Modding entry-level bikes: Who has gone the furthest?

class5700

who has modded an entry level bike the furthest?

you bought a cheap bike, then modded a small part, then another small mod, then another, and before you know it you've got an Ultegra groupset, Zipp wheels, carbon bars etc.

which bike was it and what did you change?

the person who has spent the most upgrading the cheapest bike is the winner.

mfin

class5700 wrote:

the person who has spent the most upgrading the cheapest bike is a loser.

There, that's more accurate.

norvernrob

My mate has a £300 Dengu frame. On it he has 6870 Di2, PX ultralight cnc calipers, FSA K Force carbon cranks, carbon bars, time carbon pedals and Campagnolo Bullet wheels. You can get a bike for £300 though so it's not truly entry level I suppose.

Wunnunda

All sounds a bit "Triggers Broom" to me

sloppyschleckonds

TBF most suggestions on this forum are to buy the best Frame & Forks then go from there.
Not sure anyones gonna admit to putting Zipps on a Trek 1.2

Wheelspinner

Maybe this guy?

gethinceri

By May the only original part on my Trek 1.1 will be the frame. I won't consider myself a loser, just someone who will have created the right tool for the job.

navrig2

Gethinceri wrote:

By May the only original part on my Trek 1.1 will be the frame. I won't consider myself a loser, just someone who will have created the right tool for the job.

But, more importantly, what colour is the basket?

gethinceri

Sharp joke big man.

Anonymous

Navrig2 wrote:

Gethinceri wrote:

By May the only original part on my Trek 1.1 will be the frame. I won't consider myself a loser, just someone who will have created the right tool for the job.

But, more importantly, what colour is the basket?

Never mind the colour. It should be carbon fibre.

Monty Dog

Putting DuraAce and carbon wheels on a Trek 1.1 still means it rides and handles like a bike with a heavy and dead aluminium frame and it's still only a £500 bike with expensive parts. It's not snobbery, simply a waste of money.

964cup

I've got a Mekk Poggio; bought as a £960 Wiggle special; my first road bike. Mixed Ultegra 6700 and 105 5700 groupset, FSA Energy crank, Basic Ritchey finishing kit, R500 wheels.

It now has full Dura-Ace 7900, FSA K-Force Light cranks, Vision TC24 carbon tubulars, carbon seatpost and bars, 103g Scandium stem and a Selle Italia SLR Kit Carbonio saddle.

The only original parts are the frame and forks. It's more than 2kg lighter than when I first got it.

It actually rides rather well...

MountainMonster

I don't see how upgrading a entry level bike is a waste of money. I bought a £300 Carrera many moons ago, and changed bits over time. It was great fun working on it, and I created a bike I absolutely loved. The way I look at it was that the parts can almost always be transferred over to another bike if/when I felt I needed a better/lighter/snazzier bike frame.

markhewitt1978

I've upgraded my bike so much that there are no original components. Does that count?

iron-clover

I have a 4yo Trek 1.1 (£400 in boxing day sales) which is currently my only road bike (not for much longer though) which has Tiagra chainset and front mech (still has 2300/Claris on the back though), Deda drittissimo carbon seatpost and has even had my (cheap) 38mm tubs for a hillclimb- and used to have Chris King/ Open Pro wheels for racing (now have Hope hub versions because of maintenance, but still have the CKs in the shed). Also replaced the brake callipers with Tiagra level- would have gone for a higher level if long drop calipers were available.

At some point in spring it'll have 5700 levers and rear mech to make the jump to 10spd, and that'll be its lot.

I'm sure all the upgrades are worth far more than the original bike was worth, but most of them have taken place as parts wear out which has spread the cost over a long time- at no point could I afford/ justify a new bike over that period.
The wheels were easy to justify- they weren't very expensive and can (will) be used on future bikes as well as my recent TT bike purchase (that's mainly what the tubs will be used on).

That and the bike now just feels 'right' so why not upgrade and make it feel nicer to ride when I'll still be putting most of my miles into it as a training bike, plus the frame and forks (despite being full alloy) are fairly light and perform quite well and feel worthy of upgrading to a point.

keef66

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I've upgraded my bike so much that there are no original components. Does that count?

You are truly in Trigger's broom territory there.

The only original components I have from my MTB are thesaddle and the QR skewers. The rest of it was nicked!

MisterMuncher

Doesn't everyone with a "best" and "everyday" bike trickle components down, upgrading the good 'un with new shiny and bolting the old shiny onto the beater?

