Originally Posted by
goodtimes5
As a recreational rider, I'm pretty satisfied with my Giant OCR3 frame. I've been bit with the cycling bug pretty badly as I've already upgraded most of the components and wheelset over time. Only things that have remained stock are the cranks and bottom bracket.
Would it be worth it for me to upgrade from this frame to a Cannondale Six13 Team frameset? The stock cranks and bottom bracket are included in unused condition. I'd be going from full aluminum frame to mix of aluminum/carbon frame and alum crankset to bb30 carbon fiber crankset (I'm assuming this counts as a significant benefit). The cost to me would be less than $700.
this is gonna be long winded, so bear with me.
i basically did just that, except i bought a new bike. right now i have a 2006 OCR 3 (bought in September of 06) and previously demoed 2007 Six13 Team 2 (bought in June of 09). if the new bike makes you want to ride it more, then go for it. i'm certainly getting a lot more out of my new bike. the OCR had 1000 miles max when i bought the six13, yet i put in 2500 miles on the six13 in six months.
as for increase in speed, on a normal ride, my speed maybe picked up 0.5mph, and that's probably a huge dose of placebo. it's a little different on hills, though, although not by much. the stock ocr3 is about 23lbs with pedals and my six13 is about 18 lbs with pedals.
real question is what you want to do with your bike. if recreational riding is all you want, then the OCR3 should suffice. lighter wheels and components could potentially bring the ocr down to 17-18lbs, and it could be done with some judicious scavenging on ebay and should be doable for <$1000. the aggressive geometry won't matter except when you need very responsive handling (read, taking a crit corner at 20+ mph or descending at high speed). if you want to race, then i'd go with a frame that is cheap enough so that you won't cry over it should you crash and damage it. as many have mentioned, the caad 9 is a good choice. just get a 9-7 and sell all the parts.
one last thing. don't know if you had a bike fit when you got the ocr; i certainly didn't. it happens that the stem and handlebar weren't even optimal for me. it didn't matter for short rides, but the bike actually became painful on rides >90min. so if i were you, i'd try to get a bike fit, too, with the new frame. many manufacturers don't give sizing of stems and handlebars of their bikes, but Felt does. You should consult the sizing of a similar sized Felt bike (the F series would be comparable) to get an idea of what stems & handlebars you need
edit: sorry, didn't initially realize that you did most of the upgrading.