Road Cycling - the whole nine yards... going race calibre

This is a follow up to my previous component upgrade thread.

So now I have decided to just go for it and make my bike race ready by the end of the season.

So here it is once again, what I have in its current specs:
http://www.devinci.com/eng/famille/routeent/chicane.htm

Going full Shimano 105 with Ultegra RD.

Next is a carbon fork... I did a little search on www.roadbikereview.com and couldn't a good overview on what's out there.

Do you have any recommendation on a good quality carbon fork that is also of good value (not too expensive)?

And also, what else should I be thinking of upgrading? Perhaps the wheels?

It's gonna be a few months till I do this, but I need to know how much I'm looking at until then so I can be sure I have it.

with alloy steerer tube-the reynolds ozu comp or even kinesis that is only about $100 is pretty darn good.

I would put some cash in on the wheels. That's where you're gonna notice some performance difference. Pony up for some Mavic Ksyriums and you'll never look back!

good luck with your re-build!

Whoa, those Mavic Ksyriums are $900 CDN! Heh, almost four times the price I had in mind.

Anything in $300 CDN range that would be significantly better than what I have now?

Go for the Mavic CXP 30 or the 33, that would cost like $300.00 Canadian, on My other pinarello I have a Mavic CXP 30 it cost me that much money

Amir, if you buy online, abicibikes has very good prices on their gruppos.
I'm upgrading from sora too, but I go Campy Veloce.


http://www.abicibikes.com/frame_kits_2.asp?kit=105-Triple

I hate to say I told you so...

It will cost almost as much to upgrade your bike to 105, with race wheels, etc., as it would to buy a new, fully-equipped bike specced with 105 and good, raceable wheels.

In Canadian prices, you're looking at:

Shifters $225
Front derailleur $35
Rear derailleur $55
Cassette $48
Crankset $135
Bottom Bracket $45
Brakes $90
Total: $633

The Ksyriums are nice light wheels, but not necessary for a beginnig racer. I'd recommend that you have your LBS build up a set of Mavic Open Pros with 105 hubs. That will give you a good, light set of wheels for about $400 Canadian.

The total cost of the upgrade will be somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1200, after you factor in labour, cables and housings and before taxes. You [i]might be able to get that down to $1000 if they like you at the shop.

Amir,

Get yourself some Mavic Reflex rims and good tubulars,
DT 14/15 spokes with your 105 or Ultegra hubs.
Bombproof wheels with same rim as Heliums at
1/2 the price (or less).

Check out Performance bike, or Nashbar they have the
Easton EC70 fork for less than US$150.

Marty

Originally posted by velocipedio
I hate to say I told you so...
It will cost almost as much [if not more] to upgrade your bike to 105, with race wheels, etc., as it would to buy a new, fully-equipped bike specced with 105 and good, raceable wheels.


I am going for mostly 105 upgrade but NOT 100%.

Btm Brkt Trpl BB- 5500 105 $22
Cass 9Spd CS- HG70-9 105 $19
Chain CN- HG73 9Spd 105 $13
Crank Trpl 9Spd FC- 5503 105 $75
Derlr Frt Trpl FD- 5503 105 $15
Shftr/Lvr STI 9Spd ST-5500C 105 $130
Derlr Rear 9Spd Trpl RD-6503 Ultegra $40
Hubs Ultegra $50

That totals to $364 US ($470 CDN) for parts. Let's say +$70 CDN for leeway.

Then $100 for forks. That's $150 CDN on top.

I am looking at $1000 CDN if I decided to go for new wheels. I got free servicing from my LBS so I think that will help keep the cost down. BUT...

don't laugh, I was thinking of doing the labour myslef. I think I'm lacking a few specialized tools, but I'm up for it if the LBS wants to charge too much.

After that upgrade I'm hoping have a race ready bike for a total of $2000 CDN. That's not bad at all considering it's specs will be more or less same that of a Trek 2200 which costs slightly more (although Trek's frame is 0.5 lbs lighter).

