Wheel upgrade or Groupset upgrade?

Tomc273

Looking to put an upgrade on my Giant Defy 4 but undecided about what to go for. Currently have Giant SR-2 wheels and a Shimmano 2300 groupset with an FSA crank.

Would I get a bigger performance gain upgrading my wheels or the groupset? Looking at a budget of around £400

Cheers

rickeverett

Usually Wheelset upgrades are the most noticeable + a good set of tyres too. This is because in most circumstances you loose lots of weight compared to stock / cheap wheels and have better quality hubs and build etc etc. A good set of tyres can also give you a smoother, quicker feeling ride.

Groupset upgrades are expensive and your only upgrading the same function (changinf gear). However with such a clunky, heavy groupset like 2300 an upgrade to something like Tiagra or 105 would be noticeable. This usually means extra gear or two, lighter/quicker shifting and some weight loss. In terms of rolling performance and weight its not as noticeable as wheels.

You could do both for that budget.
Full Tiagra Groupset costs around £260 and a reliable light wheel set like Fulcrum Racing 5 around £160. Infact there are cheaper wheels around that would be lighter than your Giant stock wheels.
Doing that would get you a decent groupset, 10speed gears, better wheels and probably around 600-700g less weight.

diamonddog

Wheels and a lot more pedalling.

supermurph09

Use the £400 as a deposit on a £1000 Carbon Fibre Ultegra bike, keep the Giant as a wet weather / winter bike.

Balance = £600 / 12months = £50 per month. You know it makes sense.

2poc

My choice would be:

New Shimano 105 5700 groupset for £299 (on offer at Merlin):

http://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-105 ... 66608.html

New set of decent tyres £50:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-gra ... twin-pack/

And then the extra £50 on new bar tape, cages, tubes to tart it up a bit....

Anonymous

Sell the bike and get a new one in the sales on finance ;-)

petemadoc

Campagnolo Zondas are £262 with a current £20 off deal

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_242554

or save your cash and save up for a new bike, keep the Giant as a winter/bad weather bike.

The performance difference will be noticeable but not massive. Tyres IMO are the single most important upgrade (if not done already). Better grip, more comfort, more confidence, lighter where it matters most.

Changing the groupset is not worth it IMO.

Anonymous

£400 seems a lot to spend on a £500 bike.
How old is it?

Tjgoodhew

PeteMadoc wrote:

Campagnolo Zondas are £262 with a current £20 off deal

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_242554

or save your cash and save up for a new bike, keep the Giant as a winter/bad weather bike.

The performance difference will be noticeable but not massive. Tyres IMO are the single most important upgrade (if not done already). Better grip, more comfort, more confidence, lighter where it matters most.

Changing the groupset is not worth it IMO.

The zondas were the first upgrade i made to my Caad8. im guessing the stock wheels i had are simialr to what you have currently.

The difference was noticeable and by changing tyres and tubes i manage to save about 750g on weight and a noticeable change in performance.

And the G3 spoke pattern looks great !!!

I already have Tiagra and its a great groupset but from what i understand a well set up sora will work just as well as tiagra.

I would go with the wheels and some decent tyres

andy_wrx

Carbonator wrote:

£400 seems a lot to spend on a £500 bike.
How old is it?

Exactly.

Tyres and tubes are a good relatively cheap change that will make a big difference.

You will notice getting better wheels, but on a £500 bike I'd top-out at £200 or so

Spending £400 on a new groupset on a £500 bike ?
- won't get you to where you would have been by buying a £1000 bike in the first place...

Monty Dog

IME groupset upgrades don't provide any performance benefit so I only buy new parts when replacing worn or broken ones. Tyres first, then contact points (bars, saddle), wheels and then the rest.

KonkyWonky

I'd go for wheels/tyres and a carbon fork which will improve the ride no end. No point changing the groupset unless it's worn out.

Alternatively save your cash and and add a little to it weekly/monthly, treat yourself to a new bike at the end of the season when they start discounting 2014 models. Either keep your current bike as a winter bike or sell to put towards the new one.

bigflangesmallsprocket

Regarding suggestions on selling it and just buying a new bike. If you were able to sell your bike for half of what you paid for it, then put your £400 toward a new bike, that'd still be a £650 bike. And you'd still have basic wheels. The Defy is considered a good value frame worthy of upgrading, I'm not sure how much you'd gain by going down the bike-selling route if you're generally happy with it, though you would have been better off buying a higher spec version in the first place, then only having to fork out extra for the wheels, but what's done is done!

I may be wrong, but I think the Defy 4 has a 'composite' fork, which is their fancy speak for basic carbon?

The OP's idea may actually be the best. Buy your nice wheels as long as you're happy with the bike frame long term, otherwise you really are wasting money. Fulcrum 5's or Vento's can be had for a bout £150-160 mark, and Zonda's for £260-270. The Fulcrums will still be a good upgrade and leave you the money for upgrading your group. Sell the bits to get some money back. You could sell the wheels but keeping them for nasty winters will get you more use out of the Fulcrums. There are also internet bargains to be had on better Shimano wheels if you don't want to go up to the expense of the Zonda's. The more money you spend on the wheels the less you'll have to upgrade components, but there's always Ebay and End Of Season or NOS bargains to be had; if you're patient some nice second-hand stuff can be had on Ebay for not a lot of money. I believe that Shimano (others will correct if I'm wrong) 8spd rear mechs can still work up to 9 or 10 spd, so if the priority there is just more gearing choices, then all you need to start are the levers and a new budget cassette! Get the rest at your leisure.

simon_e

andy_wrx wrote:

Tyres and tubes are a good relatively cheap change that will make a big difference.

Absolutely, the first thing to replace.

You will notice getting better wheels, but on a £500 bike I'd top-out at £200 or so

Why? The frame is the same as the more expensive models.

And I think you'd need to spend more than £200 to really feel a significant improvement on the SR2 wheelset (~1950g). But at least any wheels you buy can be transferred to another bike. Shimano Ultegra 6800 / RS61 (top value, v. similar to & hardly any heavier than the more expensive RS81s), Fulcrum 5s and similarly priced wheels are lighter and will feel nicer but won't make it fly up hills. But for that money you could get some really nice handbuilts made....

Like Monty, I'd not rush to upgrade the groupset. Try wearing it out, I find that's a good excuse