First road bike, best value upgrade?

  • This topic has 23 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by Cliffg.
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  • #19450
    Cliffg

    New to road cycling, switching from the mountain bike…and have started with a Giant Defy 3 which I’ve had for 6 months.

    Bug seems to have caught me, riding 3 times a week from 10 mile time trials to 100 mile sportive and now looking to see what upgrades could help…and look good of course!

    Was thinking of a pair of shimano rs80 carbon laminate wheels and new tires which would shed around 750g of the weight of the wheels and tires which sounds like it could be beneficial to me?

    All advice welcome…!

    Cheers
    Cliff

Viewing 8 replies - 16 through 23 (of 23 total)
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  • #749561
    0
    Raleigh

    GP4000’s are a sweet upgrade.
    GP4000’s are a sweet upgrade.

    #749559
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    spongebob

    wheels you will barely
    wheels you will barely notice, clip on TT bars you will gain 1mph+, get new tyres and clip on TT bars.

    #749557
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    Cliffg

    SammyG wrote:You got clip on

    SammyG wrote:
    You got clip on TT bars?

    Not thought about them, do they make much difference on the TTs? Can imagine they take a bit of getting used to!

    Think I’ll take the plunge on the wheels and the GP4000s as they look like a popular choice. Thanks for the advice B-)

    #749555
    0
    Simon E

    My RS80s seem very nice.
    My RS80s seem very nice. Ultegra wheelset (CW review) is £250 online and hardly any heavier and very similar spec. Either of these would be a good upgrade.

    GP4000S, Ultremo or Pro4 SC are lightweight, fast rolling ‘summer’ tyres. Greater longevity and improved p******e resistance – Durano, GP 4Season, Pro4 Endurance and Vittoria Rubino Pro III. Blizzard Sport folding (~240g) now doing a surprisingly good job on the SCR for <£8 each, but the rear is wearing faster than I'd like. http://road.cc/review-archive?tid=10729
    http://mccraw.co.uk/gp4000s-vs-ultremo-zx/

    Beyond wheels and tyres the Law of Diminishing Returns applies. Save your money for extra cake
    😀

    But keep an eye on chain wear. For better cassette & chainring life replace it before it gets to the 0.75 mark on chain checker (or use a ruler). I recently fitted a new 9 speed chain & cassette on my SCR and it feels quite a bit better than before 🙂

    #749553
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    spongebob

    You got clip on TT bars?
    You got clip on TT bars?

    #749551
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    700c

    +1, most effective area to
    +1, most effective area to spend money on, and the RS80’s are a great wheel. V light for the price. For the same price, you could get campag Zonda,.which are a few grams heavier but IME stiffer as well, which is important if you are large rider /powerful sprinter!..

    Loads of people recommend Conti GP4000s so they must be good! Otherwise if you can stretch to Vittoria open corsa 320tpi plus latex inner tubes the ride is sublime, grippy and fast rolling.

    #749549
    0
    Charles_Hunter

    I second the previous
    I second the previous comment, I have rs80 wheels with 4000s tyres and they are fantastic.

    #749547
    0
    Al'76

    Wheels and tyres are the
    Wheels and tyres are the obvious choice and give the biggest bang for your buck….and, if I was spending ~£300 on a wheelset, that is the one that I would go for.
    Also, worth mentioning, is that Ribble are offering an additional 10% on top of their existing discount until midnight Friday.
    Act fast my friend and snap up an awesome wheelset 😀
    I’d budget for a set of Conti GP4000s (25mm) also, but the additional discount on the wheels will offset quite a lot of that cost.

Viewing 8 replies - 16 through 23 (of 23 total)
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