Originally Posted by
Business810
A few thoughts on the more spendy options:
4) I think you have greatly over-estimated the costs there. You could build a nice, sensible, light, durable Ultegra-Mavic Open Pro wheel set for $400 (or buy one hand built from a place like
Colorado Cyclist for $355) and pick up the drivetrain pieces for probably $300-400 tops if you shop around.
5) For someone who has never ridden a modern road bike, a Rival CAAD9 is a pretty serious (and nice) race-quality bike. For either this or option 4, I'd give a few bikes and drivetrains some test rides before considering shelling out near that kind of money.
Your Prelude is a nice bike, so if I were you I would just make some minor drivetrain upgrades (7-speed or so) and enjoy it. Swing by a good LBS and test ride some modern bikes, too - they might be expensive, but it would help you decide what direction you want to go in the long run.
Regarding the wheel costs, are you taking into account the purchase of a truing stand, dish tool, and tensiometer? I could certainly buy a pre-built wheel, but I think building it myself would be fun and the tools will last a lifetime. Regardless, I could get the price lower by bargain hunting.
Regarding your advice on the CAAD or the heavy upgrade option 4, I entirely agree on the test riding. We'll have to see how fast I can get this year
It seems the consensus (wisely so), is to buy some Shimano 6 or 7 speed shifters and a new derailleur. I found a set of NOS 6 speed 105s online. I think this is my best bet for now...no re-dishing required and my current freewheel offers a solid ratio range. Thanks for the input everyone!