium and will weigh about 9.5kgs or less.I intend to keep this bike for years as my mid week and winter bike.
So upgrade for now and ride what you,ve got and save for a better bike.

So you've now spent at least £600 and you have (and yes it sounds like a bike snob) a Carrera Virtuoso ltd from Halfords. Look at what else you can buy on the secondhand market for £600 - just not in the same league, you could easily bag a carbon road bike or top aluminium framed bike, with 105 or even Ultegra 6600 spec and wheels equivalent to the RS30s or better for that money.

You will of course think differently but I'm pretty sure that your advice would not be considered to be good advice for the OP by so many others.

papekani

Dare I ask what people think of this Raleigh Airlite 300 from Wiggle? Under £500 for a new bike with carbon forks and Tiagra groupset seems pretty good to my inexperienced eye.

elderone

nochekmate wrote:

elderone wrote:

Personally I would upgrade.I have the carrera virtuoso ltd from halfords which also came with a standard crank unlike the standard virtuoso.So Ive changed the crank to compact and also added a 30-11 casette,plus added carbon forks and I will add some shimano rs30 wheels from ribble next.Now all that lot including fitting at local bike shop will be about £250 -£270.
Now some will say spending that on a bike that cost £350 quid is mad,but to my mind I have a bike made from 6061 aluminium and will weigh about 9.5kgs or less.I intend to keep this bike for years as my mid week and winter bike.
So upgrade for now and ride what you,ve got and save for a better bike.

So you've now spent at least £600 and you have (and yes it sounds like a bike snob) a Carrera Virtuoso ltd from Halfords. Look at what else you can buy on the secondhand market for £600 - just not in the same league, you could easily bag a carbon road bike or top aluminium framed bike, with 105 or even Ultegra 6600 spec and wheels equivalent to the RS30s or better for that money.

You will of course think differently but I'm pretty sure that your advice would not be considered to be good advice for the OP by so many others.

Yes its sounds just like bike snobbery which it is..Have you tried a carrera so you can give a balanced opinion instead of playing sheep and copying the flock?Cheap they may be but not many could use one to its full potential and a mega bucks bike wont make you a better rider,just cream over your ego with other bike snobs.
Now if the op sells his bike now,1)he wont have a bike to ride till he gets another,hence slow his progress,and 2)with what he will lose he could do some sensible upgrades to a bike that he said fits well and have a better bike without losing out much.
Every one can have his own opinion and this is mine so if the op thinks its cack,no worries I wont lose sleep over it the same as i wont feel a d1ck because i have a halfords bike,or dont bleet the same tune as every one else.

nochekmate

You are correct - it is cack advice!

Sleep well. Baaa

zx6man

IC. wrote:

The TdF is now £599 on Halfords website, so that may help selling yours for the money you want. I'd suggest you may get £200, anything more and you will have done VERY well.

The second hand market for £550 is full of decent bikes. Cubes, Boardmans, Trek 1.2s and of course the Allez.

Won't stay that price for long, all year its been 329 quid.

zx6man

nochekmate wrote:

thescouselander wrote:

nochekmate wrote:

Too many search for compact and ride 34/32 combinations when they really are not needed IMO.

I dont agree at all - it all depends on the individual. It doesn't matter how many miles are in someones legs, if their pedalling style requires a higher cadence a lower gear combination is the correct thing to use. Some people spend hundreds on bike fits to optimise the geometry of their bike to suit their body so why wouldn't anyone do the same with the gearing on their bike?

Sticking with a gear setup just because thats what people used in the old days is just perverse. Bikes of old used to have one massive wheel at the front and a tiny one at the back but were not all riding those because thats what people used to use are we?

Agreed it does depend on the individual but I do think that the desire for a compact chainset is often overrated. You are implying that a traditional 53/39 chainset is outdated - it's not by any means. Miles in the legs DO matter as never mind how fit an individual is, they are not necessarily cycling fit and this riding experience allows cyclists to maintain a higher cadence over a given distance. Some of us actually prefer a 53/39 to a compact due to the differentials that a 50/34 offers (one of the reasons why many run 50/36 compact instead).

I swapped to a 50/34 as When i used the 39 the lowest gear wasn't low enough, and the rest of the time I used the big ring I seldom used the 52/11 (or 12 can't remember if its that) .
The 34 got me up the hills where before I had to stand so a compact was perfect for me

simon_masterson

I think probably the best way to look at this is to define the extent of upgrades to your Carrera that actually make sense. A used compact and (also used) basic upgrade wheelset (eg. Shimano, Mavic) could probably be had for under £150 between them, if not considerably less. Both of them would make a difference to the ride quality of your bike. I don't think spending much more is very worthwhile, though; if nothing else you won't get it back later if you decide to sell.

