Upgrades for Trek Madone 3.1...

Wheels. Wheels. Wheels.
Nothing will do more to make your bike feel special. It may be a small saving in weight, but will make a massive difference in performance. The Bontragers are decent enough, but worth upgrading IMO...

Hi, I have to agree with Dan,,,, a seatpost may take a little sting out and be a little lighter - so will the bars but performance wise, nowt beats the wheels. Some nice light wheels will make a hell of a lot of difference. Just bought a set of Ksyrium Elites (from a good guy on here) and what a difference - so my Son tells me, I'm still laid up with a smashed ankle.
Just my t'penneth.

Regards

Trikeman.

Have to go with Dan and trikeman. WHEELS. There's so many out there. But it's the wheels that are the deal. They'll totally up your machine's performance like nothing else. Hoops and a decent set of rubber to go with them

Aye but which wheels, as you say, there's so many!?

Currenntly using Fulcrum Racing 5's. Have had no problems with them and they cope pretty well on the roads here which are pretty s***e at present. Reasonably light and the hubs are ace. They've also been on a few sportives and stood the test. Using conti GP4000 on them at present. Trikeman's elites are also pretty sound.

You could also push the boat out and get your own built.

Obviously don't get carbon handlebars, because when you crash, you'll rip them up.

How about lighter tubes and tyres, will probably make almost as much difference as getting the new wheels by themselves.

Mavic yksions are good all round tyres, as are standard gator skins.

Saddle upgrade? Fizik concept saddle look sweet and they make cycling so much easier.

The easier it is to cycle, the easier it is to cycle fast.

Brake pad upgrade? Might be an idea.

H-bar tape?

New road shoes?

All worth considering

wheels and lose half a stone riding, job done. unless your already a skinnyf--ker! ultegra 6700 wheels on planet x only 199. 1600g michelin feather light tubes 12 quid, schwalbe ultremo zx tyres. amazing combo and very light

1600g for some tubes?

How much of a skinny F---er are you?

Hmm shoes = pedals = speedplays also like the idea of a decent saddle. Now that will beat the carbon seatpost. Karlos looks like the general consensus is anything but carbon bars and seatpost mate. Hopefully you not in a dilema now

Interesting thread, I'm thinking of some wheels as well!

Some helpful comments there thanks.

Good point about the saddle, the bike itself gets great reviews but most people say that the saddle is awful, it didn't even feel that comfy on the short test ride I gave it, so after a a couple of hours I reckon my arse is going to be suffering. Choosing a saddle's not easy either is it!?

Oh and as for carbon handlebars, I've been running them for years on my MTBs, several crashes and they've been fine.

It's about now that i normally say "Pro-Lite Bracciano"

http://road.cc/content/review/6577-pro-lite-bracciano-wheelset

Hmm carbon fibre handlebars. Been playing about with the idea myself. Carbon bars are worth it on mtb with suspension or tryes with a certain amount of give. Also mtb bars are what 600mm to 700mm (+ in some cases) wide now? So the carbon provides a stiffer platform, still not sure about the claims of better control over narrow bars. On a stiff road bike with 400 to 440 wide bars and tyres that have no give. Is there a need for a super stiff platform to hang onto? Fully understand the need for super light stuff on the track.

IME, a carbon post is best if you are using a compact frame and lots of post. Recently changed back to alloy post as the new frame has a small amount of post showing.

As with the others wheels and tyres would be your best start after the saddle. I'm still happy on my Planet X wheels after several years. They are replaced in the winter with a set of Hope hubbed jobbies.

Hope this helps.

Yorkshire whippet eh?, is that you Steve, it's me DK if so.

Sh..T been rumbled. LOL

How do fella? Glad to see you are on wheels again. Things looking better!

Wander over to the Fantasy Cycling and see if you are better at it than me.

If you still fancy a carbon post you can borrow mine and try the saddles I've got.

'bout time we had a 'Downfall Vs Pro-Lite Braccianos' eh!

If you're on a budget, try American classic 350 wheels (or 420 if you want aero). About 1400g (1500g for 420s)and stiff enough, bearings superb ... cheap as chips too!!

...or Reynolds 46s ...... same weight, over five times the price!!

Ha! I was scrolling down the comments to see if I could be the first to mention those..

You have made me a Bracciano whore, Dave!

Whenever I decide to upgrade my wheels - those will be it!

oo-eee I may have just found my wheel upgrade. My current rear wheel weighs more than a pair of the Braccianos!

While we're talking about wheels, has anybody ridden any Soul wheels? At the moment I'm at risk of joining the hordes of road.cc'ers riding Pro-Lites.

No, but apparently they will offer test rides. PM Adam Buckland who posts on the Soul resellers thread.