Please help me value/compare my road bike (your thoughts welcome).

[Dave7]

As my own retirement pressy I am getting a new hybrid (existing one is 10 years old) and am THINKING of a new road bike. The road bike I have is quite good but (with retirement) I can now afford/justify to upgrade. The problem I have is working out out much I have to pay for a noticeable difference (if only we could have them on a months trial)

What I have now is a Fondriest who are still big on the Continent but with no UK distributor. Approx' 3 years old.
The spec' is as follows.
FRAME.........Fondriest Megaplus -which is eliptical shape 6000 series ally
Forks..........Carbon (Fondriest)
Shimano Tiagra groupset and cranks etc.
Shimano clipless pedals
ITM stem
Wheels are Mavic Open Pro 32 spoke
Tyres are Vittoria Kevlar 700 x 23
The weight including 2 bottle cages and a Velo Crossbow saddle is 9.50 Kg.

As I say-I welcome opinions as to what this compares to and how much I would have to pay for a noticeable improvement.
Thanks

 

[Monkspeed]

I'm certainly no expert but what you have looks like a good spec road bike and from what I've seen other manufacturers are offering similar spec for about ~£650.

I think if you are going to see a difference then possibly you would be looking at a carbon frame bike (although not necessarily) and something with the Shimano Ultegra groupset. But then if you are happy with your bike now, then you could always purchase a Ultegra/SRAM groupset for it anyway.

Plus it all depends on your mindset at the moment. Are you truly happy with your bike in the sense that it is old and doesn't not have a popular manufacturer logo on it? If these things bother you then you should definitely upgrade because if you are happy with the looks/prestige of it then you will want to ride it more.


EDIT: For example look at this Cannondale road bike http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/synapse-carbon-apex-compact-2012-road-bike-ec032129

Its full carbon and SRAM Apex groupset, will you notice a difference; YES, will it be ~£1200 worth of difference - this is debatable.