I used to have my SL-K crank on my alloy Synapse. A crank that weighed less than a third of the frame, and would be about 1.5 times the price at retail.

ddraver

Until tomorrow when my new frame is delivered, I have SRAM Red Cranks and shifters (Force else), Fulcrum Racing 3's and a full Thomson cockpit on a GBP100 Rible winter/Audax Frame & Fork

As above, it was a series of small upgrades over time until I had the opportunity to buy a new frame

On the other hand, my poor Station omafiets has gone to the great Canal in the Sky today having finally given up the ghost after surviving far longer than I would ever have anticipated on bodge after bodge

ai_1

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I've upgraded my bike so much that there are no original components. Does that count?

I've modified my older bike so much that there are very few original components but a lot of the changes were lateral not vertical. i.e. value or quality of many components are similar to originals...others have been "upgrades"
I changed:
- chainrings and cranks (wore out the original FSA Tempo chainrings. Replaced the lot +BB with Tiagra inc shorter cranks)
- cassette (original not suitable range, 2nd one wore out, 3rd one on turbo specific wheel, 4th one on bike)
- stem (for length change)
- seatpost (setback seatpost changed to a forward offset one for TT)
- handlebar (44cm ergo style to a 42cm compact)
- wheels (Alex rims something or other to Fulcrum Racing CX 7s)
- tyres (mediocre multipurpose tyres to GP 4 Seasons)
- saddle (Specialised BG saddle to Adamo ISM Attack - definitely an upgrade cost-wise!)
- fitted tri-bars
The bike is a 2009 Tricross Sport and the only components I felt really needed changing since I got it are the brakes. Guess what the very few original components remaining include...the brakes
The bike has cantilever brakes and I want to switch to Mini-V but can't find something likely to work for a sane price. I recently ordered a set of TRP CX8.4 from Planet X who had them heavily reduced only to have them lost in the post and now they're out of stock. The only niggle with a bike I have otherwise become quite fond of....but a big niggle.

iPete

My second hand £300 Trek T1 fixeh (not in sig) has about £700 extra parts currently on it. All that's left is the frame, headset, brake and crank arms. New bars, brake lever, tape, stem, seatpost, saddle, wheels with power meter, cog, chain and chainring.

Have put 12,000 miles into it and spent much more trying different bar, stem, brake, gear combinations.

crescent

I'm on the verge of replacing the entire groupset on my 2007 Allez (only the brake levers and the chainset are still the originals). Once that's done it will only be the handlebars and frame that are original, everything else has worn out or been upgraded at some point already. Still love it though.

jgsi

The next logical step is a custom paint job.
That'll be in 4 years time to spite the forum keyboard mettalurgists who randomly condemn an alloy frame after 5 years... ;-)

rodgers73

I bought my 2010 Spesh Secteur Sport for £580. Since then I have changed -

Groupset - upgrade from Sora/Tiagra mix to all 105
Wheels - Alex Rims budget option to £400 handbuilts
Saddle - upgrade from basic Spesh to a fancier Spesh model
Seatpost - from basic unbranded to cheap Deda model
Stem - basic Spesh to basic Deda model

The only original parts left on the bike are the frame, forks and bars. Most of my upgrades have been to replace faulty/worn out parts with more reliable or more comfortable versions as my preference is for long distance and Audax rides so the last thing I need is a bit on the bike failing on me (like anyone else does I suppose!).

desweller

In 2008 I bought a new Dawes hybrid for the princely sum of £159. It was so cheap that Dawes didn't even put their name on it.



The only original items are the frame, front mech, seat pin and one of the shifters. It's had heavy-duty wheels fitted, front and rear racks and £200 of dynamo lighting. A few years ago it was vandalised in London and received a new paint job as a result. Ultegra 1" headset (it's a quill stem), butterfly bars and 1 extra gear to take it from 7-speed to 8-speed finish the upgrade to heavy duty touring bike.

It's not suitable for really rough touring as the frame is aluminium, but in general it's a smooth reliable piece of kit.

sarm34

Last April I bought a new Wilier XP Izoard, upgraded the wheels to Ksyrium elites, seat to a selle italia SLR maxiflow with carbon rails, FSA SL-K carbon bars, seatpost , stem, and crankset, chain to dura ace , ultegra front and rear mech and shifters, ultgra cassette , SL-K bottle cages, bar tape , and carbon headset spaces, the only orginal thing is the frame and forks...Guess what? .......new frame coming tomorrow.... what have I done lol

Chrisrebbeck

Modded this Synapse over the winter. Bought the bike complete with sora groupset to go alongside my supersix summer bike. Before it saw the road, I upgraded to 6700 throughout, standfast the levers (105). New stem, new thomson seat post, new antares saddle, elite pave cages and H Plus Son wheels with Powertap SL+. The only original part is the frame and handlebar. Its a great winter bike, plenty of clearance for tyres and guards and ready for my first bash at Tour Of Flanders in April. Wanted the 10 speed to enable the powertap to switch between bikes.

[url][/url][url][/url]20150215_112945 by rebbeck, on Flickr