bblair28

I just bought a Trek 1000 to begin road biking the first part of July. I'm now addicted. I love the bike but am wondering what is the best money spent to upgrade the bike. Would you buy a new wheelset or components or something else? Is it worth it or maybe just a buy new bike altogether?

johnny99

Hire a local cycling coach to fine tune your fit and pedalling technique. If the coach recommends getting some new components to improve your fit on the bike, then you can spend money there, too. Other than that, a Trek 1000 is really not worth upgrading unless something breaks. Use your money to join a local bike club or for entrance fees to century rides and other events.

UmneyDurak

Personally I am of the opinion if you have to ask then you don't really need it. Gain more experience, then you will know what you like/want.

marqueemoon

Start saving up some dough and wait a while.

Blossom

Your first upgrade should be the wheels. They make the biggest difference in both weight and performance that you can buy and are easily transfered to a new bike when you get a new frame.

Dick Rhee

Clipless pedals, if you haven't already. While there is debate about how much better a lighter wheelset or more responsive bike will improve your performance, going clipless is much more comfortable and enables you to be able to utilize your full pedal stroke (especially helpful on climbs, I pull practically as much as I push down when at low cadence).

Oh, and you can always swap the pedals out to a different bike if you decide you need to upgrade from your Trek 1000 later.

alanbikehouston

You JUST got the bike? Your priority should be getting out on the road five or six days a week, so that you and the bike can get used to each other. As the cables stretch, and the spokes stretch, you will need to get the brakes and shifting fine-tuned, and get the wheels trued.

A second priority is to get your fit fine-tuned. If you ride every day for a month, you are likely to find that you will feel comfortable with the saddle a bit higher than on "Day One".

Next spring, if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, consider buying a set of Ultegra level wheels with some high quality tires. Nothing improves the performance of a bike as much as better wheels and better tires. If you are a stronger rider by then, you could put a more "aggressive" cog set on your new wheels.

Keep the original wheels for "knock around" use though, as you can always use an extra set of wheels.

Clip-less pedals are a waste of money. Tests show that NO cyclist "pulls up" on the pedals, including the most experienced pros...everyone is pressing down, with both feet, at all times. If you have problems with your shoes slipping, a good set of BMX style pedals works great. They will "lock" your foot to the pedal with any sort of shoe, any sort of sandal, yet release your foot instantly when you get to a stop sign.

bblair28

Yeah clipless is the way to go, got a set about 2 weeks ago.

bblair28

I say just, I've actually put over 600 miles on the bike.

Fred Smedley

+1

Enthalpic

Well the very first things are to ditch the stock tires and saddle.

bblair28

At what point should the tires be replaced anyway? My rear already has a flat spot all the way around the middle.

UmneyDurak

As in inner thread is showing? Yep time to replace. Frankly on all the bikes I owned stock tires were too soft. Which led to them wearing out faster, and more debris being embedded. Which caused the more flats.

Enthalpic

If you have those crappy stock bonty select tires on they should be replaced before they are worn at all.

A small flat spot is ok but if it gets to say, the width of your pinky fingernail then they need to be replaced or you are asking for flats.

MacMan

Buy a training plan. Upgrade the engine first.

alicestrong

I think that having a saddle that works well for you is very important.

Stallionforce

Yup, as others have said, put in a ton of miles -- things you *need* to upgrade will become evident pretty fast. For example, it was evident quite quickly for me on my first bike that I needed a new saddle straight away.

As far as dollars spent, I go with the consensus as well: get a really nice pair of clincher wheels, like Mavic Ksyrium's, which are bombproof and you can race on. I would also get clipless pedals; and I would recommend a bottom-end set of Looks as they are also bombproof and have a very large cleat surface.

The next thing is your engine. Which gets back to point one: putting in the miles. Once you have a year of riding base miles, and some group rides, think about investing in a coach. This will accelerate your development as a rider. Do a lot of research on coaches first, though; some are ignoramuses; some are extremely diligent and professional.

Whatever you do -- have fun. And if it stops being fun, think about changing it up.

kudude

is this standard thinking on the forum?

ken cummings

A set of lights will let you do twice as much riding.

cohophysh

I always question the statement "tests show" what tests, who conducted them?

slim_77

I disagree. BTW, how do you "press down, with both feet, at all times" and go anywhere?

pdxtex

stock seats are always a razor..ouch...thats the first thing i usually replace. other then that, tires and then pedals. but hey, its your bike.

bpohl

Um, no. Not at all.

urodacus

wheels, and tires. decent wheels can cost the same as a bike, or more.


pedals if you don't have them (but that needs shoes too).

That's complete hogwash that we only push down: i definitely pull up hard on the upstroke when sprinting uphill. try it some time: throw your knees at the bars on the upstroke, rather than concentrating on pushing down. the pushing down part doesn't need thinking about, it just follows.

seminole13

If you don't have pedals, I'd do that first. I'd go Look or Look Compatible (Nashbar & Performance sell some knock-offs) and some shoes (again, I have nothing against their house brands). I wouldn't go nuts on this at first as you don't know how you'll like it. After switching recently, I KNOW there is no going back.

Now I've got my eyes on a set of wheels and new tires. I'd like more aero wheels (bladed spokes?) that are lighter and STIFFER with better tires.

If your saddle is still killing you, I'd do that before the pedals and wheels - if you are okay with that move on. . .

All three of these upgrades can easily be moved on to your next bike, so don't be afraid to spend a little more should you have the funds.

As for components on the bike (shifters, derailers, etc), unless you really LOVE your bike - I'd save the money spent for those things for the next bike. I know some here have amazing 1000s, base Allez, OC3, Speedster S50/60s, etc that they have upgraded to truly top notch bikes, but I think I'd wait and put the money towards a new bike.

$.02