Mid/upper-level parts on bottom-level frame?
 

Has anyone ever upgraded parts on a cheaper bike, only to later buy a really nice frame and swap the parts over? I had grand plans to build a mid-level SS/FG this year but the project will have to wait. Instead, I think I may upgrade my wheels and drive train and perhaps over the winter buy a better frame and swap the parts over.

Granted, my Kilo has served me well (and continues to do so) but I have the itch for something lighter, possibly aluminum.

Thanks in advance for the helpful replies!

Yes, several times. Visp > Dolan Pre Cursa. Motobecane Messenger > Leader Cretin. Basically, as long as the parts will fit on the new frame, then it's worth it. Remember that your Kilo TT has a 26.8mm seatpost, so don't spend any money upgrading it, b/c you won't be able to use it on the new frame. Ditto on the stem.

I've got a Kilo frame I built up with mostly mid, some upper level parts. I bought just the frame/fork and built it like I wanted. I don't really plan on buying a new frame anytime soon. A lighter wheelset might be in it's future though, and I'm going to need a new chain soon.

I'd much rather ride a bike with a crap frame ( though kilo is far from crap ) and good wheels/crank than a nice frame with bottom shelf wheels and cranks.

I 'upgraded' to an alum/carbon bike, to find it was worse than my old bike, took a few hundred bucks of upgrading the crap parts to get it to ride nice.

Don't get me wrong... My Kilo TT does the job and has served me well. And just maybe some upgraded parts will do the trick.

Pound Sign: Kilo TT

But yeah people put nice parts on lower end stuff and sometimes put lower end stuff on nicer bikes. Build up what works for you, upgrade when you can and don't upgrade if you don't need to.

Heck if you look at Chris King's personal bike (or at least the one he just brought to Japan) he is running lower end Campy stuff (granted it is still Campy) on a handbuilt frame with Reynolds 953 and Columbus SL tubing. The bike is still balleur as fuxckx but has an odd bit of part that you might not expect on such a high end bike from one of the most ubiquitous high end cycling parts maker

For the stem you can always run a 1 1/8th steerer stem with a steerer shim. Nothing wrong with that and you can move it, sans shim, on to your new frameset come time.

If one has a well fitted basic frameset w/ smoothly functioning components the Old School regimen was to leave well enough alone and put in the seat time necessary for developing Endurance, Power and Speed. No hardware "upgrade" will provide any of the above, but a good reliable basic machine will serve just as well as a costly modified one.

That being said budgeting for a properly fitted machine suitable for long term use with quality components is inevitable if one stays with the sport.
Incrementalism is generally not cost effective in cycling, replace what wears out: the point being riding enough to actually wear it out........:twitchy:

Now having saved and put in enough miles to actually know what one requires: Spend $$$$ and have at it for a few decades of FG use.

PS: You will need a winter/wet/commuter bike at some point, you may be riding it now. Fix what wears out and keep it in service w/o expensive doo-dads.


-Bandera

You know, I've never understood when people on here have talked about "upgrading" a seatpost. It's a pipe. It has no moving parts. Weight savings in this area are not enough to matter. It seems like a tremendous waste of time and money to "upgrade" this pipe.

I've seen so many Leaders built up with nice components. And I"ll never understand why.

I see nothing wrong with putting high end components temporarily on a low-mid range frame in preparation of a higher end frame, Especially when the starting frame is a Kilo TT. Frame dates women way out of its league.

Part of bicycling for many is playing with the bikes. Two of my bikes are mid level frames with great parts. It just happened over time. As long as you ride it, go crazy with mods that make you happy for whatever reason you want, it is your bike. The only "bad" bikes are the ones that do not get ridden.

About the only upgrade you can do to a seatpost imo, is going from a one bolt to two bolt post. Who cares about the weight of the thing.

Agreed. After finally a "nice" seatpost with a two bolt clamp after years of fighting posts that always slip or are hard to make precise adjustments on, I will never go back.


As far a parts in general, geometry aside, all but the most experienced of riders will not be able to tell the difference between a cheap and expensive frame. A cheap frame with nice wheels and drive train will ride much better than a nicer frame with lower quality wheels/drive train.

Going from a one bolt to a two bolt is a big upgrade as is a setback post and sometimes materials can make a difference. However yes in the most simple of terms it is mostly a pipe (though the saddle clamps are moveable).

Sometimes materials make a difference? It's a pipe. A setback post isn't an upgrade either, because if you need one all you're doing is replacing the wrong part with the right one. That's a sideways move.

I just bought a $160 NJS seatpost for my new build. All you haters can suck my balls.

because for awhile here, people sucked leader off and it was the coolest bike ever. now that ship has sailed....

Another sig-worthy quote.

Two years ago I wanted one really bad. After reading the stories from Scrod... glad I didn't.

funny how people change their tune so quickly about things....

Hey, the only reason I signed up for this forum was after I drunkenly bought a 735 frame and came here to ***** about it.

It came with 3+ years and counting, worth of entertainment! That's a great deal.

That's why you buy Cinelli. To get sucked off for life.

lol.

It's an upgrade if it makes you more comfortable. It may be a wrong part right part switch but it still can be an upgrade.

As far as pipe materials you can get crabons or titaniums, steel or aluminum each with different properties for vibration dampening and such. Plus you can get fancy dropper pipes for moun-tain biking which are the bee's gotdamn knees!

But hey haters gonna hate, playas gonna play and me I would rather just ride my bike all day ; )

i went from a state bicycle frame to a all city thunderdome. Transferred my omniums with an all city pursuit chain ring, thomson stem and seat post over.

What i learned from this whole thing was you can put lipstick on a pig but its still a pig. The Thunderdome with garbage parts would still be a better riding bike than the state with the parts i had on it. So in my opinion id upgrade the frame then upgrade the components from there.

Respectfully disagree with this. I also owned a State 4130 complete. Rode it stock for 6 months then started a build on a different frame with S300s, HPlus archetypes/sealed forumlas/ fsa cockpit. Just recently went back to State and transferred all mentioned parts onto the new Contender frame (which I'm sure most here would be easily convinced rides the same as reg 4130 state frame, even though I can tell you there's a difference). Even still the difference in frames is minimal, the upgrade in parts make it a night and day experience from my old 4130 complete. Long story short I believe the parts make a huge difference, particularly drivetrain/wheelsets.

Edit* As I typed that I realized you had much better parts on your state than what I was riding (stock). So what you mostly experienced was a frame over frame improvement going to the All City in my opinion.

even stock gen 1 contender minus those awful stock wheels was not a massive difference from where i had it. The bigger difference came from changing frames. But i guess i had immediately eliminated the weakest link on the state by removing the stock wheels and tires (removed like 2 or 3lbs and it wasnt like i put a <1500g wheelset on there)

So my recommendation would be to get a quality wheelset first and foremost. Then move onto the drive train (chain, cog, lock ring, crankset, bb)

I Dont recommend omniums over s100's (if they even sell them anymore). They are only marginally stiffer for what twice the price?

Word. We definitely agree the 800lb state wheel set and bendy straw drivetrain are the weakest links haha. And not to jack the OP's thread - this is likely the area you want to focus as far as WHAT quality parts you're going to put on a mid level frame if that's the route you're going down.

I'm happy with the S300's. The GXP BB is a nice upgrade over the powerspline, but the S300 doesn't leave me with enough to be desired to justify the bump in price to the omniums.