Upgrade groupset or not worth it?

rbasham982
rbasham982 Posts: 3
in Road general
Hi Everyone,

Newbie here. I have a Giant Defy 2 that is about 8 years old. Nothing wrong with the frame and I have recently upgraded the wheels to feel a bit zippier. I just changed the cassette and chain but the gears still feel very clunky. The bike shop has told me that to get the cleaner, faster gear changes I am looking for I would need to upgrade my standard groupset to something like Shimano 105's. Happy to do this but at £300-400 I wonder whether it is more economical to pick up a new bike, say something a couple of years old for around £1000. It seems a shame as I love the bike and there's nothing wrong with the frame but what I fear is the upgrade not giving enough of an improvement in the ride.

Any thoughts and advice on this welcome please.

Thanks!

Ross

Comments

  • lesfirth
    lesfirth Posts: 1,382
    You can get a great used bike for £1000 or less.
  • Charlie_Croker
    Charlie_Croker Posts: 1,727
    rbasham982 said:

    I have a Giant Defy 2 that is about 8 years old.
    ...The bike shop has told me that to get the cleaner, faster gear changes I am looking for I would need to upgrade my standard groupset to something like Shimano 105's.

    I'm a little confused here, what is your 'standard' groupset? You should have Shimano Tiagra already

    https://bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/road-bikes/giant-defy-2-review/
  • johngti
    johngti Posts: 2,508
    If you like the ride feel of the frame set you’ve got, you have the money to get a better group set and you want to do it yourself/learn a bit about spannering then what have you got to lose? New bikes are great but it’s possible to get a better group set for less money than a new bike.
  • rbasham982
    rbasham982 Posts: 3
    Thanks for all the comments and advice everyone. I am still undecided. Charlie, I have the Shimano Sora groupset. My typo sorry - I have a Defy 3, not 2.
  • singleton
    singleton Posts: 2,523
    I replaced an older 10 speed, worn out 105 with 11 speed 105 5800 and it was a big difference and well worth doing. It seems as though the 7000 is quite a lot more expensive than I paid for the 5800.
  • dannbodge
    dannbodge Posts: 1,152
    I'm currently upgrading my winter bike from Tiagra 4700 to Ultegra 6800.

    Total cost for the Ultegra stuff is about £200 and I can probably get £100 back for the Tiagra bits.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    I've just got some Ultegra shifters & mechs for £50 - second hand obviously - absolutely worth upgrading at a price point - no way would I go and spend 3-400 on a new groupset for my old bike - I'd buy it for my best bike and move the stuff down.
    But if this is your best bike and you've bought some new wheels for it - then why not Triggers Broom it - and get a new groupset - together with the new wheels it'll feel a lot better, make you smile and ride great. Will it make you faster? Absolutely - because you'll be more inclined to give it a bit more oomph.
  • Flâneur
    Flâneur Posts: 3,081
    As said above, I wouldn't spend big on your old bike, but nothing wrong with keeping it current with a second hand upgrade or goingwith 105 (if your wheelset allows 11 speed). Worst case it becomes your spare/winter/second bike should you indulge on something new.
    Stevo 666 wrote: Come on you Scousers! 20/12/2014
    Crudder
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  • Longshot
    Longshot Posts: 940
    edited March 2020
    oxoman said:

    My moda with 105 5800 triple shifts gear just as easily as my newish defy pro with ultegra. .

    I've just put my old Trek 2.3 on a turbo and that has the same 105 triple on it. I was surprised how well it changed gear and struggle to notice much improvement with the Ultegra set up on my Synapse.

    You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.
  • svetty
    svetty Posts: 1,904
    New 105 7000 is light years ahead of 8 year old Sora - both shifting and especially the brakes. If your rear wheel will accept an 11 speed cassette I'd definitely go for it
    FFS! Harden up and grow a pair :D
  • photonic69
    photonic69 Posts: 2,823
    I have a 2013 Defy 3 that had Sora. My frame was in A1 condition but the wheels were shot. Picked up a bargain set of wheels on here that weighed in at 1600g then got a 105 5800 groupset a couple of years ago in a Black Friday deal. Transformed the bike. The Defy has a very good frame.


    Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.

  • photonic69
    photonic69 Posts: 2,823
    edited March 2020
    Edit: duplicate post


    Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.

  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    photonic69 said:

    I have a 2013 Defy 3 that had Sora. My frame was in A1 condition but the wheels were shot. Picked up a bargain set of wheels on here that weighed in at 1600g then got a 105 5800 groupset a couple of years ago in a Black Friday deal. Transformed the bike. The Defy has a very good frame.

    So good you did it twice ! :)

  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    svetty said:

    New 105 7000 is light years ahead of 8 year old Sora - both shifting and especially the brakes. If your rear wheel will accept an 11 speed cassette I'd definitely go for it


    5700 is ten speed ....
  • photonic69
    photonic69 Posts: 2,823
    slowbike said:

    photonic69 said:

    I have a 2013 Defy 3 that had Sora. My frame was in A1 condition but the wheels were shot. Picked up a bargain set of wheels on here that weighed in at 1600g then got a 105 5800 groupset a couple of years ago in a Black Friday deal. Transformed the bike. The Defy has a very good frame.

    So good you did it twice ! :)

    Heheh! Yes, phone/website interaction problems


    Sometimes. Maybe. Possibly.

  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    N+1 though .... even if it's the same model... ;)
  • rbasham982
    rbasham982 Posts: 3
    Thanks for all the great info everyone!

    Now looking out for some nearly new 105's on ebay.

    I have Mavic Ksyrium wheels - are these 11 speed compatible? And to clarify, are the 105 5700 10 speed, 5800 11 speed and the 7000 11 speed? Should I be looking at all of these or limiting my search?

    There's talk of Ultegras here but I think that upgrade may be out of my price range, and my thoughts are skipping the Tiagra's to make a more noticable jump. Am I right?

    Thanks again for the help!
  • johngti
    johngti Posts: 2,508
    Go with r7000 if you can, it’s excellent
  • homers_double
    homers_double Posts: 8,289
    The new Tiagra has all of the features of the older 105 groupset, it's supposed to be very good value for money.
    I upgraded my Allez from Tiagra (the older version) to 105 partly for aesthetics as the hidden cables are miles better, there is a noticeable difference but as I said, the newer version is supposed to be good.
    Advocate of disc brakes.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    I'd go for min 5800 11 speed if you can (if the wheels are new they should be 11 speed) - otherwise, plenty of 10 speed bargains about.
    I'm staying with 10 speed for now as it means I can swap components around when the need arises - like yesterday morning getting the commute bike out to find it's got a flat rear - swap with my summer bike back wheel, bit of air and off we go - far quicker than changing a tube.
  • dannbodge
    dannbodge Posts: 1,152
    homers_double said:

    The new Tiagra has all of the features of the older 105 groupset, it's supposed to be very good value for money.
    I upgraded my Allez from Tiagra (the older version) to 105 partly for aesthetics as the hidden cables are miles better, there is a noticeable difference but as I said, the newer version is supposed to be good.

    New Tiagra (4700) is very good. It's still not as good as 6800 Ultegra though.
    The shifter feel is much heavier and the changes are no where near as smooth.
  • homers_double
    homers_double Posts: 8,289
    I can't comment on that TBH but as I run Ultegra on my Trek I can vouch for its performance in comparison to the 105 on my winter/turbo bike and I suspect the jump is quite high.

    Depends on what you want to spend though but I'm all for saving a bit more and push to the best you can afford/get away with.
    Advocate of disc brakes.
  • southdownswolf
    southdownswolf Posts: 1,525
    I've got a 2013 Specialized Allez that I've resprayed and fitted a 105/Ultegra mix groupset.
    I could have bought a newer bike for not much more, but I like the way that the Allez rides and it fits well.
    The only thing that would have convinced me to change the whole bike would be to go to disc brakes.
    http://www.stuartmole.co.uk/

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