Road Cycling - bike upgrade suggestions?

I have a trek 2000, and I have about $500 burning a hole in my pocket... what would you guys suggest I upgrade first?

Thanks.


Frame Alpha SL Aluminum. Super Light aluminum. Double-butted, seamless drawnround tubing.
Custom butted 1-1/8" head tube. Stiff powerful elliptical chainstays.
Cold forged replaceable derailleur hanger. Trek Pro geometry.
Handmade in the USA. 2.85 lb.
Fork ICON OCLV Carbon Classic w/Cro-Moly steerer
Rear Derailleur Shimano 105 GS
Front Derailleur Shimano Tiagra T
Shifter Shimano 105 STI
Crankset Shimano 105 52/42/30
Rear Sprocket Shimano HG-50 12-25, 9spd
Wheel System Bontrager Fairlane, welded, machined sidewalls rims; Shimano Tiagra 32h hubs; 14G stainless spokes
Brakes
Alloy, dual pivot w/Shimano 105 STI levers
Tires IRC Red Storm, 700x25c front and rear
Pedals Shimano M515, clipless
Saddle Selle San Marco New Millennium
Color Candy Red
frame sizes (M) 56cm

Barring any needed repairs, I have found that the greatest gains from any kind of upgrade is generally done by applying attention to the wheels. If in doubt, look at your rims, hubs and tyres first. They will provide you immediate gains in performance and comfort. If however, you're exceptionally happy with them, then I would consider moving on towards either the fork, saddle or handlebars. If those are more than satisfactory then start considering the brakes and drivetrain.

On the other hand, $500 is a good start towards saving for a whole 'nother bike too. ;) One can never have too many, you know.

Personally I would go for better wheels and hubs first. If you are willing to do mail order you should be able to get Mavic Open Pros with Ultegra hubs for less than $250. With the money left over you should be able to upgrade your rear cassette and dérailleur, and your front dérailleur. I would think you could do all of this for less than $500.

I was thinking about doing wheels and hubs... What would be the advantage of moving from say the 105 stuff to ultegra components for the rear derailer and stuff? Is it that much better? I don't race, but I will be putting a TON of miles on this year... so I want to be happy with it..

yeah... do the wheels. a set of open pros with ultegra hubs will probably save almost 400g, and you'll get great, tough, smooth-rolling wheels. also consider ditching the spd pedals for road pedals and road shoes.

there probably isn't a huge advantage in going to ultegra on this bike. get new wheels and then use htem of the ultegra or dura-ace bike you buy next year. ;)

yeah... do the wheels. a set of open pros with ultegra hubs will probably save almost 400g, and you'll get great, tough, smooth-rolling wheels. also consider ditching the spd pedals for road pedals and road shoes.

there probably isn't a huge advantage in going to ultegra on this bike. get new wheels and then use htem of the ultegra or dura-ace bike you buy next year. ;)


What are decent pedals and shoes? I've gotten the spd thing down... Do most styles clip in and out similarly? Or at least make it so its not really compicated to get used to?
;)

What are decent pedals and shoes? I've gotten the spd thing down... Do most styles clip in and out similarly? Or at least make it so its not really compicated to get used to?
;)

If you're transitioning from SPD, my vote would be to go with Speedplay X or Zero pedals since they're double-sided and operate pretty much like SPDs... stomp and go, heel-out to release.

Another vote for wheels. If you ever sell the bike you can take the "good" wheels with ya.

I'd also say wheels. Ultegra and Open Pros is always a good choice. I would leave your other components as they are for now, they are good quality parts. If you have enough left over, I would start looking for a lighter fork. The carbon classic is one of the heaviest carbon forks that Trek uses and upgrading it could really shed some weight. If not that then maybe look into the other, often overlooked, parts like your saddle, seatpost, stem, bar, etc. I really don't think you would gain much at all by going to an Ultegra rear, but on bike like this those other parts I mentioned are often where the mfg. cuts corners to bring down costs and a good amount of weight saving could possibly be had by upgrading there.


Oh, and one of my favorite upgrades of all.....the Chris King headset....always a great choice!!! :)

it looks like you have a "big guy" wheelset...bonty fairlanes are touring rims...are you a big guy? you might not want to shell out for a really light fork then. Open pros and chris king hubs can be had though for about 500 bucks depending on where you look. i think the excel sports "threat" wheelset is about that, if you aren't a big guy, go for the ksyriums.

Yeah.....I'd go for new wheels & Speedplays.

I'm 5'10" 150... So no... not a big guy...

I agree with the upgrade the wheel folks. The Fairlane are fairly heavy wheels and you could do a whole lot better with Mavic Open Pro or for $20 less per wheel use Torelli Master Series (same quality-same weight). Then use DT Revolution spokes on the front and rear unless your a big guy then use DT Competition spokes on the rear instead, with alloy spokes and replace the hubs with Dura Ace. Then with any money left over save it in case something breaks. The 105 stuff you have is good and upgrading anything to Ultrega is a waste of money-skip Ultrega and go to Dura Ace if you replace a broken or worn out part. But that's just my opinion and that's the beauty of these forums, you can pick and choose your advice.

I vote for wheels as well. Don't replace the derailleurs until you wear them out. 105 is good stuff and Tiagra is fine for the front derailleur. If you really want it off your bike as a matter of principle then keep a lookout for a front derailleur at a swap meet or something.

-s

whats the rationale in the unanimous suggestion to upgrade the wheels? lighter weight? do they make that much of a diff?

whats the rationale in the unanimous suggestion to upgrade the wheels? lighter weight? do they make that much of a diff?

Wheels are the primary interface between your bike and the road. Lighter wheels accelerate faster with less energy. Higher end wheels will in general be more durable, more comfortable and allow for faster cornering. Many people like to talk about frame materials and how it affects ride quality. IMHO, wheels make just as much or even more a difference.