"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Frameset or Wheels next upgrade?

Hey all. I'll be racing this spring for the first time and have money for new parts. My current setup is as follows:
2006 Felt F80 (all Aluminum)
- Xero XR-1 wheels
- Shimano R700 compact crankset
- Ultegra 6600 brifters
- 105 FD and RD
- Thomson Elite seatpost
- San Marco Aspide Arrowhead saddle

I've found some great deals on a set of Ksyrium ES wheels, but can't really justify buying them since the set will be worth more than my frame. The other option is to save up a bit more and get a new frameset, transferring all of my components. Quite a dilemma.

What are your opinions?

What is your price range on either upgrade and what type of racing/riding do you do? If you buy new wheels, are you keeping the Xero's?

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=256624

Read that before you spring for wheels.

I vote power meter.

+1 on the Power Meter.

--Steve

Yeah I read the thread on Aksium v. Ksyrium. Don't know what to make of it, though, as I have found discrepancies between scientific findings and real-world applicability.

I'll address the other issues one-by-one:
- Budget is +-$1000. Our races are crit/RR's with the occasional TT. The frameset I'm looking at is the Cervelo Soloist Team.
- I'd keep the Xero's unless I found a reason to get rid of them.
- Power meter is something I hadn't considered before. I could always lace a Powertap into the cheapie wheels that came with the bike, right?

Plus, the Aksiums are so heavy!

+another for powermeter. You can get an SL hub for under $1000 and have it laced on a current wheel. My SL hub, spokes, Mavic OP rim and getting it built all came to right around $1050.

Performance has the whole system for $999:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=18503&item=40-1961&slitrk=search&slisearch=true

That's literally at the top of my budget though :(

AE Bike has the PT Pro built into a DT RR 1.1 for 812.

Got a link? I found this (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=WE8031) but it's $993.99

That's 'cause it's the SL build, not the Pro. They don't have it up on the site now. However, you should be able to find a shop in DC that stocks Quality Bike Parts stuff - ask them to look it up for you.

Okay, that's what I was looking for. For $1000 I agree with the rest in getting a Powertap built into a decent race wheel and learning to train with power. The next year you will improve more than new wheels will ever get you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290065844038

Here's the SL for 900, and about 100 for a wheelbuild.

Did I mention my Xeros ping (well, the rear pings) when I climb hard?

Did I mention my Xeros ping (well, the rear pings) when I climb hard?

So I've heard. Really ;)

If you're going to drop $1000 on a powermeter, I'd be inclined to shop a bit. There are currently some Ergomo units going for around that price on Ebay and I picked up my SRM for that price. I know my buddy picked up a PT for less than $500.

I'd also look really hard at upgrading to the Reynolds Alta Race wheels, which can be had for <$300 right now on close out. I raced the heck out of them for two seasons and at that price it they are steals and would be a major upgrade over the Xeros.