dimabear

currently have a 2009 cervelo s2. upgrades so far are a new saddle (selle) to fix the 'numbness' and new wheels, ksyrium elites. i replaced the chain, bottom bracket, brake pads, and rear cassette at 3000 miles. using mountain bike shoes and spd pedals. what would you guys upgrade next?

i was thinking of road shoes and pedals. just wanted to get you guys/gals' thoughts. LBS said the person who put together the bike didn't even use the right bottom bracket in the first place! no wonder that LBS (forgot the name, but in pleasanton, CA) is no longer in business.

i didn't want to spend over $500 so i was thinking either:
-pedals/shoes
-gopro helmet camera (i know it's not an upgrade but was thinking it would be nice to have)
-crankset

calamarichris

In order of importance:
~Pro-fitting. (Money spent on the engine is never money wasted.)
~Shoes & insoles
~Road pedals

You might want to show up at the profitting with the new shoes and pedals.
For decades, I wasted money on sewups, cooler looking cranksets, different brake pads, and the latest, designer Oakley sunglasses. Really wish I'd spent that $150 on the profitting first. By far the best bang-for-buck.

After you've got the fitting and the contact points all wired, next I'd go for is either slick wheels or a power meter. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Sir Real

So then shouldn't the order of importance be reversed?
1) pedals
2) shoes (worthless without pedals)
3) fit

LowCel 

Stiff shoes are more important than pedal choice. A proper fit even with cheaper shoes / pedals is more beneficial than anything else you can do. If you aren't in a position that you can put out power for long periods of time without being uncomfortable / damaging knees, hips, etc, then you are wasting your money on upgrades.

Sir Real

I agree, I was merely commenting on calamarchris' statement that a pro fit is more important than new shoes and pedals, but you should show up to your fitting with your new shoes and pedals.

Jeepnut22 

"GOOD" fitment locations will let you come back for a tweak after a new shoe/pedal purchase (or other similar change) for free. Investigate their policies and guarantees on fitment before deciding on which fitment place to use.

Other than that, I like the shoe/pedal option as the next upgrade. Did make a big difference for me when I finally made that change.

Inertianinja

pedals and shoes, because:

- the idea of having an S2 with mountain bike pedals is cringeworthy.
- it will provide the greatest benefit
- you won't notice the difference any crankset would make...even if you buy some ultralight cranks, you're still using MTB shoes.
- helmet camera, please don't.

calamarichris

Negative. If you cannot afford to get all three, get the pro-fit first. If you have enough for all three, get the pedals & shoes, so you can get them set up properly by the fitter.
I still think the fitting is the most important, even if it means riding with mountainbike shoes on a road bike for a few weeks or months.

X-LinkedRider

Hey Dima. I completely agree with the above in regards to the fitting, shoes/pedals. But a picture of the bike would be nice so the vultures on here can say, raise this, lower this, and buy new tires.

cafzali

Personally, I'd go pro fit or nothing. I don't really get why some are obsessed about pedal and shoe combinations. I have a nice road bike that has SPD mountain pedals on it and while the shop that sold it to me didn't understand why I didn't want to go with new pedals and shoes, I just didn't get the point. You never see the pedals someone's using when they're actually riding, so it should come down to how well they actually work for you. And if they work, why change 'em?

bobones

Get a Garmin Edge 500, 510, 800, or 810 with HRM and speed/cadence if you don't already have one. I would also recommend a Strava premium account for analysing the rides from your Garmin.

atallen223

Flame decals...

dimabear

thanks for the replies everyone. i used to mountain bike and so that's why i had spd pedals on the s2 so didn't have to buy 2nd pair of shoes/pedals. i don't mountain bike anymore though. i noticed that no matter how tight i make my shoes, my heel still rises on the upswing, perhaps my shoes are getting old...matter of fact, i think i bought 2 sizes too big (41 instead of 39) when i purchased them back in 2009.

thanks again for the input, i think i'll go to my LBS and get a fit/shoe/pedals this weekend!

calamarichris

Good luck and keep us abreast of how it goes. (Or two.)
If you're getting all three, get the shoes & pedals first, so the fitter can set you up with them.
(Be a mistake to have the fitter set you up with your current shoes/pedals, then replace them.)

Seattle Forrest

Road pedals will provide almost no benefit over mountain pedals. You can get road pedals that weigh less, but at several times the price.

garysol1 

Incorrect in my opinion. First off a road pedal has a wider contact area and after 5 hours in the saddle you will feel a thinner MTB cleat.Also in MOST cases there are many many more stiff road shoes than there are mountain shoes. Light weight carbon road shoes will not allow for a MTB cleat. For touring where you are not putting down a lot of power for long periods of time MTB cleats are fine but for performance road biking its just a bad idea.

StanSeven

Yep. You want road pedals and road shoes for the reasons Gary mentioned. You can get by with mtn shoes and pedals even for things like touring. But serious road use requires stiff shoes and pedals with a wide contact area.

caloso

Midrange pedals, top of the line shoes.

garysol1 

Agreed......

Seattle Forrest

That's funny because I have a few pairs of light carbon-fiber soled MTB shoes. I wore them while riding my Cervelo up the highest paved road in the state, up Mt Rainier, up Mt Baker, and over a few mountain passes: Snoqualmie, Steven's, Cayuse, Chinook, Rainy, Blewett, and Swauk.

Road pedals are nice, too, but they don't make you a better or stronger cyclist. And you definitely don't need them to ride a road bike.

The ironic part is if you ride your bike a lot on mountain roads, it's easy and common to run out of water. Scrambling down to the nearest creek to get more is a great solution (and a UV purifier weighs ounces), and it winds up being really nice to have shoes that you can walk around in.

cplager

+1

I don't see how a stiff mountain bike shoe is any less efficient than a stiff road shoe. And once you are attached to the pedal with a stiff shoe, how is the road combination more efficient?