Replacing 2300

smbm
smbm Posts: 37
edited June 2013 in Workshop
Hi all, I originally posted this in buying advice but have been told to post here too.

Got a Giant Defy 5 early last year to get fit and have since done a bunch of miles and lost 20kg of weight.

Have had a bike fit and am really happy with the fit/feel of my bike although I am slightly regretting not getting one of the versions with the carbon fork and fancier (non thumb button) group sets.

I have some money to either put towards a new bike or improve what I have. I would imagine most people would suggest wheels but I still have some weight to lose to get to my ideal body weight for my height so figure it might be best to wait until I am as light as I intend to be.

Which leaves me with group set/shifters. I'm finding the thumb buttons a pain to shift if I am riding in the drops. I have outlined a couple of options and would appreciate peoples input:

Get new Sora shifters, cassette and chain. Do I need a new chainset? I have FSA Tempo at the moment (stock). This option is cheap at not much more than £100 to improve the functionality of the shifters.

Get 105. Fit to existing frame and run until I can afford a nicer frame (although I am happy with the geometry of what I have so maybe try to get a Defy Advanced or Composite frame) and then swap the 105 over and run the Defy 5 as winter bike with 2300 back on it or sell it. This is obviously more expensive but will leave me with nicer kit.

What do people suggest? I am open to suggestions. As I understand it the frame on the Defy series is the same throughout the aluminium range so it should be pretty reasonable, although I could be wrong on this.

I have also changed the saddle to a more comfy (cut out) one and the tyres to Gatorskins which roll much better than the originals.

Comments