4567890

Hello all,
I have a 1996 Trek 5200 with a full Shimano 600 (Tricolor) group/Easton Vista wheels with about 15k miles and was wondering if it would be worth upgrading it? Everything works well and I still commute on it daily (20 miles round-trip), but it just feels "old and heavy"

I been toying with the idea of getting a new wheelset (Soul S3.0, Williams System 30, etc) or upgrading the drive-train to an Ultegra 6600 group.
Would it be worth it? Would I notice that much of a difference (weight/shifting improvement)? Or would I be better off just saving up and buying a used Madone (or something equivalent) for $1500? Or should I just shut up, enjoy the bike and ride it until it explodes?
Thanks a lot for all your advice!

4567890

Whoops, I think I put this in the wrong forum... Could I moderator move this to the correct forum please?
Sorry.

IthaDan 

That's the first generation OCLV right? Toss some new wheels on it (wheels transfer between bikes really easily) and ride the snot out of it.

FastJake

Were you looking for the road forum? Still, not a bad question for this section but I suspect most of the posters here ride older bikes than yours.

IMO, there have been two major "improvements" since your bike: threadless headsets and external bearing cranksets. The crank would be a straightforward swap but to upgrade to threadless you'd need a new fork, headset, and stem. Combine this with a new wheelset and I think you could have a bike almost as light, stiff, etc as a new bike.

However, this would add up quickly and you'd still be left with a 16 year old carbon frame. If you're looking to upgrade it would probably make more sense to sell this bike (~$500) and get yourself the new Madone.

4567890

IthaDan- Yeah, wheels seem the best option right now... Been searching/reading about different sub-$500 wheelsets for a while but still unsure of which.

FastJake- I've thought about switching to a threadless setup but how much weight would I save and how much of difference would it make for the money (say $100-200 total)? Also, would the external bearing crankset be that great of an improvement?
And of course, I keep thinking, 500-1000 in upgrades or sell for 400-500 and purchase a new bike...

bent-not-broken

Enjoy the ride. Nothing wrong with a threaded stem and internal bearing crank. I see Octolink dura ace cranks sell cheap on ebay. Wheels are the place you'll see the biggest improvement.

FastJake

Can't give you weight numbers, depends on your new/old parts. But I did notice a stiffer front end when swapping out a (bent) threaded fork with a threadless carbon fork. This would be expensive though, really depends what price you can get on a new carbon fork.

External bearing cranksets are also lighter and stiffer, but I haven't had a chance to ride mine yet so I'll have to let you know on that! Just finishing up my first "modern" road bike build, waiting for the weather to clear up...

Based on the cost of all the upgrades I think you'd be better off either leaving this bike alone or getting a new one. However, wheels are a good buy because you can always transfer them to a different bike later on.

IthaDan 

I figure if you already have STI shifters and as long as the stem isn't creaking or flexing [too badly], just should just ride the thing and enjoy the compliments from people who remember when it was contemporary.

If you don't have a modern bike, this is not a bad platform to upgrade, but carbon is so cheap these days, you'd probably be better off financially getting a modern carbon bike (madone) at the complete bike package deal price instead of trying to modernize this one, one part at a time, paying retail for every single part.

Plus: 2 bikes > 1 bike[s]

caloso

I have a 2000 5200. I think the major difference between that and the '96 is the threadless fork/headset (although it's a pig too). I noticed a huge difference in switching to an external bearing BB and crankset. Upgraded wheels would also be an improvement.

But IthaDan's point is valid. Buying a complete new carbon bike is probably better value.

4567890

Thanks a lot for the replies! So it seems wheels would be a good start (leaving me with the opportunity to swap them to the new bike too)... I've never even thought about how much of a difference an external bearing BB/crankset would make so I guess that could be step two.

Would I be better off just sourcing an ultegra crankset/BB or should I try to get an entire groupset? I don't know how much of a difference I'd see going from Shimano 600 (Ultegra, 6400) to modern Ultegra (say 6600)?

caloso

Two more cogs, I think. Isn't Shimano 600 eight-speed?

FastJake

Sounds right to me. Brakes would be the same (dual pivot), and you already have STI shifters. If you go the external bearing route just buy the proper crankset and use your original 8-speed chainrings on it. 10 speed chainrings might work but will be narrower and might cause front shifting issues.

zukahn1 

The bikes sound great the way it is if you decide to upgrade anything at all. I would also say go with upgrading the wheels and cassete. If you decide to get something different you can keep the new wheels and cassete and put them on a different bike and put the old wheels back on the bike to sell it or keep as a second bike. Also considering the amount of riding you do having a backup second wheelset isn't a bad idea. I do a lot of commuting on my old road bike and keep a spare wheelset setup in the closet with tires and cassete and have found that it comes in very handy being able to swap out wheel is a real time saver if you need to commute the next and don't have time to service a wheel.

wrk101

+1 Two more cogs, and A LOT of moiney out of the wallet. If you want to go that route, better off selling the bike, and buying a used Ultegra bike instead.

4567890

Thanks for all the recommendations... I've decided that I need to work on the engine, Im sure its not the bike thats the limiting factor

w98seeng

The way I look at it is you have a nice frame already. Yes, there have been advancements in carbon frames, but will you really see a difference between the old and new frames? Also, is it worth the money to upgrade frames? You can sell the 600 group (or give it to me for free ) and upgrade to the 6600 group and a nice set of wheels and you will have a great bike and be saving a few bucks as well. The 6600 group (10 speed) sells used for around $450-$550, this includes an external bearing Ultegra crankset. A nice set of wheels should be around $500 and with the $250 - $300 you will get for the 600 group, you can upgrade the bike for around $750. (Do the prices sound right?)

People have mentioned getting a Madone, but a newer Madone will cost $1500 (used) and up.

Ian

4567890

w98seeng- Yeah, I like the idea of keeping the frame for as long as possible and upgrading the components, probably be WAY more fun than buying a new bike anyway.