New rider here and have a question about upgrading a bike. Just recently bought a 2012 Trek 4.5 and always here about people upgrading components on a bike. Long term what are some things for me to look at if any to upgrade and why?

Thanks in advance.

I have a 2011 of the same bike. I have read that most upgrade wheels and breaks first. I think the wheels are fine, but find the breaks to be just OK. That would be my first change.

Ive ridden the Madone 3.1 and 5.2 for 2012... most of the components are really solid. If you want to upgrade just to better your ride. You'll want to get a more comfortable saddle....and get rid of those heavy Bontrager wheels. For a few hundred dollars you can lighten up that wheelset by well over a pound, get stiffer rims and lighter weight tubes and tires. That's the most noticeable difference you will be able to make to that bike.

I have a Madone 4.6 with SRAM Rival. I'm real happy with the drivetrain and the brakes do the job.

My first upgrade was a professional fit.

Now i'm looking into upgrading the wheels. I'm tossed between carbon fiber wheels and lighter alloy wheels. I have the opportunity to use my son's Bontrager RXL wheels and Aeolus 7 CF wheels. I'd get the CF but I keep hearing that I won't like the breaking vs the alloy wheels. Since i don't race, i'll try his for a few weeks and make a decision then. It looks like for the cost of cheap CF wheels I can get really nice alloy.

what would be some good wheels to look for?

Other than wheels I would not upgrade anything. I had a 2011 trek madone 4.5 and swapped everything I could on it, after a year I sold it and got a 2012 6.2 now I realize all the money I spent on the 4.5 was wasted because the 6.2 blows it out of the water.

Depends on your size and how and where you ride. Do some searches here on wheels, there are plenty of threads to read.

Considering you just bought the bike I'd ride it a 1000km before you consider upgrading things. Some seat time will help you figure out what areas will be important to you. That said....given how the 4.5 is spec'd, I'd go with lighter wheels first as the stocks are plenty heavy. However, as said above, the type and construction of the wheel will greatly depend on your particular needs/riding style.

Don't buy upgrades.

Ride up grades.

Pffft. Said by a guy who got his bikes paid for by a sponsor.

As the owner of a brand new 3.1 that has never ridden the higher end frames, what differences do you feel between the levels of carbon? Mine, admittedly at the bottom of the carbon Madone ladder, feels plenty stiff. Is it just a matter of road feel or weight?

I thought the Madone 3.1 was pretty stiff too. The 5.2 seems even a little stiffer and a little more responsive. It was about 2 1/2 lbs lighter I believe. So that helps some. The extra carbon seat post etc... makes the ride a little nicer too. So yes, feels a little lighter on the road. I gained just over 1/2 mph on the 3.1 to 5.2 upgrade....then another 1/2 mph when I upgraded the wheels and lost another pound there. I went from my hard 10 mile training mile loop at 18.25 mph avg - to now all over 20mph avg in just over 1 month.

The the OP - take a look at Boyd, Williams, ROL to name a couple. I have the Boyd Vitesse in the 24x28 spokes. 1520 grams. Love them. If you're not going to be racing...just make sure not to go overboard with wheels.

I like to take breaks while I brake.

2.5 lbs... That's significant, how much of that is the frame itself vs bars/stem/wheels/drivetrain?

The feel is a lot snapper, instant power transfer, fast acceleration, feels more stable at faster speeds down hill. I put a sram red crank on my 4.5 and it was a night and day difference when Irode the 6.2 (ultegra crank. Don't get me wrong the 3 and 4 series bikes are very nice bikes. Also don't fail for the weight differences, it doesn't make that much difference when casual riding.

Oh yeah, what happens if you rode on a road?

Ride more, after doing that ride some more, then try to figure out which part of the bike is the limiting factor, then ride some more! Better yet HTFU!

Saddle, tires, wheels nouther bike.

Agreed... investing in drivetrain upgrades is a waste of money.... unless your old is worn out and needs to be replaced.

Saddle, tires and wheels can easily be moved to a new bike.