Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

I am trying to work out what parts i should upgrade for racing. Appreciate any help:)

A change of wheels often makes the biggest difference, but I suggest just starting racing first. You've got a nice bike already and just as good as many others I've seen doing well at club races. Of course, people change parts and bikes all the time looking for what are mostly small incremental improvements. You'd almost certainly get more improvement to begin with from coming to grips with tactics and tight bunch riding and from increased "match fitness"; as that comes, you'll be in a better position to consider any changes to your bike.

i currently have r500 wheels what should i replace them with around the same price or a few hundred dollars more?

Giantrider1997 wrote:I am trying to work out what parts i should upgrade for racing. Appreciate any help:)

tyres and engine

Giantrider1997 wrote:i currently have r500 wheels what should i replace them with around the same price or a few hundred dollars more?

You know what, I can finally recommend these without fear. I've had a set of RS80 Shimano wheels for 18 months now and have done nearly 10k on them. I'm a big bloke and have only just had to have the spokes retensioned. Can't fault them and I've done o.k. in a few races with them as well.

not too expensive if you want to take the risk of buying them overseas (warranty issues would always concern me)

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... HIMWHFR385

what about something from mavic?

Pro-Lite Bracciano as good or better than wheels twice the price, half kilo lighter than the R500's.
Look up some reviews.
Combine them with light weight tubes and good tyres (like Conti GP4000S) and you have a good, cheap race wheel set.

Apparently the braking is not very effective on the rims of the pro lites. Have u had braking problems?

If you still want an answer to your original question, you could look on the Giant site for France. It shows bike weights, unlike the Australian site.

What would you suggest as a cheap carbon wheel option around 40-50mm?

Giantrider1997 wrote:What would you suggest as a cheap carbon wheel option around 40-50mm?

I got a pair of mavic cosmic carbone SL's for under $1000 from Ribble. They're on the heavier side but very robust with their aluminium rims and steel spokes. Aluminium rims mean no concerns about heat build-up with constant braking and no need to change brake pads if you want to swap wheels (which I do as I don't train on them). For a bit more you can get full carbon clinchers or tubs from campy, pro-lite, shimano and a bunch of other brands, depends what floats your boat.

Giantrider1997 wrote:Apparently the braking is not very effective on the rims of the pro lites. Have u had braking problems?

I've never had anyone, ever complain about braking on any of the Pro-Lite wheels.

If you want to improve the power and reduce the wear on the braking surface, you can use the Pro-Lite pads but this is definitely not necessary - they will work great with any pads.