Recommendations for upgrades to 90s Giants
 

Hi all. Casual road cyclist here looking for some recommendations. Definitely a newbie when it comes to specifics about parts. Trying to upgrade parts of my vintage bikes. Thinking mostly about upgrading wheels/tires for now, but that's because I don't have a great understanding of what else can increase performance the most besides the groupset.

Budget is $600 each for the wheelset and tires. ~$300 for other smaller parts depending on suggestions.

I'm not looking to pour loads of money into these bikes so no groupset upgrades or major overhauls. But I want them both to perform better for their purposes. Pretty much just looking for upgrades from what I have right now with emphasis on weight, performance, longevity.

1993 Giant Allegre, for mostly flat leisure rides

• Campagnolo Omicron rims
• Gatorskin 700x23c
• Suntour SL full groupset

By just shaving some weight off of this bike, I could probably keep up with most entry-level road bikes in my riding group. Everything else is in great working order, so I'm thinking wheels/tires would make the most difference here? Maybe lighter bars?

1990s Giant Perigee, for good weather commuting (no rain, no winter)

• Araya rims, maybe ?SP-30 since that's the original part per KnowYourBike
• Vittoria Rubino Pro 700x23c
• Exage 300EX groupset
• Exage Motion brakes

These Exage Motion brakes need to go. They're stiff and the tightness needs to be adjusted all the time. What's compatible with this old Exage stuff? Wheels/tires, looking to keep them at 23mm, just want something lighter but still sturdy.

Any suggestions appreciated! Also if there's something obvious that I could be upgrading/changing but didn't think of, please also let me know.

P.S. Bonus points if anyone can tell me the year of my Perigee. Serial number GM201365

Hello Inycepoo, welcome to the forum. I don't have time to go deeply into this, but a couple of quick points:

1) Spending money on an older bike doesn't do anything positive for the value. Put $600 into a $200 bike, and you still have a $200 bike. Upgrade whatever you want if you think it will improve your enjoyment, just don't think you are adding value, or will get that back if you want to sell it.

2) There are almost no* part upgrades that will improve your speed measurably. Better parts are often lighter, and sometimes will be more durable.

3) Lighter doesn't mean much. Compared to the weight of you+bike, shaving a lb or two off your bike is only .5 to 1%. That translates to perhaps .5 or 1% faster on a long climb. You would do better to get a good nights sleep, or eat a better breakfast. I ride a 24lb steel bike, and can out climb dozens of people in my club who ride 15lb carbon bikes. There are even more who can out climb me, probably riding almost anything.

*4) Tires and tubes are the exception to rule #2 . The best, lightest, most flexible tires can probably shave as much as 10 watts per tire off something like your Gatorskins. You will feel and notice something like this.

If you want to go faster, it really isn't about the bike. Unless something is wrong with your bike, I doubt a brand new, $10k bike would improve your speeds by more than a % or two. (Please don't listen to bike shop salesmen. Their job is to convince you that your old bike is junk, and buying this new super bike will make you instantly faster.)

The unfortunate truth is that to go faster, you need to ride more, and train harder.

By all means, upgrade anything broken, then look carefully at getting the best tires and tubes you can. (Latex tubes are faster, but come with some downsides.) Also, fit is extremely important. Spend whatever it takes, and mess around with different bars and saddles until you are truly comfortable. Getting your fit dialed in is a long, and sometimes continuous process, but it can really help both your endurance, as well as enjoyment.

Buy some 25 or 28c tires, lot of love for Continental GP4ks2 on the road machine. Or Continental 4Seasons - I run the GP4ks2 on my front and 4 Season on the rear.

New bar tape, new cables and housings, replace other consumables if needed.

Have the hubs greased and cleaned. Then that's it. Spend your extra $600(?) budget on some clothes, clip in shoes and pedals. Maybe buy a Claris or *Microshift* group to go with brifters instead of DT shifters? I probably wouldn't though.

Don't overthink/over spend on these, just maintenance and ride.

Might you mean Microshift?

Really?
 

You have two 1990s Giants that you want to upgrade, and you have a budget of $300 (misc parts) + 2 x ($600 per wheelset/tires) = $1500. Did I understand correctly.

I'd recommend that you sell both Giants and pool the budget. For $1500+, you can buy some spectacular vintage horse flesh. Get a Cinelli or anything that suits your fancy. How about a Paramount? Just a casual rider? Why not a Centurion Pro Tour or Miyata 1000?

So many options...

Nope gotta keep the 90s vibe going with a handheld Windows CE personal assistant mounted on the handle bars :p

Stupid autocorrect, it's what I get for blasting out posts from the smart phone.

I'm with [MENTION=408183]cdmurphy[/MENTION]; tubes and tires and you're done. Unless you want to pony up for some much, much lighter new carbon fibre bike, you're not going to get a significant gain anywhere else. Unless your current wheel sets are real boat anchors. An extra 40 miles/week in the saddle will be your best investment, by far.

Don't be one of those guys who thinks some new gear is going to be all the difference.