K6-III

Recently bought a 2003 Fuji Flite 300 and already have the urge to upgrade.

Stock, it comes with the Sora groupo sans the crank, which is an even worse Cyclone. The stock chain is a KMC Z82.

My plan was to upgrade the following components:

FD and RD to Ultegra
Cassette to SRAM R8
Chain to SRAM PC58
Truvativ Elita Triple Crank and Truvativ ISIS BB.

Would this work OK with the Sora shifters??? Any kinks I coud run into???

K6-III

Any ideas???

Rich Clark

What's a Fuji Flite 300?

No reason it wouldn't work, AFAICT, if the BB matches. Waste of money, if you ask me, but you didn't.

RichC

K6-III

Whoops...KHS Flite 300.

The BB on the bike is horrible, making a grinding and creaking noise when standing on the cranks.

Plus, Truvativ cranks require ISIS...

K6-III

BTW, why do you believe it to be a waste of money???

Rich Clark

Because as good a value in an entry-level road bike as the Flite 300 is, I generally think it's a waste to hang expensive parts on a cheap frame. And in the case of the upgrade you're discussing, you'll end up with 9-speed Ultegra derailleurs shifted with 8-speed Sora levers, so your drivetrain will still feel and perform pretty much like an entry-level 8-speed drivetrain.

Your BB sound's like it's defective. Why not get a warranty fix before you start spending your own money on upgrades?

RichC

K6-III

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll make sure to get it checked at the bikeshop where I bought it.

Do you believe that at least upgrading the crank would be worthwhile???

I should be getting some more money shortly from both work and selling some of my hifi stuff, so I may just look into selling my bike and getting another.

Chi

.... must ..... swap ... out ... the .... Sora ...... crap ....

K6-III

So should I swap it out???

...or should I just get a new bike???

Chi

For the money you'd be investing on a new groupset, you can probably get a new bike. However, you'd be looking at around $1k for a decent starter road bike. But they won't come with Ultegra or Dura Ace components, which you can get a group for around $700 I think.

Get the Cannondale R600.

K6-III

I spent $500 for the Flite 300 new outta the shop.

How about upgrading the components to 9sp and getting a new wheelset???

I suppose I could get a bit less than that for it used (for about 1.5 months)

I'll have some $600 more in a bit from selling my hifi gear, but I also have to put some of it towards college (I'm working fulltime too during the summer),but I doubt I can end up spending $1k in the end.

I was thinking of making this a temporary upgrade, to be followed up with a Mavic Cosmos wheelset and a move to 9sp (Dura Ace shifters, SRAM R9 Cassette, SRAM PC89 chain)

Is Reynolds 531 really that bad???

Chi

If you really like the ride you have, you should definitely upgrade it. I have an old Trek 7000 I got on eBay and I've spent more money upgrading than than purchasing it. I'm just trying to give you some information before you decide on getting a new ride. Upgrading a roadie isn't cheap, though, not like a mountain bike.

I just took a look at the KHS Flite 300 and it doesn't look bad. I think it's worth upgrading.

K6-III

Do you think upgrading Crank, FD, RD, and BB would be a good idea in the interim??? (not much more money to throw a new cassette and chain on it as well)

Chi

The Shimano Octalink spec BB is a much more affordable splined application than ISIS. There's one way to go. If your derailleurs are working fine, I would go for the shifters and save up for the derailleurs later. Maybe a roadie can chime in here.

K6-III

A truvativ bb will only set me back between $30-$40 for their ISIS Elita Tripe crank for either the entry level SL or gigapipe-SL.

Also, the Elita Triple is only $79 from Nasbar right now.

Chi

And remember, you can always upgrade the frame later, and transfering the components over.

K6-III

Figured that would make more sense, seeing as I've only been riding my road bike for about 1.5 months, but about 2.5 hours every day of rain-free weather.

Chi

I think you're gonna like your ride much better every time you throw something new on it.

K6-III

Sounds good. Thanks for your advice.

rmckeller

Two trains of thought. Buy something you can afford and wait to pick up parts along the way or just go bonkers and do the buy, buy, buy thing. I am doing the same thing you are. I have SORA on a Trek 1000. I bought it stock and along the way, I waited patiently and got some great upgrades. I have now acquired a 105 crankset off eBay for $65. The front & rear derailleurs went on special in Nashbar & Performance...both 105's for under $50. I am going to use those until I find a deal on shifters and then I'll go for the 9-speed setup. I know there might be differing opinions on this subject, but I say you'll come to appreciate what you're riding. BTW my dad has been riding a Klein he picked up in the 80's...it's still going great with periodic upgrades.

K6-III

Thanks for the support.

Phatman

that truvative ISIS BB is very hard to find, especially in the length that you need for the Elita crank. you need a 118, and I had a b*tch of a time trying to find someone who had on ein stock.

K6-III

That's fine. I already found 4 websites.

Rich Clark

Just a cautionary note:

The fastest way to depreciate an expensive part is to put it on a cheap frame.

If you sense that you're never going to be satisfied with this bike, it will ultimately be because of the frame. It's heavy, the fit isn't what you've come to understand is what you need, it's not stiff enough, it's too stiff, whatever. This is the bike where you learn these things.

When you go to sell the bike, it will still be a Flite 300, even if it has some upgrades. You won't recover the cost of the upgraded parts, because buyers of used Flite 300's are looking for a bargain.

And unless you plan to build your next bike from the frame up -- and put used parts on it -- swapping the old parts back before you sell it will just leave you with a set of mismatched used Ultegra and Truvativ parts that you have little use for.

That's why I generally advise people with new bikes who get upgrade fever -- and it's very common -- to hit the brakes and ride the bike as it is for a while. I've seen -- over and over again -- people sink two, three, four hundred dollars into a new, low-end bike that they end up selling within a year anyway, and most of the cost of the upgrades (which should have been invested in a better bike to begin with, but that's another thread) is wasted.

Just an opinion.

RichC

K6-III

How about keeping the parts, but just selling the frame later...