redtires

I'm going to look for a big clown nose to put on it now!!! Look for more black in the future after this years Veloswap folks! When I bought the bike, it was basically a choice of too much white...or a whole lot of red. Obviously you see which direction I went. The tires were not really even intentional...they were just on sale at a ridiculous price and I needed some new ones pronto. Do you think I can get a pair of Bont's in a size 72??

Bathwater

Too much red IMO and the black stem looks a bit out of place.

WhyFi

I think that this frame would look much better without the awkward stripes on the TT and the seat stays - as it is, they just interfere with the lines of the frame. I also think that a black saddle and post would look better. Not bad, though.

kcollier5

^ Well, frankly for me, I'd rather see red, blue, orange or green over an all black, Batman, 'murdered' out frame. That McDonald's Look was a little TOO much but overall, we're ON BIKES! We're having FUN! (Right, please tell me we are, really that pain is just my imagination, right?) So, yeah, it's a little red, but hey, at least it's still alive.

And I agree with you that a lot of red is better than a lot of white. You could tone it down just a bit with a black seatpost, saddle and black bartape. You've clearly embraced the red, but use some constraint and I think it could be a good looking bike.

kcollier5

Oh, and can we start debadging frames instead of wheels?! (Custom paint, here we come!)

SpeshulEd 

"Murdering out" and "debadging" go hand in hand, tho!

kcollier5

Haha, that's true, but murdering HAS to be black. Debadging doesn't. I'm ok with one or two names but 15?! Ok, we get it!

bmcphx

Mine has 8 logos and it definitely does not look busy or overdone.

6Speed

Suggestions? I want to change the bar tape and saddle first, but I know there is more that needs changing. New wheels? New group? Stem? Bars? What ya got?

bianchi10

Do you want new stuff for aesthetic reasons which will make young happier with your bike or are you wanting new stuff to help performance wise. This thread is specifically for how a bike looks. I would be more than happy to spend your money, but it would help to know what you are wanting out of the upgrades.

IthaDan 

Can't tell, wrong side.

6Speed

Well, I'm mainly asking about visual upgrades but it weighs right at 20lbs, so if I could put it on a diet at the same time that would be great, too.

6Speed

Fixed it. My mistake. full ultegra from the early 2000's.

bianchi10

I would sell your component set and get as much as you can out of it and buy a 6700 ultegra set OR if you ok with SRAM, you can get a full rival set which is lighter than shimano.

If you are looking for weight drop and gain some performance:

Componenets mentioned above
Wheels (depends on what kind of riding you do. a lot of climbing? a lot of flat? How much do you weigh? I'd like to know that before suggesting any wheels)
light bars. Anything between 190g-210g
lighter seatpost
lighter stem
Exustar Ti pedals
KCNC TI skewers
planet X brake calipers
aerozine seatpost clamp
chineese carbon cages (can get su 20g cages on ebay for around $12/cage)
Bartape-I like my microtex, but it provides little to no padding at all. Lizardskins provides fantastic grip, good amount of padding and is lighter than the fizik.

aside from the wheels, what I listed could drop a good 2lbs off your bike if not more.

Do you like your saddle? If it works, dont touch it. Otherwise here are more than enough options out there to get something that is light and looks good.

obviously, several of these items I listed wont effect much performance gain, but it will fit into your goals of dropping some weight.

6Speed

Thanks for the tips. Sram red would be nice!

Per wheels - I do a bit of climbing. Nothing extreme, but usually around 2000-2300 feet in a 20 mile loop, double that if I have time to do the loop twice (not often). I weigh 175lb right now. I considered ordering a set of UD matte carbon china wheels in the 38 depth flavor. Current wheels are Mavic open pro, which, if I'm not mistaken, weigh around 2100g.

Saddle is fine far as comfort goes, but it's not necessarily hot, and the red doesn't match anything else on the bike.

bianchi10

What would your budget be like? Something to get piece by piece over time or could get a couple things?

What would your budget be for a set of wheels? You mentioned Chinese wheels so it makes me think you are looking for best wheel for as little as possible?

6Speed

Some months I could buy couple things and others I would only be able to get individual piece/set. Wheels, for example, would be the only purchase one month if I could get them for under 500.

rkwaki

He should buy mine

Nachoman

Bottle cages don't match.

Fox Farm

One thing that catches my eye is that the frame looks too small for you given the high handle bar and big extension on the seat post. But have some custom built wheels that are in the 1300 +- gram range since you do climbing. That will make a large difference on the bike weight.

bianchi10

Ok, so now are you set on carbon or would you be open to a sub 1400g wheelset around $500?

bianchi10

are you talking about the litespeed??? if so, what are you talking about with the big extension on the seat post? that seat post is not what I would personally call HIGH.

PatrickGSR94

Yeah that Litespeed seat post is not that high at all.

bianchi10

6speed, I'll send you a PM

kcollier5

Bianchi, what wheelset are you talking about? I know we are off topic, but this is interesting...