Modify my Aldi Road Bike

[Arbuckle23]

I know in his review Christopher stated that anyone thinking up upgrading shouldn't buy an Aldi bike, but I did because I wanted to be sure that this cycling thing was for me before I spent more money.
Been very happy with it and have been intending to update (buy a new bike) next year if I keep my commitment up.
But being a a little tight with my money and a person that should be capable of doing it all myself (28 years a heavy equipment mechanic), I have started wondering a couple of things. Also would be fun to be riding around on an upgraded Aldi bike I think

So what I am considering is fitting a 11 speed 105 groupset in place of the Claris setup and some slightly better wheels. If I can gather the parts on some buy swap & sell sites it should still be a low budget bike.
My only issue is lack of knowledge on bottom brackets and cranksets.
I appreciate that the Aldi bike is an unknown thing, but what would I need to know to fit a compact Shimano crankset?

[madmacca]

The best place to start any upgrade project is with the tyres. These are a consumable, and when they wear out (the cheap tyres they came with will probably do so at relatively low km's), replace them with something better.

Supple, wide (and therefore lower pressure) tyres will do more to change the handling and feel of the bike than anything you do to the drive train. And there's no reason you can't transfer them to a new wheelset if you subsequently upgrade those.

[Arbuckle23]

Yep, will do the tyres. Just wearing out the originals at the moment A few more km over summer will fix that up.
I just want to change the look more than anything with wheels.
The 11 speed is to give me more options, might even settle for 10 speed if that comes up cheap enough.

[trainspotter]

Wheels are the quickest way of improving the handling and feel of a bike, and probably give more bang for buck than anything else. Make sure you get a wheelset that is 10/11 speed compatable so you don't limit your choices for a groupset upgrade later. There are a few good choices around the $300 mark from Mavic or Fulcrum that would give you that step up in performance without breaking the budget or needing to go second hand.
Upgrading the groupset will certainly give you more gear options, and probably the next best thing after wheels. Be careful of overcapitalising on the groupset though, stick to Tiagra (10s) or 105 at best if you must have 11s. Cost of 105 is around $500 from overseas online retailers, while Tiagra is around the $425 mark. You'll probably find better than that second hand, but will need to factor in the cost of new cables and probably a new bottom bracket too, whereas a complete gruppo will come with all of the above. One cost you will have to consider is having the BB shell faced. This is absolutely essential if you're getting 10s/11s setups as they all come with external bearing BB's nowadays and if you don't you'll end up with a horrible squeak at best, or seized bearings at worst. If you have the build done at an LBS they'll probably include this in the build cost, but if you're doing the work yourself, this'll be an additional cost.
So for $800, plus the cost of the build, say between $100 and $150, you'll have a bike that looks and feels better than the bog standard Aldi model, but...
The alternatives:
Christmas specials abound.
You could pick up a 2016 Cannondale Synapse Disc with Tiagra 10s for $1,299, a Focus Izalco 3.0 (also Tiagra 10s) for around $1,100, 99 Bikes have specials on Merida and LaPierre atm, and I'm sure if you ask nicely they'll discount these even further to shift them off their shelves to make room for the 2017 stock.
So spend $950 (ish) on upgrading your Aldi bike and still have an Aldi bike, or around $1,100 and get a new Focus or Merida with coffee shop cred, sell the Aldi special on gumtree and come out ahead with enough to still upgrade the wheels.
Just sayin.

[Arbuckle23]

Am aware of over capitalising.
Will not be paying anyone to do the work. It would just be me doing the it.
Was looking mainly to pick up stuff others had taken off for their upgrades
Anything more than a few hundred takes it into the not worth it category
Wheels can be transferred to another bike so no problem there (if I get 11 speed wheels).
The bottom bracket stuff is the unknown to me. If too hard I won't worry about it and just buy a better bike sometime next year.
Just my mind wandering and wondering if possible to do, for the right price.

[Duck!]

The Aldi frame is a bog-standard 68mm English threaded frame.

If you're budget-conscious going 10-sp allows you to do it progressively. 10-sp. cassettes use the same hubs as 8 & 9-sp, so you don't need to jump into doing wheels immediately. All Shimano 10-sp. shifters & derailleurs except 4700 Tiagra use the same cable pull ratio as 7,8 & 9-sp, so you can get away with using your current derailleurs on new shifters.

