Originally Posted by
borobike
BTW: The $300 BD offerings weigh 28-29 pounds. The Denali stock weighed 29 and I probably dropped a pound or two off changing the crankset. There isn't much savings of weight to be had at this point. Can't argue on the wimpy brakes, but I'm still only at a $279 price point for Shimano Sora, Dura-Ace, dual pivot brakes and other bits and pieces.
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The Dawes Lightning with Downtube shifters is ~ 25 lbs. which is still heavy for an aluminum road bike but better than the Denali. I'm wondering how it could weigh so much actually since my mid-80's Steel Peugeot with fairly ordinary tubing weighed the same.
My 2005 Specialized Allez Sport (which is Specialized's entry level road bike) weighed about 21 lbs. stock. I got it for $350 in 2007.
Originally Posted by
monsterpile
You seem to find good deals on stuff, but I might suggest you make sure this Denali really fits you before dumping a bunch more money into it. Of course your situation is different with this Denali having some happy thoughts attached to it, but just keep in mind maybe a budget of the bike you aren't willing to go over. Of course some of the stuff you have bought can be switched over to another bike if you wanted to.
Yeah, since the bike was free, you've really only invested a small amount. But to buy it new and spend another $100 to $200 on low end or dated components doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I'd save the money you're planning to spend on upgrades and wait until you can get a bike that's close to where you're headed. Then sell the Denali or keep it as a backup or foul weather bike.
I realize though that in your case you get as much joy from the tinkering as the end result. I can relate to that.