Jixr

I got my first real road bike, a 2013 fuji SST 2.1, and have about 400 miles in on it and was thinking about seeing if there is anything on here worth upgrading before race season starts next month.

Its stock as a rock, and I still have a bit of money left over in bike budget for some goodies.


(not my bike, but basically a stock SST )

Everything I'm kinda thinking of is just cosmetic ( maybe a green saddle, green bar tape? ). I'm not a fan of the neon green at all, but the bike was basically 1/3 of its MSRP and still brand new in the shop so I picked it up. ( to the point i'm questioning painting it )

Been kinda thinking about going for some china carbon wheels, as they ( to me ) look great and should shed a little weight off the thing.

Looking for any suggestions or ideas on what I can do to make the bike a little more attractive to me or some performance ideas.

topflightpro

Handlebars, stem, saddle are the first three things to consider changing on any bike. Those items often offer the ability to improve comfort and reduce weight.

After that, look at the cassette. Do you have the right gearing for your needs. Would a bigger/smaller cassette be better? You may need a new chain if you go with a bigger cassette.

Then consider new tires. I'm not sure what is on there, but new tires and tubes can also improve ride quality.

Everything after that is just a decision on what do you want. New wheels may offer some performance improvement or reduce weight, but it depends on what you buy.

WhyFi

If you're not a fan of the green, why go all-in with the tape and saddle?

I'd just leave the money for consumables (tires, tubes, chain, bar tape, etc) unless there's something that's really jumping out at you comfort wise, like the saddle or changing the bars to something with different reach/drop/shape. A new wheelset could be fun, though, too.

Elvo

The wheels, tires, stem, bars, and maybe saddle are the only things you should upgrade. I remember regularly seeing those tires for $10 at Nashbar

Jixr

Tires would be a good idea, can't tell if gumwalls would look good on this thing or not. Some bikes Look amazing on, but not sure how they would go with the green.

I run gatorskins on all my other bikes, but since this is a bit of a performance bike I'm sure a good set of race tires would be a good idea compared to the gatorskins.

caloso

Upgrade the tires. Those Hutchinsons are terrible: heavy, stiff, and prone to flats. Suitable for the trainer but not much else. Otherwise, just ride.

bonz50

saddle is a no brainer to me, unless you're actually comfy with the stock one (i've personally never been comfy on any stock saddle i've ever tried). otherwise tires first, I'd go for the Conti GP4000s. if you want wheels I'd go for a good AL set before I went for cheap carbons, that's just me though. upgrading your cockpit might help with comfort but a proper fit might help more and may require new bits to get the fit correct anyway, upgrade those at that time.

in the looks dept:
ditch the white bar tape
get new wheels that don't have green (since you don't like it)
I wouldn't bother with paint unless you're competent enough to do it yourself.
you could probably get a chainstay protector to cover that area easily, with the green off the wheels it would only be a few accents left

there's always the tried and true "sell it and get a new bike" route...

Jixr

I'm kinda thinking I may be able to peel off the decals. It does not look like its clear coated over. I may test on a small area and see, and if I could remove the green then I could basically have free range to add whatever color accents I want to it.

Since its been sitting in a shop for 3 years, the green on the wheel stickers has already started to fade, so was already thinking of peeling those off anyway.

merlinextraligh

Generally, I'm in the "don't buy upgrades; ride up grades" camp.

That said, if you have the money buy a nicer set of wheels.

Its helpful to have two sets of wheels. That way you have a set of wheels for the wheel pit in crits, and the wheel truck in road races.

Also, its handy when your short on training time to just swap a wheel when you come home to train with 45 minutes before dark and you find a flat tire.


Most other upgrades are economically inefficient because you're replacing a functioning component. Second set of wheels is an addition, not a replacement

nycphotography

Tires. GP4000 or Michelin... what replaced the Pro4 service course? Yeah, those.

Fuji tends to have reasonable saddles, so don't change it. Unless you hate it the stock one, a new one will likely be worse.

I have a Fuji saddle (looks like a rebraned san marco) that I've moved from bike to bike for 10 years now. It's been my go to saddle when I can't find anything else that isn't killing me.

Bars and stem you can likely save some weight. But really, just ride it. If you have money to burn, and you're determined to race, get: a power meter, a mid level smart trainer, and and do the FTP builder workout plans on zwift.

caloso

FWIW, if you have a wireless power meter, you don't need a smart trainer.

nycphotography

True you don't need one

However resistance control makes zwift way more engaging, and erg mode maximizes the benefit per invested hour of workout time.

Thus the 'mid level' smart trainer rather than the plain old resistance trainer. Figure $600 vs $200, for a much better experience that you'll probably upgrade to eventually.

exmechanic89

You could get lighter set of tires which is the route I would prolly go. Actually I'd ride it for a while before switching things out. On the color, I'll always take a great deal over having to love the color.

On a side note I've really come love Fujis lately, I really dig their current designs. I've seen a few while out riding and they seem like great bikes.

Wileyrat

For me, I've never had a bike I didn't want to do a wheel upgrade on.

Of course, better tires would go with that too.