Road Cycling - what components make the biggest difference...?

other than the wheels, what components make the most noticeable difference...? my bike have Sora components and kinda want to upgrage the shifters, cassette to 9 speed and the rear derailler...

Difference regarding what? Performance, weight, comfort, price, durability?

I was about to respond wheels but you said other then them :)

Other largest difference ummm.. frame :)

for me..

1. Hubs and wheels (sorry, these makes the largest impact, for me at least).
2. Shifters and Derailuers (for shifting ease).
3. Crankset and BB (durability and performance and efficiency).
4. Cogs Combination and Chain (durability/performance and pedal eff.).

If you are using SORA components, replacing the hubs with a Ultegra or DA will make a huge impact.

I replaced my 105 hubs with Shimano XTR (MTB), and noticed a huge improvement.

A good strong set of legs...?

Your quads......more than anything else....

I think in order of importance for comfort and performance, the biggest gains will be through upgrade of the:


Frame
Wheels
Fork
levers/shifters


For comfort, I would place the saddle in there somewhere but it's probably a seperate line-item equal in priority to the frame.

I upgraded my brakes from Weinman sidepulls to Shimano 105 dual pivots. The improvement was unbelieveable. How do Sora brakes stack up against the higher-up ones, is it just cosmetic and some minor, metal vs plastic parts?

Originally posted by MichaelW
How do Sora brakes stack up against the higher-up ones, is it just cosmetic and some minor, metal vs plastic parts?

You know... I have yet to see a bike in person with actual Sora brake calipers. All the Sora-equipped bikes I've seen have had Tektro brakes or the like. I think this indicates that at that level, the Sora brakes themselves are too overpriced to be OEMed and that Tektro brakes are probably comparable in quality (or lack thereof). FWIW, the Tektros stop fine I think. They're just heavier, don't look and feel as nice and probably won't last as long as 105 and above level brakes or their Campy counterparts.

uprgrade your body to version 2.0

I am currently running deliriou5 version 1.3

Originally posted by deliriou5
uprgrade your body to version 2.0

I am currently running deliriou5 version 1.3

Hmmm... I never bought the support contract so no free upgrades. And I'm running the alpha freeware version before the first commercial release so I'm at 0.72a. :(

Luckily I do have source code so I can fix some of the bugs myself. :D

Originally posted by khuon
Hmmm... I never bought the support contract so no free upgrades. And I'm running the alpha freeware version before the first commercial release so I'm at 0.72a. :(

Luckily I do have source code so I can fix some of the bugs myself. :D

Just don't make too many changes at once. Youd don't want
to get the blue screen of death. ;)

Hi Code Monkey,

What everyone else said!

But (sorry) to mention wheels again.... My most recently purchased road bike was kitted out exclusively with the Sora Group - fantastic except for those hubs. They are poor quality in comparison to the rest of the group and wore out quickly, because there is practically no sealing to keep water & dirt out from the bearings.

What tires do you run? It might be worth trying a different tire as this can change the feel of the bike significantly. Upgrades here are not too expensive anyhow.

IMHO upgrading to 9 speed will require complete replacement of the Shifters, rear derraileur, rear freehub and probably the front chainrings. As far as my needs are concerned, this starts to get expensive for the benefits it would give, so my inclination is to wear out the bike and buy better when I have had the fun out of this one and my morgage payments allow it....

Cheers,

Ed

i'm going with tires and fit (new stem, handebars, saddle)
you can't pick wheels, huh?

thanks for the replies... well i can pick wheels and tires, but it's already so obvious to me that it's one of the biggest improvement... i wanted to upgrade to 9 speed and basically i wanted to know if i will notice that big a difference in terms of shifting also...

So, other than wheels and tires, I'd have to say pedals and saddle, anything to make you more comfortable on the bike.

Originally posted by khuon
Hmmm... I never bought the support contract so no free upgrades. And I'm running the alpha freeware version before the first commercial release so I'm at 0.72a. :(

Luckily I do have source code so I can fix some of the bugs myself. :D


you can download the complete manual here:
http://genome.ucsc.edu/downloads.html#human

:)

Anything you move,wheelset,tires,crank,pedals,cassette,chain.

Your body weight.