I'm up in the SW VA mts, and discs are nice for the descents. The other thing that is really nice is newer disc road bikes often have more tire clearance. I have ridden the SLR 6 disc and 32c tires inflated for your weight (in my case, 50-65 psi) do most of the work. I am fine with just a rear iso speed and supple tires, so I have an ALR disc and some supple tires.

The labor to swap the group is more or less fixed, if you pay for it, so if I were you I would jump up a couple steps, say to Ultegra, if you keep the frame. Mechanical groups are cheaper, at least - the new hydro groups are much more pricy.


Group and discs aside, I can't imagine the frame difference alone is worth the thousands you would pay for it.

Is your new wheelset disc compatible?