Upgrades?

[RyanW]

As normal now i have my new bike i have started to look at possible upgrades for the future so though i would put some feelers out and see what people suggest.

I have an Allez Elite 2010.

Im thinking Wheels first, currently have maveric CXp 22's possibly go to something better fulcram 5/3 or some shimano rs80's

what are peoples experiences of 2nd hand wheels, if i consider going carbon?

Any other suggestions, or advice.

Dont get me wrong i love the bike and at the moment everything is perfect.

Just need some better shoes and pedals as my off road type SPD's are giving me pins and needles

 

[accountantpete]

I have had a couple of pairs of second-hand wheels off eBay with no problems - but stick to lightly used examples with a good informative write up.

The hubs and rims are generally ok but if a wheel has bust a spoke and had it replaced then this is a sign of possible further spoke breakages to come and they can be costly or difficult to source. I'd always Google replacement spokes before buying a wheel so as you don't find yourself in the s***.

Personally I'd stick to Campag(Fulcrum) or higher end Mavics for reliability -check the reviews for the various models.

The ideal way is to get a middle ranking pair like the Fulcrum 3's and relegate the existing pair to Winter and then do a rolling upgrade when you want some Aero wheels etc.

 

[Landslide]

Some good tyres will make the biggest difference, then wheels. Once they're sorted, I'd consider rear mech, good cables (brake and gear), brake pads etc.

 

[Russdee]

I would go for wheels & Tyres in the first instance. Personally, I have always found Mavic wheels to be excellent. I have a pair of Mavic Elite's which I brought new in 2006 or 2007 and are bomb proof.

I have owned/ridden on some of the lower end Shimano wheels 105 and Tiagra and found them OK for winter training for a season but would not use them again as the bearings were rough.

But wheels are a very personal choice. Never brought secondhand but the tips above sound good.

Have fun

Russ

 

[Rob3rt]

As normal now i have my new bike i have started to look at possible upgrades for the future so though i would put some feelers out and see what people suggest.

I have an Allez Elite 2010.

Im thinking Wheels first, currently have maveric CXp 22's possibly go to something better fulcram 5/3 or some shimano rs80's

what are peoples experiences of 2nd hand wheels, if i consider going carbon?

Any other suggestions, or advice.

Dont get me wrong i love the bike and at the moment everything is perfect.

Just need some better shoes and pedals as my off road type SPD's are giving me pins and needles

I have some shimano wheels, not sure of model (Evans cycles says it should be Shimano WHR 500A), they arent flash, and they dont get good reviews but they seem pretty bomb proof. These are low end shimano crap I believe, so you will be looking for something better, just thought id comment on my experience of shimano.

Ive been running the front wheel on my fixed for about 4 months, been hit by cars twice (although the second time the wheel didnt hit the car so this doesnt count really), slammed through potholes gallore and endoed when an object jammed the front wheel with no damage to be found. The rear wheel on this fixed on the other hand which is a random piece of crap is buckled up pretty bad from the endo incident. Ive only cycled a short distance on the shimano rear as its 9spd on my road bike and I ride fixed 95% of the time so cant comment on the wheelset to in depth.

Depends what sort of riding you want to do as to what wheels/rims you should buy to.

Try putting some race tyres on your current rims maybe?


I most likely wont buy shimano wheels again unless buying dura-ace fixed hubs or carbon rims. They dont seem that good, they just survive.

 

[RyanW]

i have some spesh monda tyres (slick as can be) which im happy with, they seem to balance RR and PR well.

didnt think about upgrading rear mech, good call. how will break cables make any difference? would upgrading the break cali's make much difference, would it make breaking smoother? faster? or jsut save 2g?

 

[Rob3rt]

i have some spesh monda tyres (slick as can be) which im happy with, they seem to balance RR and PR well.

didnt think about upgrading rear mech, good call. how will break cables make any difference? would upgrading the break cali's make much difference, would it make breaking smoother? faster? or jsut save 2g?

