Road Cycling - Component upgrade costs?

Hi all,

I'm interested in getting more serious about cycling and trying to do some long rides, especially charity rides and things like that. I currently have a Raleigh "comfort" bike but the LBS fit me for the wrong size bike, so it's not comfortable at all.

So, I'm considering moving to a road bike. I don't want to spend a ton ($500-600) so that definitely puts me at entry level. I looked at the Giant OCR 3 or Trek 1000, and the major complaint about those are their Shimano Sora components and unreliable shifting.

Now, as slow as I am and because I live in a very flat part of the world, I doubt I'm really going to put a lot of strain on these components. However, before I venture out and get one of these bikes, I'm wondering how much it costs to upgrade the Sora stuff to something better if I want to down the road. Can someone give me a ballpark idea ($200-300??) of what it would cost to do that kind of upgrade?

Thanks for any advice,
H

Originally posted by hgalindo
Hi all,


and the major complaint about those are their Shimano Sora components and unreliable shifting.

Now, as slow as I am and because I live in a very flat part of the world, I doubt I'm really going to put a lot of strain on these components. However, before I venture out and get one of these bikes, I'm wondering how much it costs to upgrade the Sora stuff to something better if I want to down the road. Can someone give me a ballpark idea ($200-300??) of what it would cost to do that kind of upgrade?

Thanks for any advice,
H There is nothing inherently unreliable about Sora stuff if it is set up right. It's low end but functional.There is no point to buying a Sora bike and then throwing away the parts to upgrade. The minimum upgrade to current parts would be to 9 speed shifters,cassette and chain.You would still have Sora derailers and low end hubs and wheels.. You could always try and scrounge either NOS or lightly used higher end 8 speed shimano stuff to upgrade the Sora stuff as it might wear out. Better to look at a 9 speed bike on sale, or clearance to start with.You will spend less money in the end.

One consideration is that Sora is an 8sp system. There is nothing wrong with 8sp, but if you go to upgrade you will almost certainly want to go to 9sp since that is pretty much the standard now. Upgrading would require new shifters, rear derailleur, cassette, chain, and maybe front der, but the front is inexpensive so not a big deal. Ask the shop what they would charge to swap out the Sora shifter, ders, chain and cassette for 105. You would then have a very nice bike that would not need upgrading. The wheels and crank are fine for now.

Sorry about the wrong size. However I just went to a cross race on Sunday as saw way too many guiys on bikes that were too big. It simply amazed me.

I would strongly suggest you try to bump up your budget to around $1500. You will get a much better frame and parts.

You can get road bikes for $600 but parts will be not what you want and frames may not be as nice. In the end you will spend much more upgrading. Believe me. I see it all the time.

There are some nice deals out there so please look around. Do not necessarily jump on the best price, because you may end up getting a wrong size and or worse. So look around and buy where you feel comfortable.

Originally posted by RainmanP
[B Upgrading would require new shifters, rear derailleur, cassette, chain, and maybe front der, but the front is inexpensive so not a big deal. [/B] 8 speed shimano derailers work fine on a 9 speed system.there are minor differences,but are a non issue.

It would cost way more to upgrade the components after you buy the bike rather than to spend a little more on a bike that already has the bits you want. An example. I purchased a few months ago a new road bike with full Tiagra components but wanted to upgrade to a triple chainwheel at the front as I planned on riding up a lot of big hills. To do this I would of needed new F&R deraileur as well as crankset, all up was going to cost about AUS$500. The LBS wouldn't give me any trade in on the old components telling me to sell them privately. The complete bike cost $1600 - I was scratching to raise this much $$ (for everything else, there's Mastercard...) so I didn't have the money to do it. So I decided to get fitter instead!:p