Originally Posted by
bijan
Unless the shifting is annoying, upgrading the front derailleur doesn't give much in the way of improved performance. I think new wheels, cassette, and possibly rear derailleur are more likely to give you a noticeable improvement. And obviously a new seat will give you a noticeable difference.
Thanks. While current shifting isn't necessarily annoying, I do want a stiffer crank and want to be sure my current flat bar shifters and front derailleur will be compatible with a new crank. It sounds like I *might* be able to get the Dura Ace 7703 to work with some additional effort but since I haven't done this work before, I'm more inclined to get something that will be more of a drop in. My LBS even steered me away from trying the Dura Ace and said it would be a pain. That said, I am looking at the Sugino XD600 but I'm not exactly sure what to look for as far as specs go to see if it would be any more or any less of a pain than the Dura Ace.
FYI- I already have new wheels (Velocity Synergy rims laced to Ultegra hubs), new rear cassette (Shimano XT 11-32), new seat post (Thompson Elite), new seat (Brooks B-17), new pedals (Dimension), new headset (Chris King threadless) so I think I'm doing pretty good except for the crank but I'm obviously open to any ideas you guys have.