First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Aj_clark
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First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby Aj_clark » Sun Mar 31, 2013 12:38 am

Hi everyone, I've been riding a hybrid for a while (giant roam 2) which is great for a ride to work, dodging kerbs, but not so much fun on a weekend ride to the beach. Luckily for me my brother just upgraded his road bike and I was the beneficiary of his old bike.

I believe it's a 1996 cannondale r600. Image. I gave it a clean up and took it on the RAC freeway bike hike last weekend, which was a lot of fun. I guess my problem is I don't have anything to compare it to in terms of its current performance.

My question is, should I just be looking at getting a service and enjoying it how it is, or are there some parts that I really should upgrade (I imagine components have come a long way in 17 years!)! If so, what are they? I don't mind spending a bit of money on it to get a much better ride, but I really have no idea where to start. As far as I can tell, the only modification to it is a carbon fork, but I don't know if they came with them of not. What would get me the best bang for buck?

Thanks for your help!

Andrew.

eightsixboy
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby eightsixboy » Sun Mar 31, 2013 11:13 am

I would just enjoy it for what it is, any more spent is wasted on a bike that old imo. If you were going to budget money to spend on it you might as well sepnd that on buying a better 2nd hand bike like a defy or allez or something a bit newer.

boss
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby boss » Sun Mar 31, 2013 11:49 am

That's a nice looking bike.

If I were you, I'd service it, get it running sweet.

Then I'd get excited and buy some nice wheels and a modern groupset.

But if we are going to talk objectively, your money (aside from the service) would likely be better spent on a brand new bike.

If you really want to spend some money on it, wheels are always a good upgrade... They're easily swapped between bikes (if you buy a new bike) and they are easy to palm off on the second hand market.

Also consider spending money on riding gear... For me, kit (bib Knicks, jerseys, socks) and tools are always handy. We are coming into winter so vests, jackets, arm/leg warmed are going to be useful.

P.s. front wheel QR is on the wrong side dude. Flip it around so both QR's are on the same side :D

Aj_clark
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby Aj_clark » Sun Mar 31, 2013 12:33 pm

Thanks for the info guys. I thought the position of the QR in that photo was going to land me in trouble haha. I think I'll just go with the service, see how many k's I put into it and put the money towards a new bike in summer. I think some clothes are a wise investment too boss, thanks again for tyour thoughts!

macca33
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby macca33 » Sun Mar 31, 2013 1:13 pm

I bought an old bike (2002 Norco RD-2) in October, when this crazy cycling idea came to me and I've ridden about 1400Km on it up until now. In December, I purchased a second (secondhand) bike - to keep at work for use whilst away from home and rode around 1400Km on it. Then, earlier this month, I bought a second hand frame from a forum member and transferred the groupset, etc onto it, to become my new 'work' bike - I've done about 240Km on it. Then, a couple of Mondays ago, I bought a CAAD10 (which is more bike than I can fully exploit) and have now done around 330Km on it - I love the bike and cannot wait for the next ride! My bike purchasing is now done and dusted.... :twisted:

What I'm trying to say is, ride this one for a while (as is) as it is a good standard of bike - probably higher-end in its day - and if you get the strong urge to keep going, buy something as flash as you can, as a reward and for further motivation.

cheers

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The 2nd Womble
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby The 2nd Womble » Sun Mar 31, 2013 2:04 pm

Contact points and controls. First upgrades I always perform are to the bars, stem, seatpost , saddle and pedals. If youre unhappy with any of these, first adjust them and have a fiddle to try and get as comfortable as possible, and then look at your options.
For the Nishiki I bought, the 38cm bars were a joke for me so I went straight to 44's. I shortened the stem to 80mm and am waiting on a Thomson setback post and longer saddle so my weight isn't crushing my hands every time I hop on.
If you like the frameset, go nuts. Mine is an Alu frame but almost plush to ride, so I'll eventually be building a new high end bike up around it. It'll be unique, awesome and mine. The modding bug hits hard!

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QuangVuong
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby QuangVuong » Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:34 pm

You've got a 105SC groupset(maybe with a RX100 crankset), which still performs well! And it's got the 105(5500) 9 speed shifters which are much newer than the rest of the groupset. Don't see a point in upgrading, as they are pretty good as it is. I've got the RX100(equivalent of 105) as well as the 105 (5500) sets, and they equally perform. But if you change your mind, I'd be happy to grab this groupset.

And better chuck some spacers on that headset.

Aj_clark
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby Aj_clark » Sun Mar 31, 2013 6:38 pm

QuangVuong wrote:You've got a 105SC groupset(maybe with a RX100 crankset), which still performs well! And it's got the 105(5500) 9 speed shifters which are much newer than the rest of the groupset. Don't see a point in upgrading, as they are pretty good as it is. I've got the RX100(equivalent of 105) as well as the 105 (5500) sets, and they equally perform. But if you change your mind, I'd be happy to grab this groupset.

And better chuck some spacers on that headset.
Hi QuangVuong, sorry, I'm really new to this, could you please elaborate on the headset / spacer comment?

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ldrcycles
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby ldrcycles » Sun Mar 31, 2013 7:00 pm

As QuangVuong said, the parts you've got on there are good quality, I would just service it, there's no reason it shouldn't serve you well for years.

Re the headset spacers, the fork is made for the old 1" quill stem, and has an adaptor for the A-Headset type stem currently fitted (may be either 1" or 1-1/8"). IF the stem was ever to loosen off, there is nothing to stop it dropping down that adaptor to the top of the headset, highly unlikely I would have thought, but putting some spacers on there would prevent it. QV may have just been referring to aesthetics though, in which case I agree, would look a bit better (being a retro lover I think it would look much better with a quill stem but that's just my opinion :) ).

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QuangVuong
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby QuangVuong » Sun Mar 31, 2013 7:17 pm

Right. The parts youve got on that bike are good! No need to upgrade. Just service it, and itll be good!

As above for the spacers. But if it does loosen and slip down, you will have no steering control.

Aj_clark
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby Aj_clark » Sun Mar 31, 2013 8:54 pm

Great! Thanks again for all the info that everyone has provided. I'll go and get it serviced during the week and enjoy riding it before winter hits.

pawnii
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby pawnii » Mon Apr 01, 2013 6:31 pm

I would invest in a good computer. One with heart rate and cadance.

How old are the tyres?


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Bob_TAS
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Re: First (2nd hand) road bike - parts upgrades?

Postby Bob_TAS » Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:58 pm

Also - If it's not been done already, one of the best ways "to get a much better ride" is to make sure that the bike is properly fitted to suit you.

Whilst not necessary to fork over that hard earned cash to your LBS, at least make sure that everything is in order before putting in any serious distance.

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