Groupset upgrade advise

[Pgs2512]

I bought a Merida Ride 100 as an entry bike when I was just getting into road riding about 8 months ago. Now I am riding more and more I am comfortable on the bike but would like to upgrade the components.
I decided that instead of piecemeal upgrades I would quite like to do the lot, but I don't know whether to go for Shimano Tiagra, with a view to getting better wheels, or spend the extra on Shimano 105 and leave the wheels. I would be grateful for any advise or opinions on the matter.

 

[RoubaixCube]

to be fair.... I would be looking at the secondhand market for a decent bike rather then upgrading the one that you have unless it has sentimental value. The money you put in could be better spent on a better bike overall so you'd get more bang for your buck so to speak...

I bought my triban off ebay and upgraded a few bits and bobs here and there but the bike itself when i bought it saved me well over £200 off the RRP.

Upgrading to a full 105 groupset alone will cost you in excess of £300 -- and that to me isnt really worth it. You could probably sell your merida for £200-300 and get a much much better bike for £600-700.

Alternatively you can look for secondhand components to save a bit of cash but its your call.

 

[vickster]

Try the two group sets and see which if either is better for you

Are you doing all the work yourself? Otherwise you'll need to factor the fitting costs in too. You can get a new giant Defy with 105 for £630 from Paul's, could be more economical as above

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p6990/GIANT-DEFY-1-2016

They sell reduced Merida too

https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p7926/MERIDA-RIDE-400-2016
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p7371/MERIDA-RIDE-400-LAMPRE-TEAM-2016

What's wrong with your current wheels? If they are ok, £100 or whatever the diff between tiagra and 105 won't buy much better unless your wheels are trashed

 

[Pgs2512]

I'm not confident doing the mechanics myself, I would take it to the local shop to get it done.

Also, as I said above, I'm fairly new to this game. Is there something that makes the Merida frame not worth upgrading? Also, what would be seen as a 'better' bike other than jumping to carbon or groupset levels? Are there certain brands that are considered better than others? My local bike shop, where I bought the bike, is a Merida retailer so they would be pretty unlikely to tell me if there was something untoward...

The reason I was thinking of upgrading GS instead of altogether bike upgrade was that I find this bike comfortable and seems to climb nicely or accelerate when I put the power down. I was looking for greater range of gears and better brakes haha!

 

[Milkfloat]

I don't know what wheels you currently have - but you may find you would need new ones or at least new freehubs to accommodate the 11 speed 105.

 

[vickster]

I'm not confident doing the mechanics myself, I would take it to the local shop to get it done.

Also, as I said above, I'm fairly new to this game. Is there something that makes the Merida frame not worth upgrading? Also, what would be seen as a 'better' bike other than jumping to carbon or groupset levels? Are there certain brands that are considered better than others? My local bike shop, where I bought the bike, is a Merida retailer so they would be pretty unlikely to tell me if there was something untoward...

The reason I was thinking of upgrading GS instead of altogether bike upgrade was that I find this bike comfortable and seems to climb nicely or accelerate when I put the power down. I was looking for greater range of gears and better brakes haha!

It'll probably cost you £100 for the fitting of a new group set. New wheels you could also need a new chain and cassette. New bartape as well

Also if going to tiagra, you'd need those fitting

Start adding it up, a new bike could be cheaper. Keep the old as a spare or sell on

Depends how much cash you have

You could just change the calipers and put a different cassette on

Carbon isn't necessarily better, it's just different

Your cash however

 

[smutchin]

Also, as I said above, I'm fairly new to this game. Is there something that makes the Merida frame not worth upgrading? Also, what would be seen as a 'better' bike other than jumping to carbon or groupset levels?

The Ride 100 looks like a decent entry-level bike. The question really is what are you hoping to achieve by upgrading? It's not so much that the frame isn't worth upgrading as the limited performance benefits you'll get may not be worth the cost.

Is there anything particular about the current set-up that you're not happy with?

 

[RegG]

As others have said, it is your money and it is up to you how you go about getting an upgrade. If you are generally happy with the bike but just want more gears, better brakes, wheels etc then a groupset/wheel upgrade is an option.

My partners son was in a similar position last year in that he wanted to upgrade his 2013 Giant Defy 3. He was happy with the bike as it stood in that it was comfortable to ride etc. He had already bought new wheels (Mavic Ksyrium Elite) so was looking to upgrade the groupset from Sora to either 105 or Ultegra. In the end he opted for a full 105 groupset which cost him around £350 on-line. We did most of the fitting ourselves but left it to our LBS to sort out the gears and brake adjustment. They charged him £60 to do that but said they could have done the whole job, i.e. swapped the groupset, for around £100.

Result - he now has what feels like a new bike and is very pleased with his decision. He does not regret going for a completely new bike.

At the end of the day it is your choice. But before you make a decision do your homework, check out the costs involved, speak to your LBS about fitting etc.

 

[vickster]

You could always get this, a big leap in spec for not that much. Keep the Merida for the wet weather

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/b...h-sram-red-groupset-£675.214839/#post-4700863

 

[User6179]

My mate upgraded his aluminium bike to Ultegra 10 speed with some Mavic wheels , cost him nearly a grand , I bought a carbon bike with 11 speed 105 and fulcrum 5 wheels for £900 .

 

[T4tomo]

I'm not confident doing the mechanics myself, I would take it to the local shop to get it done.

Also, as I said above, I'm fairly new to this game. Is there something that makes the Merida frame not worth upgrading? Also, what would be seen as a 'better' bike other than jumping to carbon or groupset levels? Are there certain brands that are considered better than others? My local bike shop, where I bought the bike, is a Merida retailer so they would be pretty unlikely to tell me if there was something untoward...

The reason I was thinking of upgrading GS instead of altogether bike upgrade was that I find this bike comfortable and seems to climb nicely or accelerate when I put the power down. I was looking for greater range of gears and better brakes haha!

greater range of gears- ok so you'll get 10 cogs at the back instead of 8, but no bigger range, just a couple of points where there is less of a difference between two gears. To be honest if your (presumed) claris/sora mix is working fine, £300 odd is a lot of money for 2 extra cogs.
break calipers you can buy some 10 speed tiagra or 105 series and just fit them, (4600 or 5600) and they will give you a bit of extra stopping power, but just fitting Swiss stop green pads or koolstop salmons will be of greater benefit.