[Arbuckle23]

So I could just get away with changing the shifters on the bars and and a rear 10 speed cassette. That sounds like a good little temporary mod, might look a little further at that.

Edit: And I do I presume chain?

Thanks Duck

[Duck!]

Correct, and yes, chain to suit.
Just to reinforce, 4700 Tiagra will Not work with the existing derailleurs, but all other Shimano 10-sp. will.

[Arbuckle23]

Thanks again Duck

This looks like it will work for what I want to achieve. I want to leave a full new bike upgrade for as long as possible and this will make the bike just that little bit better for not much money. My type of mod (the not much money bit).
Now to hit the buy swap & sell sites

[jasonc]

leave the derailleurs. as others have said, go wheels.

[Arbuckle23]

The wheels are still an option as they can come over to another bike later.
Will look around and see what is available.
The ten speed update will happen first I think.

[koshari]

The best place to start any upgrade project is with the tyres. These are a consumable, and when they wear out (the cheap tyres they came with will probably do so at relatively low km's), replace them with something better.

Supple, wide (and therefore lower pressure) tyres will do more to change the handling and feel of the bike than anything you do to the drive train. And there's no reason you can't transfer them to a new wheelset if you subsequently upgrade those.

i think this is the best first up step, keep an eye out for some bargain runout 25mm nice light tires,
i picked up some Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Slick Folding Tyres in white for 10 bucks ea, prolly because of the colour.
at 260 grams ea as opposed to the 320gram kendas they replaced thats a fair bit of rotating mass.

i doubt the claris to 105 groupo excluding cranks would be 120 grams.

I just want to change the look more than anything with wheels.

while your riding fast enough nobody can make out your spoke count. and when your riding slow enough people will think your on a cyclocross and admire you even more.
bar tape for the win here, far more noticeable.

otherwise get some nice rim decals,

One cost you will have to consider is having the BB shell faced. This is absolutely essential if you're getting 10s/11s setups as they all come with external bearing BB's nowadays and if you don't you'll end up with a horrible squeak at best, or seized bearings at worst.

maybe with a press fit but for a threaded English BB i don't think is would be an issue, it would just nip up to the highest point and would stay true unless you crossed a thread.

[trainspotter]

Was looking mainly to pick up stuff others had taken off for their upgrades

Well in that case, if you're in Bris and want to come over to the dark side...
I've a pair of surplus to requirements Campagnolo Chorus 10s ergolevers and a rear derailler from a recent upgrade, plus a pair of Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels with campy hub, which I could be persuaded to part company with...
Nice blingy Centaur carbon compact chainset in the shed as well. Square taper too so may work with your current BB (I do have a BB to go with it, but it's Italian Thread and wont work with your bike).
No FD, but from past experience the 10s ergolevers work well enough with Shimano 8/9 speed front derailleurs.
If you're tempted PM me and we could come to an arrangement. Do be quick though as I'm out of the country for four weeks from Monday.

[koshari]

Square taper too so may work with your current BB (I do have a BB to go with it, but it's Italian Thread and wont work with your bike).

no it wont, claris x8 is octolink

edit: hang on looks like the aldi bike isnt full claris, and has a prowheel ounce crankset that is indeed square taper.

[Arbuckle23]

Well in that case, if you're in Bris and want to come over to the dark side...

In Vic sorry so that's not going to work.
I think I want to stick to Shimano (with my Ounce crankset) for the moment.

[madmacca]

Thanks again Duck

This looks like it will work for what I want to achieve. I want to leave a full new bike upgrade for as long as possible and this will make the bike just that little bit better for not much money. My type of mod (the not much money bit).
Now to hit the buy swap & sell sites

New wheels and a new 11sp groupset (105) would be $300 + $500 = $800. You can get a new 105 equipped bike for $1100 (eg. Cell, Reid) so upgrading the Aldi bike to this extent doesn't seem like a great way to spend the money.

However, Duck's suggestion will get you to 10sp for not a huge amount of money. Note that you only have to change the rear shifter, FD and shifter can stay.

