Road Cycling - Components.

Hi everyone. Thanks for all who posted on my last post! I'm still new to this and trying to get used to all the lingo and even whats what. I found a 2001 trek 1000 on ebay for 305 including shipping! Got it two days ago and I am really happy with it, so far ;) My question is what type of components if any should I be looking to change/upgrade? Right now it has a ultegra derailer and sora flight deck. Should I change the flight deck out to match the derailer? Also the cranks (okay I think this is what its called, the thing that you push on with your feet *geesh I'm stupid*) are cyclone performance....any good?

Thanks for help.

One more thing, how much does an average tune up cost on a bike? Going to call a few places tomorrow but I want to get some opinions on if I'm getting ripped or not.

Thanks again,

Justin

hey pl8er. glad to hear you're happy with your new trek. congratulations! as far as upgrades, assuming everything works properly and the saddle works okay for your rear, if you're looking to upgrade to increase performance, i would start with a good wheelset. imho (in my humble opinion) no single upgrade will help your bike accelerate faster, roll smoother and quieter, and climb hills more easily than a good, lightweight wheelset, especially one with hubs with smooth precision bearings. what wheels do you have on your trek? what's your upgrade budget? if they're sora hubs/wheels, you might consider a wheelset like mavic cosmos. super smooth sealed precision bearing hubs, lightweight, bulletproof, very low rolling resistance, and stay true. good deals online (i.e. colorado cyclist $199.99). anyway, just my $.02. have fun!

- ralph

Thanks for the .02 cents ;) The wheelset on my bike are veulta rims and vittoria tires. I'm not really sure what my budget is...kinda just looking to add parts on and make things better. I want to change my flight deck out with at least ultrega. Not sure what else.


Thanks again.

Wheels, wheels wheels.

You can change the "flight deck" (do you mean shifters/brake handles?) and other parts but NOTHING will be more noticeable in the overall performance of the bike than a change in the wheels and tires.

Decide what your budget is and let us know - there are lots of options at almost every price range.

55/Rad

The Sora stuff works well, just not as smooth as Ultegra. But as has already been mentioned above, the wheelset (not to discount the importance of the frame itself) is where you are going to see gains in performance; rolling weight is the factor that most affects the limitations of the bike. You might next look at getting a new stiff crank but heck, then you might as well start looking at a better pedigreed bike. Seems everything associated with bikes is expensive. Be careful, it is very easy to get obsessive about it all and it can and will drain your wallet. My first bike was a Cannondale R400 outfitted with Sora crank and flight deck with Tiagra derallieurs. It was a nice enough bike but I just couldn't see sinking a lot of money in upgrades. It is afterall cheaper to just go ahead and get a new bike with the stuff you want on it. I went ahead and got an R2000 with Ultegra all the way around with Mavic Ksyriums wheels and I must say she moves out. Oh well, good luck, it is quite a dilema you are faced with. You got a good bike so ride it a while and get used to it so you can appreciate the better stuff once you jump in and get it.

I would ride it as is for a few weeks at least. If you are not used to the bike, it may be difficult to tell how the upgrade effected the bike. Plus, let the thrill of a new bike wear off a little. Then when you do an upgrade you get a thrill again.

So wheels seem to be the best upgrade for me right now. I am looking into that (my goodness they are expensive to upgrade!!!) on ebay and such. My bike has 700 sized tires on there, are 600's more beneficial? Is it possible to go from 700 to 600? Also I just realized tonight on my first ride that my back tire will not hold air. Should I be looking at 60 dollar tires? Basically its all I can find. The tires that are on there now are vittoria 700X25. Should I stay with this? Sorry, I know I ask lots of questions but I like to know a good deal about things and I honestly know NOTHING right now ;)

Thank you all so much for taking time to post and give me your ideas!


P.S. If anyone has 700 X 25 tires that they are selling let me know.

Justin

Stick with the 700C as it is the most common road size. No, you don't have to spend $60 on tires - decent tires can be had for less. What wheels do you have?

55/Rad

Vittoria wheels. Vuelta rims. I'll stick with the 700's. Any suggestions on where I should look for a tube?

How much do you weigh?
Good 700x23c tires are about 190-230 grams. You could save weight at the outside of the wheel with narrower tires but only if you don't weigh too much. It's a tad harsher ride at 120psi, but the rolling resistance is lower, and the weight saved at the perimeter of the wheel will be noticeable. Don't forget the ultralight tubes too.

Just to add to what others have said, you have to expect a certain amount of leakage/seapage in the tubes. I always check and top off my tyres with air before every ride. I generally see anywhere from a 2psi to 5psi loss per day from 130psi on my Michelin HL tubes. Those are ultralight tubes. I got them for about $4 a tube at Performance. If you're seeing a higher leakage rate, it might be time to replace the tube... rubber/latex does degrade over time... or you might be leaking at the valvestem. Either way, a couple of bucks on a new tube should fix the problem.