AusTai

I have a Marin Verona from 2000 or 2001. It's a nice looking bike with Columbus thron cro-mo frame and fork (made in Italy!), threaded stem, Campy Mirage components, aluminum seat post and handlebar, and 32-spoke wheels. Thus it's pretty heavy.

I don't really want to spend too much upgrading it, especially since I don't race. It's just for fun and training. However, making it a little lighter would make the hills around her more bearable.

My thought is to get new wheels, perhaps something with 20 spokes or less. Those can be had for under $150/pair. The wheels will be lighter statically and dynamically (less unsprung weight), right?

Opinions on going that route vs. upgrading other components? (I've already replaced the saddle and handlebar tape.)

Thanks
JTM

Dubbayoo

20 spoke wheels for $150/pair? I haven't priced but that seems low. A set of Mavics would be around $500-600'ish. For <$300 you can save a pound easy with a carbon fork upgrade and improve the ride significantly.

AusTai

The wheels in question are an instore brand on sale at one of the big online resellers.

My stem is threaded so the choices for forks is very limited and pricey.

GuitarWizard

A bike from 2001 is "old"?

VanceMac

+1. That's not old, but I do understand the desire to upgrade. Given the choice to upgrade either the wheels or the components... a) if I was entering a race, I'd upgrade the wheels. b) if for everyday use, I'd upgrade the components. You'll probably do both eventually, right? Wheels are a pretty sexy upgrade, and you can probably "put up" with mirage until next year.

dekalbSTEEL

fork:
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...20Road%20Forks

headset:
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...ess%20Headsets

stem:
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...20Road%20Stems

....................................Total cost 109.93
minus 10% off fork coupon code XYZ -8.00
MINUS 10% Coupon code w223.........-10.12 use this link
new total.....................................$89.91 plus shipping


then go get these wheels for $135


https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...TOKEN=77009673

then go get this

https://cgi.ebay.com/Campagnolo-Choru...QQcmdZViewItem

AusTai

Thanks for the tips above about the fork, etc. I was not able to combine the coupons but it's certainly tempting.

BTW, is the Campy crank on eBay that much lighter than the Mirage crank?

AusTai

OK, it MAY be a '99 model - I don't remember. It looks old compared to what's out there now.

arsw1

Sorry to hijack the thread, have you personally used this wheelset? What about their Gemini Forte wheelset?

the beef

The Xero XR-1s - about 1500 grams, $175 on eBay.

fogrider

wheels and fork would be a nice upgrade. get what you want.

operator

If you like low spoke count, boutique wheels - sure why not. Especially at $150 a pair.

cyclezen

I put the Nashbar CF fork on my Marin Treviso - great combo. Whole thing rides as if it was 'designed' that way. And it looks very nice mated to my frame. Headset, I prefer the Cane Creek models, good solid stuff.
As for the Titan wheels, I've checked them out (as in just a quick look-see and check of even spoke tension, 'true' and hub smoothness) at the 'local' Performance shop - Ventura - and they seem quite nice; although you never know how they'll ride... still seems like a great deal for $135. If I needed another set of allporpose wheelz, I'd spring for them. They may not be Mavics, but at less than the price of a Mavic front, they're not chopped liver either. Dependin on what you're currently ridin on, decent wheels make a huge improvement. And that doesn't necessarily mean you have to spend half a grand on a set.
The fork change/improvement is definitely worth it.

AusTai

Just to be certain - the recommended fork from Nashbar above will fit on a bike with a threaded headset as long as I get the accompanying headset and stem?

operator

Should.

Walter

I did similar upgrades on a Thron framed Univega. I think my fork came from Performance but that's not a big deal. The weight reduction was significant and noticeable but.....

I'd go with the wheels if I had to choose one over the other. For awhile I rode Ksyrium SSCs on that frame while I was building my LeMond. The wheel upgrade was obvious everytime I rode. After the LeMond was done the Univega got its original wheels back and even with the fork upgrade the ride quality diminished considerably.

So if you gotta choose, upgrade the wheels.

My .02

cyclezen

yes, but this is a threadless steerer/config, so you'd need to swap out the headset (as you noted) with a threadless design also - like the one recommended or another that fits a 1 inch fork steerer (assuming your Verona is also a 1" config). There won;t be anything left from the 'threaded' config when you're done with the job.
And then a stem, most/many come with a 'shim' to allow fitting to a 1" steerer - but do make sure you get that stem shim, don't clamp down on the 1" steerer without it in place.
Then depending on how much 'extension' you want for the stem clamp to be above the top of the headset, you need to get extension spacers/shims. I also recommend the nashbar carbon spacer set. $10 and enough rings to get you quite high if needed, couple bucks more than ALU, but very nice.
Then you'll prolly cut the steerer to length to fit what you want - this depends on the headtube height, the additional height of the headset and then the extra length to get the stem at the height you'll want it. A decent piper cutter works or even a decent hacksaw cut will cut the alloy steerer nicely. Depending on the stem clamp height, I cut my steerer to be 'short' of the stem top by 1/4-3/8" (with the spacers under the stem. That leaves me a little adjsutment should I want to go just a hair higher. I could go lower just by removing spacers under the stem, drop the stem, add spacers above the stem to cover the exposed steerer and then screw on the stem cap...
May sound complicated to do, but it really isn't. If you're not familar with threadless, just go check out a bike that is threadless, it'll all be real obvious after that. The Mech. Forum can help with specifics if you need em.
Have the headset cups and fork race installed by a decent shop...
Your handlbar is prolly a 26.0mm design, so will fit into the appropriate stem (not OS) without any issue.
Another bene of threadless is that you'll never have to remove bartape or brake levers to take the bar off the stem. Which for me was really great cause I could experiment with stem extension and angle without any big process - just unscrew the old stem and pop on one of dif. angle or extension, way cool.
have fun

AusTai

Oh now someone tells me

Seriously, I was just going to choose one of the two upgrades but now I'll just do both the wheelset and the fork.

Though the wheelset upgrade may also improve ride quality and performance, out of curiosity, does this upgrade save more weight than the fork/headset/stem upgrade?

dekalbSTEEL

Yes, I would say the Chorus crank and bottom bracket would be much lighter than the Mirage combo.
Plus, it's so much nicer looking!
as far as the coupons go, I think you can mention the fork coupon code in the notes section when you check out, ( I think) or call in your order

Walter

I didn't put the bike on a scale. The fork swap dropped decent weight to be sure. The Columbus framed Univegas of ca. 1999-2000 were (are) very decent bikes but not real light even by steel frame standards. Alot of the weight was in a fairly cheap fork (Sabre, a brand I've not seen since) and a set of quite heavy wheels (Campy Mirage hubs laced 32 spoke to bombproof but heavy Vuelta rims). The fork (all carbon), headset and stem was a nice combo deal and installed with minimal fuss. The only thing I had done at the shop was get the steerer tube cut after I dialed in the stem height as I don't have a saw for cutting carbon fiber. Anyways, it did noticeably lighten the bike.

However the wheels were a much better upgrade. Mavic Ksyriums SSCs are far from cheap but they are reasonably light and considering the fact that I was quite heavy at the time, as opposed to just merely heavy now, are as bombproof as the much heavier Vueltas.

If you can swing a deal do both by all means but the wheels are the more effective move.

Az B

My thoughts exactly. I just upgraded the wheels on my 25 year old tourer. That's kinda what I think of as old.

Az