'Upgrading wheels and gearing'

portermush118

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to road and just brought a fairly cheap bike. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a first bike and got a new specialized Allez for a good price. It came with shimano 2300 which I am looking to change to 105.
My first question is, if I brought 105 components (such as shifters and deraluers) would it be a straight swap without having to change all the wires and such?
And would I need to change the cranks to 105, or could I run the stock ones for the time being and then swap when funds allow?

And secondly, I'm firstly looking to change the wheels first, is this a wise first upgrade or should u change the gearing first?
And before anyone says it, I wanted a new bike, and know I could've got better value second hand.

Thanks!

bendertherobot

Tricky one. You can get a 105 group set fairly cheaply. Around £350 or so. By upgrading wheels, depends on what you have, Mavic Aksium being a good choice at £150 or so. So/ leaving the other questions aside for a moment, a decent upgrade would be £500 or so.

You will need new cables, because it's likely you won't be able to rethread them. But the new group set should come with them.

You certainly can use your crankset but you'll get a better price buying the group set complete than buying the parts without the group set.

And, if you're lucky you can sell the bits that come off for a bit.

But, left field, how much is your bike worth?

Would it be worth getting a new bike? Assuming you can get £300 or so for yours?

http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3191

smoggysteve

You have a bike that works and most likely enjoy riding. The only thing I would suggest changing for now would be wheels. If you decide later on to upgrade it would make more sense to buy a complete bike where you can just put your better wheels on. Upgrading a bike like an Allez will only improve it so far and would not be cost effective in the long run. The gears you have are just fine for now. Not sure what performance enhancement you would expect from getting 105. Yes they are lighter and a bit better shifting but you really are not going to see a great leap. Wheels can improve a bike more. Then when you feel you could do a better bike justice get a better complete setup. Then, either keep the old bike as a winter bike or sell it complete to buy other stuff.

bendertherobot

It's also worth noting that 2300 is different. Entirely different mechanism of shifting. You may prefer 105 or not. If you don't prefer it, consider Campag. But that's an entirely different thread.....