Originally Posted by
Roberto1974
Hi everyone!
I am new to the forum but look forward to hearing everyone's opinion (beyond what I could find with the search function).
I am currently riding a Cannondale Supersix 105 (link below) with Mavic Aksium wheels, which I bought last year.
http://www.cannondale.com/en/USA/Bik...6-95582340b7db
Since I live in Japan and apparently for my size frame (58) the Ultegra model is not available, I settled for 105. Having said that, I absolutely LOVE this bike and it feels like a huge upgrade to the CAAD 8 Tiagra I was riding before, in terms of speed, comfort and overall performance.
I understand the general consensus seems to be you cannot buy speed or performance but since I have already experienced one big improvement and have been saving ($1,500 budget) I wonder whether it'd make sense to invest on an upgrade - i.e. Dura-Ace or another wheel set?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts, I don't know much about hardware and look forward to hearing all points of view!
Keep on ridin'.
Roberto
Good wheels will make the biggest difference on that bike, IMO. If you shop carefully you may be able to get something like a zipp 404 or 303 for your budget. I got a set of used ENVE 3.4 wheels for my 105 bike within your budget.
I also went from the aksium wheels, so trust me, this is what you want to do for your bike.
Edit: After reading everyone else's replies, I'm sticking to my suggestion. But I'll add:
1. Yes, ride the thing like crazy before you do anything at all. I was assuming you were already past that.
2. Instead of the SiSL2 crank, I got a Quarq Riken R crank powermeter (using wickwerks rings). Doesn't make a lot of sense to me to pay $1k for a crank and not get a power meter out of the deal.
3. I did a dynamic bike fit after 6 months on the bike. We did 3d pressure mapping to select the right saddle for me.
4. Wheel upgrade was still the biggest difference so far.
5. If I were to go any farther, then I'd think about doing carbon bars, as I get numbness that is exacerbated by road vibrations. If it weren't for numbness, I wouldn't be considering this, however. This is an example of why you need to do
#1 before you start spending $.