Upgrades for De Rosa R838

arran77

I'm after some advice on upgrades for my De Rosa R838.......

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12939675&p=18523674&hilit=De+Rosa+R838#p18523674

I won an award at work recently :shock: and the prize can be £100 of Halfords vouchers.

As this was totally unexpected I feel justified in just 'blowing' it (I know it's not much to some but it is to me!!), thing is what on?

The bike rides fine and all is working well on it so nothing is really needed, the obvious upgrade is the wheels but I don't have the money to add to the vouchers so for £100, give or take a few pounds what would you buy?

I kind of thought of some of these just because they look good and with BC discount they come to a nat's whisker over £100 8)

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_931053_langId_-1_categoryId_273959

rolf_f

That's no upgrade - they are identical to your Veloce shifters except that there is a carbon fibre veneer over the alloy lever body - the cf is just decoration. The Ultrashift type of lever (which Centaur was until 2010 or so) is a true cf lever and has a better mechanism but you won't find those in shops anymore.

Harder than you think spending that sort of windfall. I've got £100 in Wiggle Vouchers waiting for some ideas and I don't want to use them on boring stuff.

Some really nice tyres and latex tubes for summer would be good if you can bear to spend the money on consumables (eg Veloflex Master or Corsa). That would deal with half of it!

Or there are some great deals on shoes about at the moment.

arran77

I realised the levers would be no upgrade as such, they look better than the Veloce though

Tyres might not be a bad shout if all else fails, might take a look to see what they've got, thanks Rolf

JayKosta

Is your current saddle good for long all-day rides? If not, that's what I'd change.

Otherwise, use the money to buy tires for when the Vitt's wear out.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

Markjaspi

Aero helmet? If they sell them!!

arran77

Markjaspi wrote:

Aero helmet? If they sell them!!

I think I need to work on my 'aero body' before a helmet would be any use

IrishMac

Brakes maybe? Only if they they'd offer a noticeable performance improvement of course

Any maintenance required? Chain etc...

Have a look at the clothes, They've nice Nalini Bibshorts @90£

sloppyschleckonds

Remove the stem cap and fit a new frame.

paul1000

You could get some nice carbon de rosa bottle cages, some people have a thing for de rosa's, they probably ride Carreras or boardmans lol.

galatzo

Stick some cash towards them and get some better wheels (and black tyres).
Zondas would be just the job.

Still a great looking frame and better colour than the Athena variant.

mfin

Definitely head towards wheels, and Racing 7 to Zonda would be immediately noticeable. I don't know if these are Campag freehub (didn't bother looking), but they'd make the bike feel like it has come alive compared to Fulcrum 7's which are crap and heavy http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_978721_langId_-1_categoryId_242554

...also, get the tyres up to the league of GP4000s, if you did the wheels and this and you didn't feel the difference in the ride after just a few hundred metres then I'd be amazed (unless you are 14 stone and ride at 14mph... and no offence meant, just saying that there are heavy and slow people out there that aren't going to notice much as some of them barely even bother to cycle hard enough to get out of breath).

rolf_f

mfin wrote:

Fulcrum 7's which are crap and heavy http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_978721_langId_-1_categoryId_242554

This is wrong. Fulcrums are not crap and heavy. They are relatively heavy compared to other good quality wheels but light compared to most of the wheels supplied on low/medium end retail bikes. They are bombproof and capable of a serious mileage without being touched and, if the bearings wear out they are easily and cheaply replaced. An excellent winter/training wheel.

Zondas are a worthwhile upgrade but that's no reason to portray a good wheel as 'crap'.

arran77

Thanks for all of the advice guys, like I said in my first post, I know that wheels would be the best upgrade but I simply don't have the money at the moment otherwise I'd be right on it.

Going to look at tyres I think as even that should hopefully offer a noticeable improvement.

Any views on the following?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_952231_langId_-1_categoryId_242553

With this

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_952197_langId_-1_categoryId_242553

Or a pair of either of these

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_921237_langId_-1_categoryId_242553

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_985831_langId_-1_categoryId_242553

rolf_f

Just tell us what they are rather than making us click a million links*!

*slight exaggeration maybe.....

arran77

Rolf F wrote:

Just tell us what they are rather than making us click a million links*!

*slight exaggeration maybe.....

Michelin Pro Optimum, Michelin Pro4 Service Course or Vittoria Diamante Pro Light :P

mfin

Rolf F wrote:

mfin wrote:

Fulcrum 7's which are crap and heavy http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_978721_langId_-1_categoryId_242554

This is wrong. Fulcrums are not crap and heavy. They are relatively heavy compared to other good quality wheels but light compared to most of the wheels supplied on low/medium end retail bikes. They are bombproof and capable of a serious mileage without being touched and, if the bearings wear out they are easily and cheaply replaced. An excellent winter/training wheel.

Zondas are a worthwhile upgrade but that's no reason to portray a good wheel as 'crap'.

Alright, what I meant then is I had some (still have the rear running on a turbo) and when I rode them for a few thousand miles I decided they fit the description of heavy and crap ride-wise. In the end, they are entry level, and if a wheel like a Zonda can't outshine a wheel of the level of a Fulcrum 7 then Zonda's themselves would be crap, which I don't believe they are. Of course if you winter/train on a wheel like that and all you expect it to do is be reliable and go round then they are fine on that level. I thought in the context of upgrading wheels the comments were relevant, maybe even to the OP I would hope, as the leap upgrade-wise that you get when hitting a more 'mid-range wheel' is very real indeed.

taon24

arran77 wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Just tell us what they are rather than making us click a million links*!

*slight exaggeration maybe.....

Michelin Pro Optimum, Michelin Pro4 Service Course or Vittoria Diamante Pro Light :P

I can't recommend the Diamante Pro Light. They lasted some 700 miles only for summer riding, which is not worth it.