If you're really looking to get full value for your upgrade dollar, you will probably need a new rear tyre and a new chain at 3000-4000 km anyway (front tyres last a bit longer) - and the cassette will be 1/3 to 1/2 way through its life. So continue to use your existing setup until then, and do Duck's suggested 10sp upgrade at that point.

I tend to the view that to get any real appreciable benefit from better wheels, you need to be climbing hills, going fast (>32 kph) or regularly accelerating hard. For steady recreational riding, wheels are wheels. I like the suggestion of decals to improve the looks though.

[Arbuckle23]

All good suggestions.

Looking for some good second hand 105 5700 shifters will be the next step. Then buy a cassette and chain.
Only thinking of the change for a couple of extra gears. And only if I can do it for the right price.
I will fit it all myself, my inner mechanic hates letting others play with my mechanical stuff.
A habit from years in the trade, although now I tell people how to fix things instead of doing it myself

Wheels, well we will see. If something comes up for the right price, maybe.
I do like the decals idea

[Duck!]

A tip for shifters, get 4600 Tiagra. although theoretically a step below 105, under the caps they are 7800 Dura-Ace shifters, and vastly better than the 5700/6700/7900 models.

[Arbuckle23]

Thanks Duck

Another thing to consider

[koshari]

A tip for shifters, get 4600 Tiagra. although theoretically a step below 105, under the caps they are 7800 Dura-Ace shifters, and vastly better than the 5700/6700/7900 models.

i reckon the cycling community is catching on to this, 4600 shifters have become a little rarer and the prices appear to have stepped up recently.

[Arbuckle23]

After a bit of research on costings, I have found the following.
Based on new pricing, converting to 5700 shifters, cassette and chain would cost somewhere in the around the $260 - $280 range.
That still leaves me with the Claris front & rear derailleurs and the Ounce crankset. Plus Tektro brakes.
I take Ducks advice about the 4600, but keen to get the cables under the bar tape for a cleaner look

For $390 I can get Tiagra 4700 full groupset.

I have had to change tyres already as had a rear tyre fail when punctured, 25 mm tyres are now fitted and that makes a nice improvement.
Took the opportunity to weigh the wheels. 2371 with the wheel tape still on and cassette removed.

Thoughts on the 4700 Groupset?

I am quite happy with the frame. Given my limited experience on road bikes, it seems to be comfortable for me, the geometry suits (unlike the Reid bikes when I went to their store to check out) my old body. A gear upgrade would make the bike that bit nicer.


I will likely upgrade the full bike eventually, just got to keep the wife happy, buying a cheap bike and upgrading parts means she doesn't notice it as much (old mans trick ) Maybe at the end of 2017 for N +1.

[jasonc]

Like I've said before, just upgrade the wheels.

[trailgumby]

2371g in the wheels!

The Prolite Braccianos I have are !385g - a secondhand low mileage set would save almost a kg. Add some better tyres like Conti GP4000's and it would be a kilogram

But then you lose the training effect of the heavy wheels.

[Arbuckle23]

2371g in the wheels!

The Prolite Braccianos I have are !385g - a secondhand low mileage set would save almost a kg. Add some better tyres like Conti GP4000's and it would be a kilogram

But then you lose the training effect of the heavy wheels.

I haven't said, not looking at wheels.
I know I could get 500 -700 grams easily in the wheelset, without spending a whole lot of money and they could be moved over to any bike purchased later.
As for the tyres, already changed to 25 mm Conti's when I blew a rear out.

I suppose I am just musing about the 4700 Tiagra. Just keen to get rid of the clotheslines out the front. Only thing about the bike I don't like. The rest of it works well enough for me .

[queequeg]

A tip for shifters, get 4600 Tiagra. although theoretically a step below 105, under the caps they are 7800 Dura-Ace shifters, and vastly better than the 5700/6700/7900 models.

i reckon the cycling community is catching on to this, 4600 shifters have become a little rarer and the prices appear to have stepped up recently.

$179 for a pair on Chain Reaction Cycles seems to be a bargain. If as Duck! says, they are 7800 shifters under the caps, that is great value. I have the 7800 shifters on my spare road bike and they are without a doubt the finest mech shifters I have ever used.