My experience is brake calibers will simply reduce a bit of weight, not worth the cash outlay imo. The brake difference between tiagra and 105 is sweet FA! Ive got both and there is no difference apart from 105 looks a bit nicer (black looks nice). Maybe progressing to something higher than 105 would make a difference, but 105 and tiagra will almost instantaniously tip you over the bars with no problem, how much more power do you want? Changing the brake pads will most likely have more effect, as will proper brake setup.

 

[RyanW]

My experience is brake calibers will simply reduce a bit of weight, not worth the cash outlay imo. The brake difference between tiagra and 105 is sweet FA! Ive got both and there is no difference apart from 105 looks a bit nicer (black looks nice). Maybe progressing to something higher than 105 would make a difference, but 105 and tiagra will tip you over the bars with no problem, how much more power do you want? Changing the brake pads will most likely have more effect, as will proper brake setup.

I wanna be able to stop the earth rotating!

What do you suggest in terms of break pads, i have head good things about the kool stop salmonns (or however its spelt) i do find the breaking is quite, jumpy if that makes sense

 

[zacklaws]

I have just upgraded my brakes from whatever was on my Trek Madone, 105's I think as I found they were not that effective, to Bontrager Speed limit and I am very impressed with them.

What I have found now is that of instead of having to brake early in anticipation of possibly having to stop at blind junctions etc, I can leave my braking till well late and if I get to the junction etc, see its clear I can keep going. I was suprised to see how much time I saved on my first run out with them and on the longer runs the time saving is even greater.

 

[Rob3rt]

I wanna be able to stop the earth rotating!

What do you suggest in terms of break pads, i have head good things about the kool stop salmonns (or however its spelt) i do find the breaking is quite, jumpy if that makes sense

I dont know anyhting about brake pads, im a relative newb, I just know the difference between tiagra and 105 is next to nothing because I run tiagra on my road bike and 105 on my fixed and both bike can lift the rear under heavy braking with me firmly seated in the saddle. If braking is jumpy, check your brake pads, worn down? if not, toed in correctly? Cable tensioned properly? Wheel out of true? caliper centred on wheel properly, if its not it will contact one side before the other flexing the wheel.

I have just upgraded my brakes from whatever was on my Trek Madone, 105's I think as I found they were not that effective, to Bontrager Speed limit and I am very impressed with them.

What I have found now is that of instead of having to brake early in anticipation of possibly having to stop at blind junctions etc, I can leave my braking till well late and if I get to the junction etc, see its clear I can keep going. I was suprised to see how much time I saved on my first run out with them and on the longer runs the time saving is even greater.

Out of curiosity, isnt braking early good technique? Rather than leaving it late and risking a faceplant if you have to brake hard. I have 105 on my fixed and they have put me over the bars within about a metre under heavy braking (trying to avoid a car, failed), lol

 

[zacklaws]

Out of curiosity, isnt braking early good technique? Rather than leaving it late and risking a faceplant if you have to brake hard. I have 105 on my fixed and they have put me over the bars within about a metre under heavy braking (trying to avoid a car, failed), lol

Maybe braking early is a good technique, but I always believe in being able to brake within the distance that is safe to stop if need be. With my old brakes, this was quite a substantial distance, up to 30 yards if speeds are high, and when I got into the position where I can see that I could have kept going, then it means I have lost a lot of speed unneccesary, and I have then got to speed up again, it all adds up the time lost. On a 20% downhill, my old brakes where useless, even with maximum pressure, the wheels would keep turning, so they had to go.

Its a bit like driving, your behind someone on a roundabout, you can see its clear to continue as the roundabout is free but the person in front slows down and sometimes stops, it gets frustrating and does not help to keep traffic flowing.

But no matter what you must be able to stop if need be, even if it does mean slowing down a touch, till you can see its safe to continue.

 

[lukesdad]

My dura ace scandium wheels are brill so are my sram s60s and my mavic Es if that helps. Swiss stops for brake pads.