Originally posted by Amir R. Pakdel



I
After that upgrade I'm hoping have a race ready bike for a total of $2000 CDN. That's not bad at all considering it's specs will be more or less same that of a Trek 2200 which costs slightly more (although Trek's frame is 0.5 lbs lighter).

man here in Toronto, with $2,000.00 on bike upgrade you can already get A Dura Ace grupo w/ your two grand here, and I made a little research on the Mavic Ksyrium, coz', I was also intending to upograde my Mavic Cosmic Elite, the Mavic Ksyrium here in Toronto is about $760.00 plus 8% G.S.T. AND THEN 7% p.s.t. would end up to be $874.00, and your price was $900.00, that is still plus tax, I don't know if we have the same taxation, so plus tax on $900.00 would be $$1,035.00, man that is expensive

Good luck on the upgrade. I wouldn't suggest doing the fork/headset thing yourself. That requires somespecial tools and, if you cut the steerer too short, can get pretty expensive. When you buy a new fork, try to make sure that you get a fork with the same amount of rake as your existing fork. Too much rake, and you'll find the steering a little sluggish, too little and you'll find it's twitchy. See if you can get an OEM Devinci carbon fork. Your LBS might be able to do that, and it will cost you much less than an equivalent-quality.

C$2,000 actually buys a lot of bike, new. The Devinci Silverstone, Guru Flite and Marinoni Delta are all in that price range. If you have a budget of @ C$1,000 for wheels and components, you might want to consider buying a new bike for racing and selling the old bike. You could probably get @ $650 selling your Devinci.

Upgrading wheels and components to an under-specced bike will always be more expensive than buying a better specced bike in the first place.

One more thing... If you're just starting racing and you're unsponsored and unsupported, you can save yourself a WHOLE lot of trouble by staying away from those sexy-looking, low-spoke-count boutique wheels. A set of Open Pro wheels will be just as light a most of the boutique wheels, they'll last longer and be easier to repair when necessary. They'll also cost about half what the cool-looking wheels cost. That way, you could buy two sets... and it's always a good idea to have backup wheels.

Originally posted by velocipedio
..easier to repair when necessary.
Right on. When the Ksyriums break, you send them off to Mavic for a couple of months. When the Open Pros break, you take them to the shop for a day, or fix 'em yourself.

It should be noted that, if you race, you will trash wheels. If you trash an OP wheel without damaging the hub, you can rebuild it with a new rim for less than $100. If you trash a Ksyrium, you have to replace it.

By the way, how long was it for you guys before you started racing?

I know I'll get clobbered and ridiculed big time in time trials, but I feel more confident for the tours and climbs, at the junior level that is (15-18 years of age) in British Columbia.

I ride with OmahaRider!


Hhhhmmmm---wondering how I earned such high praise from Amir.

Ksyrium Elites are about $500
Ksyrium SSC SL's (which I have)are about $800
Both are awesome wheels-great for everything. Sounds like it's out of your range but maybe some good deals on ebay or something.

When do wheels break? I've never had a spoke break or anything. Just flats. Ksyriums have full sealed cartridge bearings so there is zero maintence and they are super easy to adjust. You can true them like any other wheel or replace spokes like any other wheel.

Wheels don't break, so much as they get warped beyond repair. This usually happens in a crash, when the lateral force applied to the wheel is strong enough to twist it out of shape.

Originally posted by RacerX
When do wheels break?
In my case, a friend w/Mavic Heliums had creaking spokes that were making him nervous. The problem was fixed under warranty, but he was without his wheel for two summer months.

A couple of years ago I had a rear rim that began to separate. I guess it just weakened over time. The section of the rim around one of the spokes started to pull away from the braking surface. I don't think the rims were more than four years old.

Hey, Amir, I just noticed that you say that you ride with me. Hmmm . . . I've never been to Vancouver. Curious.

Rich

Originally posted by Stinger9oh
Hey, Amir, I just noticed that you say that you ride with me. Hmmm . . . I've never been to Vancouver. Curious.

Rich

I think he has it set so that it says he rides with whoever is posting :) Pretty neat trick.