Upgrades...

Rhod81

Hi everyone.

I'm getting into this ol' road cycling malarkey a lot more of late, and have decided to treat my 2010 Allez Elite to some new gear in the Spring. The bike was originally bought as a commuter with some irregular 30-odd milers. Now I'm moving onto longer, more regular, tougher routes with some far more experienced road racers. They're all on £2-4k machines, and the riders are a good 20kgs lighter than me (a rather hefty 95kgs).

Obviously I'm aware of the benefits of my own weight loss which is "work in progress" (5kg in the past month 8) ), but I would also like to give myself a bit more of an edge component-wise...

Now I believe the Allez Elite to be a fairly decent frame, so I'm thinking new wheels, and after approx 4000 miles, replacing cassette, chain, chain set and mechs (possibly even stretching to Ultegra).

My LBS has American Classic Victory 30s, which I have read are quite strong for the heavier of riders. I have also read of Fulcrum Racing 3s, which also sound good, but I haven't found any info on their strength. Basically, I'm looking for some good, lightweight wheels, but at the same time strong and rigid.

Any help would be appreciated. Ta.

cougie

No benefit in upgrading your group set unless its broken.
Maybe the chain if it's worn.

Best upgrade is wheels and good tyres.

carrock

agreed. buy a set of £500 wheels and tyres. then when you buy another bike, put the original wheels back on the allez and take your good wheels to your next bike. Most bikes under £3000 don't have a great wheelset.

gr1

I have American classic victory 30's and wouldn't recommend them especially for heavier riders. I'm <70kg and they aren't strong enough. The hubs are tiny so the bearings are too small. Also, after 6 months the freehub required replacing which they refused to do under warranty because apparently it is a wearable part and because of the harsh winter we had it should be expected to wear out.

Just my experience, others may think better. I would save a bit more and get mavic or shimano.

Bobbinogs

I have the 2008 Allez Elite and they are very tidy bikes and worth a little spend, but certainly not a GS refresh.

The first thing I did when I bought the bike last year was put some nice wheels/tyres I had and that pretty much did it for me in terms of bang for the buck. However, I am not sure if my choice would be a good choice for you (RS80s and Ultremo ZX). Weight is always a hard thing to specifically target as we are all a different build/height so you being 95kg now, having a target of 80kg for the Spring may be unrealistic but would make the biggest difference and also influence wheel choice. I weigh 65kg and the RS80s are great for me (they are also lots of other options at this price point). However, if your weight is difficult to shift then I would recommend some decent handbuilt wheels and 25mm tyres. As others have said, keep your current wheels as emergency/turbo/winter wheels and put them back on when you sell your bike to upgrade the next price point.

I went for an Ultegra cassette and KMC X9 chain from day one (as the set on the bike was pretty worn) but I don't count that as an upgrade, as such. I also recently swapped the brakes for some 6500 ultegra calipers from eBay. Didn't need to but they are a nicer build quality, have the centering adjustment screw (that the previous set didn't have) and were a very reasonable price. Decent pads (Swiss Stop or Kool Stop) are a must though either way IMO and you will notice a big difference when you are descending... what with your, ahem, current momentum.

Rhod81

"Current momentum"!?!? Lol, very politely put!!!

Lol, well thanks everyone. I was thinking of new cassette and chain at least group set-wise because of wear. When I upgrade these, do you think I should also do chain rings? I know from my mountain biking its advisable as chainring teeth can wear to suit a worn chain, as per the cassette teeth...

And thanks Gr1, gone off the idea of Victory 30s now if that's the sort of care you get regarding warranty. I'll have a look at Mavics as I had them on my mountain bike and they were bomb proof. Though I think light weight, as well as strong and rigid are a contradiction in terms for a lump like me.... Best work on that weight loss more than anything I reckon!

Bobbinogs

Chainrings seem to last forever. Just check them to make sure that the teeth are aligned nicely and not ground down but beware that some teeth will differ in shape to aid shifting. Unless you have specific problems with the front mech then I would leave them alone.

team47b

was it merckx who said you are better off going up grades than buying upgrades

kajjal

If you fancy a few upgrades then go for it but be careful as saving towards a better bike is more cost efficient !

I am the same weight as you roughly and so far the best upgrade has been the brakes. They are now much better , with more power / feel and I can brake a lot later now which is improving my times a lot.

From past experience better wheels can be a good buy as they will be stiffer and smoother rolling than the cheaper ones most bikes come with. You can also save some weight but the placebo effect of new wheels along with getting fitter and losing body weight will have a much, much greater effect

I am over 6ft6 so my current weight while a few kilo's high is not too far away from what I want. Be a bit careful of chasing weight and just go for good food and fitness instead. Unless you are five foot tall and 95kg

sloppyschleckonds

team47b wrote:

was it merckx who said you are better off going up grades than buying upgrades

Americas greatest cyclist, Greg Lemond

Yslen

Kajjal wrote:

If you fancy a few upgrades then go for it but be careful as saving towards a better bike is more cost efficient !

This does seem to be the concensus, but I think it depends on how much of a deal you can get on upgrade parts. It's cheaper to upgrade an entry level Allez to 105 than to buy the Tiagra-equipped elite. Potentially a lot cheaper, if you get a reasonable price for the unused 2300 groupset.

Obviously it varies hugely, but in my specific case, upgrading was the obvious way to go.