hewei86cn

Hi All,

I have owned a Specialized Allez for a number of months now, and I'm considering to start making it a better bike by upgrading some of the components. After some consultation and research, I have concluded that I will start with the group set and the wheel set. The original group set that came with the bike is kinda 'sticky' on gear change, i.e one flick of the button sometimes will shift more than one gear, or it may take a number of rotations to lock in a gear. During the research for a new group set, I was reminded by people that I should be conscious about how much I spend on the group set, because after all it was only a 800 dollar bike. I have compared a few popular brands in line with my budget, my preference is the SRAM Rival with priced at just under AUD800. Any thoughts on this group set itself or whether I am right to have such preference?

Now to the wheel set, the bike currently have the stock Alexrims S480 with 700x25C Espoir clinchers, the reviews on this wheel set seem to have been rather poor all around. Any recommendation on wheel sets at around AUD400? Also a friend of mine had a set of Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels that he is going to let go at a good price, any thoughts on it?

Oh and I have forgotten to mention that I ride to commute 2-3 times a week averaging 20kms return and on weekends I tend to find different routes usually between 30 to 50 Kms, I have no plan to participate in any races soon. I have been doing RPM for a little over a year, I found myself totally in love with cycling ever since getting out onto the road a few months ago, so I'm eager to get a better ride. I'm average build weighing 78Kg.

I look forward to your inputs and Thank you in advance!

Henry

dtrain

Henry,

The Fulcrum 7's with nice tires make some sense. What about a tune-up and cables for your group?

rms13

I assume your bike has Sora? Upgrading from an entry level bike it's almost always going to make more sense to just buy a new bike.

But... I have sram apex on my bike. I recommend it. Cheaper than rival and not much difference. The nice thing about sram is all the groups are functionally the same. If you look at weights you will not get any significant savings until red. So for me, I would not upgrade my apex unless I was going to red. If I was shopping new I would consider force if it came on a new bike due to cost but I wouldn't bother with rival if you can get a better price on apex

rpenmanparker 

You should not make upgrades that would increase the investment in the bike by a factor of 2.5. Parts purchased separately are always more expensive than when obtained as part of a complete bicycle purchase. Your most economical course of action is to sell the current bicycle exactly as is and purchase a better one as a full and complete bike. Even with the loss for selling a "used" bike, you will still come out ahead. Also the frame on the new bike will be of a quality commensurate with the parts. That is not necessarily the case if you upgrade the current bike. Also the cockpit parts (seat post, saddle, stem, bars) will likely be better on the better bike without costing you anything more than you were going to invest just in the group and wheels.

Just for example let's assume you can sell your bike for AUD400 which is a very pessimistic estimate. With the AUD1200 that you are considering spending to upgrade it, you can buy a bike for AUD1600. I would be surprised if that wouldn't be a better bike than what you will end up with by upgrading.

Alternatively you can try to take the Allez back to where you bought it and attempt to "trade" it with added cash for a better bike. If it has been ridden as little as you say, the dealer should actually be happy to make you a good deal. He can probably resell your 1st bike for nearly as much as new and make more money on the sale of your 2nd bike.

Don't compound your mistake, correct it.

BoSoxYacht

it sounds like you may have a slightly misaligned derailleur hanger.

rms13

My friend has an entry level Allez. His has Sora and an aluminum fork. If yours is the same model add carbon fork to list of upgrades you'll eventually want which leads more towards upgrading to a new bike.

If the shifting is the only problem, it might be a matter of simple adjustment as previously stated.

achoo

Get the wheels. Ride more.

Then get a whole new bike. Upgrading piecemeal will cost you a lot more than a new bike would - find the cheapest online source for each part, then price out a bike build part-by-part....

After you get the new bike, sell the old one. Or keep it.

bbattle

All of us have gone through the upgradeitis stage. The best advice I got and continue to give is to not upgrade anything until it has worn out and needs replacing. By that time, you'll know more about what you really need.

If you are really set on upgrading the group set and the wheels, then I would do as others have suggested and sell the entire bike.

milkbaby

Straighten your derailer hanger. You'll be quite disappointed that a new groupset has the same exact shifting problems if you don't fix that first, and once you fix it, you might not want to waste money on a new groupset. Spend the money on good contact points (saddle, pedals, shoes, handlebar, bar tape) before the drivetrain, then maybe some better tires and/or wheels. These are upgrades where you'll get the most bang for your buck.