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Old 10-18-08, 10:36 PM
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jake8
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Hmm advise me on upgrading my Bianchi

Last spring I picked up a Bianchi Stelvio off craigslist and quickly serviced it and made it into ridable condition. This year I have been putting close to 200 miles a week on it and I am seeing the signs that things are going to soon go down hill. Top that off with yesterday I was cleaning and inspecting only to find that many of the parts are wearing fast.

Crank Ofmega 52/42: Shark toothed chain rings, slight bend in large ring, significant wear to the chainrings such as tiny chunks missing
Bottom Bracket: Bad condition, ring side already had to be tightened and how it was able to back out as that was the tightening side I don't know, it is also noticably grinding slightly
Freewheel: Suprisingly decent, some shark teeth but its only minimal
RD & FD : Campagnolo triomphe and surprisingly they are fine just need cleaning and lubing
DT shifters: Fine
Wheels : Mavic E2 with ofmega hubs- The rims are fine I can true them but the hubs are shot.

Question is how should I upgrade

Option 1) Replace each piece as it goes bad and hope that years down the line they are still available
Option 2) Cold set the frame to 130mm in back and find a 10 speed group and wheels allowing plenty of options in the years to come

Or is it even worth upgrading? I love the way it rides but my experience is very limited on road bike other than occasional short jaunts on my friends aluminum bikes. Sheldon Brown's site had an article from bicycling magazine in the 80's which described the bike as an entry level racer. It has Columbus tubing but I wonder if might need to be looking for a better steel frame not knowing how this one stacks up against the nicer steel frames out there.
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