trek 1.1 alpha question

[rob(wa)]

hi all, i won a aliminum framed trek alpha 1.1 which is in mint condition, and i really enjoy the ride i get on it..im fairly new to road cycling and basically took it up for fun and fitness..
what im wondering is it worth doing any upgrades to the bike ie wheel sets, forks or anything else or would i be better to upgrade to a carbon framed ride..
thanks in advance
Rob

[macca33]

I picked up a circa-2008 Trek 1.9 on 'theBay' last week (second bike to be used when away for work) and have been giving it a few pedals - they are a fantastic frameset - quick and highly manoeuvrable. Mine came new with Ultegra, but has had 5600 105 fitted by the previous owner - I was aware of this aspect prior to purchase and factored it in. Mine has Shimano R500 rims, which travel well even though they are a budget wheelset, but the stock wheels on your 1.1 may be good enough anyway. If not, a set of Pro-Lites would set it off!

If you did have some cash to burn, perhaps a nice wheelset, or upgraded groupset (2012/3 Tiagra / 105) could be on the cards. I reckon you'd be best to get some miles up on it first, then decide which way you'd like to go.

cheers

[Bentnose]

As Macca33 said, get some rides up, I don't know about upgrading this bike, I think the frame on a 1.1 is a step down from the higher level bikes like the 1.9. Then again I had a mountain bike with the equivalent level frame (I was given the frame so the components I already had were quite good ones from another bike) you have and upgraded everything on it and eventually replaced the frame. If you can do all the upgrades yourself and buy the parts from overseas it doesn't cost too much, though Eddie Mercx said, don't ride upgrades, ride up grades.