Undoubtedly you could get a higher spec bike for your whole budget, and that's excluding any ridiculous deals you might find. However, there is only so much difference between low-end aluminium bikes; in any case you get a mass-produced aluminium frame, a set of cheap factory wheels, a probably incomplete low-end Shimano groupset and a truly unremarkable finishing kit. I would expect a Specialized to retain its value much better if you did want to sell later on, but part of that is snobbish intolerance to Halfords.

To be honest, if you're really committed I would have to go with the new bike option, because if you find a good deal it will certainly be better than what you have, and it will almost definitely be a bit better than the result of any sensible upgrades to your Carrera.

As for other things you mention, there's nothing wrong with steel forks, and you will know beyond any doubt if you need a new saddle.

zx6man

superyellow wrote:

tyres = major upgrade in feel and speed over kendas

Mine got swapped within a day due to a bulged front tyre. They put on a conti ultrasport and the difference was quite astounding, so it has a pair of those on now.

papekani

Thanks for all the views. Not sure I am any clearer though. I see the benefit of changing the crank, wheels and seat on the TdF - and of course the two latter could be 'migrated' to another bike so are not so much of a 'lost' investment. This alone may give me what I'm looking for.

Yet I can also see the benefit of selling the TdF for, say, £200, and then keeping an eye out for a secondhand Tiagra or 105. Aside from groupset, I'm not completely sure I understand why this would be better though. Snobbery aside, why would a steel frame Allez or Trek with Tiagra/105 be any better than the TdF with the same groupset?

grumpygrandad

Have you tried riding any other bikes?
Might be worth a visit to your LBS to see if they have any demos you can try for a day or two. Only then will you be able to judge the difference between an entry level bike and a higher spec one. You might be surprised!

smidsy

papekani wrote:

Dare I ask what people think of this Raleigh Airlite 300 from Wiggle? Under £500 for a new bike with carbon forks and Tiagra groupset seems pretty good to my inexperienced eye.

It is OK, certainly nothing wrong with it in terms of functionality. As you say it is an alu frame with carbon forks and Tiagra, so it will be comparible to anything with that same configuration.

That level of spec is certainly fine for the money and will no doubt serve you well.

It also states it has mudguard clearance so you can use it through the winter too.

papekani

Hi all. Thought I'd pop back and conclude this one. Thanks for all the advice. I have decided to keep hold of the TdF for now and use it for my London to Paris in July, which will give me time to save up for a new bike that will be more of a significant upgrade. I can also use the prospect of going shopping at the end of Summer as the reward for (hopefully) completing the L2P (and watching the finish of the real TdF on the Champs Elysee).

On this basis, I have decided to switch to a compact ST-2300 crankset, change the seat to something slightly more comfortable, invest in some decent bar tape (with gel pads – I have had a carpal tunnel op on one wrist and the other gets numb easily) and put aside a few quid for some of the other stuff I will need over the coming months (extra shorts, glasses, bags, etc.).

The only remaining question is whether to do anything about the TdF wheels (heavy) or tyres (cheap), but I'll start a new thread for that one (thread is here if interested).

Thanks again. This is a great resource that I have already found hugely valuable.

GRicha

papekani wrote:

Hi all. Thought I'd pop back and conclude this one. Thanks for all the advice. I have decided to keep hold of the TdF for now and use it for my London to Paris in July, which will give me time to save up for a new bike that will be more of a significant upgrade. I can also use the prospect of going shopping at the end of Summer as the reward for (hopefully) completing the L2P (and watching the finish of the real TdF on the Champs Elysee).

On this basis, I have decided to switch to a compact ST-2300 crankset, change the seat to something slightly more comfortable, invest in some decent bar tape (with gel pads – I have had a carpal tunnel op on one wrist and the other gets numb easily) and put aside a few quid for some of the other stuff I will need over the coming months (extra shorts, glasses, bags, etc.).

The only remaining question is whether to do anything about the TdF wheels (heavy) or tyres (cheap), but I'll start a new thread for that one (thread is here if interested).

Thanks again. This is a great resource that I have already found hugely valuable.

Good choice mate!!! My triathlon career started on a TDF! As that's all I could afford!! And to be honest mate if you can smash out some good times on that beast! Wait until you switch to carbon and a better all round bike! You'll think your flying! Anyways good luck with London Paris !

Chris87

through trawling the classifieds and the chain reaction sale I've just managed to upgrade my trek 1.1 from stock bonty wheels and shimano 2300 to a full 10 speed 105 setup (all brand new components) and a pair of Fulcrum Racing 5s.

Spent just over £300 to do it

oliver26

Hi Papikani is it the Big issue London to Paris bike ride you are doing? Because i'm thinking of signing up to it too!

I'm a complete beginner to road biking though, so i don't have a clue where to start and being a student I'm looking for a bike around £300 if that's even possible.