(Old 2011) High-End Race bike or (New 2020) Entry-Level Race Bike

taimur

So me and my friends often get in to a debate over which bike is better. He thinks i should sell my aging top end carbon race bike and get an entry level race bike for the same money since i am not convinced on spending more.

I have been riding for over 10 years, since i got back in to cycling in 2007 (was 33, now 46). I got serious at the time started to ride pro in local races and upgraded equipment accordingly. in 2012 i bought a brand new CUBE Litening Super HPC frame (factory Dura Ace Di2). swapped out cables and equipped it with Ultegra Di2 6770.

Here are the full specs:
Cube Litening Super HPC Carbon Frame
Cube stock Carbon Seat post
Dura Ace Bottom bracket and head bearings
Easton EC 90SL fork (cube frames were equipped with Easton forks till 2013)
Ultegra Di2 6770 gears and shifters
Ultegra 6700 brakes with Dura Ace 7900 rubber
Dura Ace 7900 Chain
Dura Ace cassette
Dura Ace 7900 Carbon Pedals
Easton EA90 SL Stem (Cadel Evans had these on his TDF winning BMC )
3t Carbon Ergo Team Edition Handlebar
Fizik Arione Saddle (not the lightest but matching color)
Elite Bottle cages
Mavic Ksyrium SL Wheels (anniversary Edition - Red Hubs)
Garmin Speed / cadence Sensors

All of this adds up to 6.95kgs

Cycle is still spotless and having built it with my own hands, piece by piece, between 2012-2014 so there is some attachment.

i am no longer pursuing pro-riding but ride with friends for fitness.

Am i missing out on anything buy not swapping out to a newer 2020 CAAD 13 or Bianche etc?

joe_totale-2

I think your mate is talking nonsense.
Unless you really want disc brakes or wide tyres I wouldn't bother getting a new bike, your current steed is still plenty good enough.

webboo

If you were riding as Professional why did you have to buy your own bike.

darkhairedlord

do you have a picture from the correct side?

darkhairedlord

webboo said:

If you were riding as Professional why did you have to buy your own bike.

He may have been the team owner as well as a rider. Like Bradley Wiggins.

pilot_pete

Turning pro ‘For local races’ at 33 is an extremely strange concept.

Anyhow, I’d keep what you have. You could upgrade the wheels for something more modern as the Ksyriums age. And I’d replace the Dura Ace cassette and chain with Ultegra when they are worn out, which will be cheaper for no discernible detriment in performance.

Other than that, I can’t see any benefit to buying an entry level bike - it will probably be heavier, certainly won’t have di2 and the wheels will be a step down in quality even if they are new. Plus of course you may end up changing saddle, bars, stem etc to make it fit and get as comfortable!

PP

pilot_pete

And p.s. I advised my niece to buy this second hand for £700 as it is much better than anything she would get for that price new. It’s featherweight, different, a real head-turner and she loves it!

First.Aspect

I bought my last two bikes second hand. Unridden 6/13, £750, 18 month old R3 disk ultegra hydro £1500. The Cannondale is the better bike, easily. Both are better by some margin than anything new for £2k ish.

taimur

webboo said:

If you were riding as Professional why did you have to buy your own bike.

Third world country, we were promoting cycling as a sport and wanted the govt give attention.

We didn't have sponsorships or professional teams in the same manner as you are used to seeing, until very recently.

We used our own gear to compete.

taimur

darkhairedlord said:

do you have a picture from the correct side?

taimur

pilot_pete said:

Turning pro ‘For local races’ at 33 is an extremely strange concept.

Anyhow, I’d keep what you have. You could upgrade the wheels for something more modern as the Ksyriums age. And I’d replace the Dura Ace cassette and chain with Ultegra when they are worn out, which will be cheaper for no discernible detriment in performance.

Other than that, I can’t see any benefit to buying an entry level bike - it will probably be heavier, certainly won’t have di2 and the wheels will be a step down in quality even if they are new. Plus of course you may end up changing saddle, bars, stem etc to make it fit and get as comfortable!

PP

Thanks, couldnt agree more.

i have had the Mavic bearings serviced, so far they have been solid.
Cassette and chain were ultegra, swapped them out recently with an upgrade when i found a sale.

fenix

Why does your mate want to spend your money ?

Your bike is just fine as it is. 👍

pilot_pete

“ Cassette and chain were ultegra, swapped them out recently with an upgrade when i found a sale.”

Interesting. In my experience they are significantly more expensive than Ultegra, even in a sale!

PP

darkhairedlord

taimur said:

darkhairedlord said:

do you have a picture from the correct side?

thats a keeper.
Maybe your friend thinks its not trendy without a 4 arm crank?

Ben6899

Yeh that's a great bike. Keep it.

FreddieVonRost

Very late to this party taimar, but your friend is an idiot.

mfin

Your friend sounds like he's likely completely gullible when it comes to marketing. Bikes have not improved really, and your money would just be buying you a bike worse than you have.

In fact, you should be persuading your friend to stop buying new mediocre bikes and find a second hand top end bike instead.

zest28

Just keep riding what you have.

darkhairedlord

Some black or tan walled tyres would help. Coloured tread is slower.

MTB_Roadtripper

Def a keeper and light as.

If you wanted that new bike feeling you could always paint her.