I received a Felt F95 team edition for my birthday last year. After spending a great summer with the bike i have decided to take it to the next level and make my first major upgrade. I have about $500-$600 to spend (im a poor college student). My F95 came with a Shimano Sora and Tiagra mix of components and Alexrim R500 wheels. I have been torn between upgrading to 105 components or getting new wheels... What do people think?

Upgrade the shifters to 105, and anything that's Sora to 105, and leave the rest Tiagra. Save the rest of your money.

If the shifters are Sora, upgrade to 105. Maybe rear derailler too if its Sora.

Buy $300 - $400 wheels.

And I'm a Sophmore in college, and I wish I had $600 to spend on bike stuff

I would probably try and refrain from upgrading if possible.

A new groupset isn't going to make a difference. My bike's got SRAM Rival, and I've switched bikes with my friend. There bike has a Sora/Tiagra 8 speed mix and it works perfectly fine. Just make sure it's tuned up.

Also, new wheels probably won't make a difference either. I'd just stick with the wheels you've got unless they break.

If I were in your shoes and had to choose, I'd go with some Soul 4.0s. They look pretty sweet.

my shifters are made by microshift? front derailler is sora rear is tiagra

Get the wheels because you can keep them when you upgrade the bike. For now, just get some experience on what you have and you'll be better positioned to know what you want or need for your next bike.

IMO the front derailler is the last thing to worry about. Sora should be fine for that.

Steph279, From what I saw on Felt's web site those aren't Sora shifters, maybe one of Shimano's unbranded brifters. I don't see anything that screams for replacement and if you can't decide between wheels or 105 parts I don't think you can either. Poor college kids don't have the moola to p*ss off on a bicycle upgrade, save the money for something more important.

Brad

if you really want to upgrade go with the wheels. a lighter set of wheels will make a noticeable difference. for every 454 grams or 1 pound you take off your wheels it's like losing roughly 7 pounds on the rider, which should ultimately increase your performance. plus you'll have less rotational mass, which will result in faster acceleration and and faster starts from a dead stop. you'll notice going up hills will be a little easier and you'll might even increase your average speed as well.

you can go to any LBS and they'll tell you the wheels are one of, if not the the biggest difference you make on your bike. i'm assuming the wheels on your bike are fairly heavy to start off, so a good light set of wheels will be a huge difference.

I went from Alex R500 wheel set on my Felt Z85 an Easton wheel set (saving 1.70 lbs) and the bike feels totally different, in a good way. As noted before my acceleration has gotten better, average speed has gone up, my top end speed has gone up, i able to maintain a high speed in a lower gear to a longer period of time, going up hills has gotten easier as well.

Neither. Your budget just isn't enough. Save your money. School is more important.

Wheels. Just make sure that your actually upgrading. Those Alex are pretty heavy (guessing around 1800 to 1900 grams). Dig around the internet and you'll find some 1700 to 1600 gram wheels. Lighter than that may be over your budget. Reynolds Solitudes weigh in at 1540g for around $500. Most weigh their wheels without the skewers so factor in 100grams to any weights you may encounter while browsing.

That.

But if you're not gonna listen to those advising you not to upgrade, then upgrade the wheels.

I upgraded both on mine

Shimano 2200 to Sram Force

and

stock $100 wheelset to Fulcrum Racing Ones

Unless your groupset is complete crap upgrade the wheels first.

Good one, bro!

save your money. is there a reason you want to upgrade? if you want to improve your speed as others have said, wheels. you can take wheels with you to another bike. I would keep a new set of wheels as big ride/weekend wheels. train on old wheels and you're feel stronger and faster on the fast wheels.

I'd wait until you have a bigger budget. As you gain fitness, you will start to think the $600 set of wheels not good enough anymore and then you will want more.

Work on your motor first and keep saving, once you have a decent budget then start buying new stuff. Also buyig a bike in full is often cheaper in the long run than making incremental upgrades.

$600 buys an AWFUL LOT of beer in college man!!! leave the bike alone, ride the piss out of it, when you graduate drop some real coin on a nice ride as a present to yourself for making it thru... this simply isn't a big enough deal at this point in your life...

Biking started out as a way to drop a few extra pounds over the summer and keep my legs conditioned, I row crew, so over the summer i was working going to school and riding. The money i have leftover is about $600 and i wanted to spend some or all on my bike... Plus you can find deals this time of year.

Great looking bike!

If you must scratch the itch...

Cold weather gear? Michigan... should be already getting pretty cold on if you not, bib knickers/tights can be pricy. arm/leg warmers. Head cover, long fingered clothes, long sleeve wind proof jersey/bike jacket whatever can keep you on the bike through cold weather.

Groupset would give a nice feel/quality upgrade, not really performance. I'd do new 2011 105 shifters, the new 2011 stuff with all hidden cables is nice, very clean look, and feel great. You may want/need new 10sp cassette/chain/RD to go along with it though, I did all that on my bike for a little ~$400 couple months back.

Any fit improvements? Saddle, different bar reach drop? to make riding more comfortable? shoes/cllipless pedals if you don't? Solve any weird issues you've had.

Wheelset might give you better acceleration/climbing performance...

If you have to spend the money on your bike, I'd get something that is transferable to a new better bike, that you way eventually want to buy. Stuff like a saddle, new wheels. If you don't nice bibs or shoes/pedals those would be worth upgrading.

However, I suggest you save the money. I'm in my third year at college and wish I had $600 saved up.

The last time I had $600 burning a hole in my pocket was college. Although my income has tripled since then, so has my financial obligations.

I agree that you should wait on upgrading. $600 really isn't going to be enough to get you where you want to go. Ride the hell out of that bike and keep saving.

Use the money to replace consumeables (tires, chain, cables), address any comfort issues like a seat that doesn't work for you, and buy clothes and tools.

This. I've already scraped ice off of my windshield a few mornings before work. Ride as long as you can! It's just going to get colder/rainier/snowier in the next few weeks.