Has anyone who owns a pista upgraded the stock fork to a carbon fork? Is it worth it? Any noticible difference riding on the street?

my friend did, after he crashed and destroyed the stock fork.
he seems to like it.
i haven't been able to really notice any major difference with it, but that doesnt really mean anything because when I ride his 59cm with extra-long seat post (he is 6'4" and about 5' of that are his legs) there are about a dozen other factors taking my attention away from how the fork feels.
Personally, I own a pista, and I've put my money into other upgrades. I find nothing wrong with the stock fork.

I'm debating between getting a brooks saddle or upgrading the fork.

brooks saddle, no brainer.
the stock pista saddle is trash.

I have a wide as$ and the stock saddle is a little too narrow for me. Is the b17 my best bet??

I like the b17 A LOT.
I've never ridden a swift or a finesse or anything else so I can't really compare.
All I know is that the b17 is ridiculous comfortable, there are no pressure points at all.
And I have a bubble butt too.
With how much more money a swift is, I'd say the B17 is the best option.

My other problem is that i think i got sold a bike too big for me. I feel way too streched out. I flipped the stem and added a set of bullhorns, which seem to help. i also moved the saddle as far forward as it can go but now i kinda get knee pain when i ride. I'm thinking of swapping the stock stem for a shorter one.

Thanks.

yeah, the stock stem is pretty long.
I looked into doing that for a while but couldn't find exactly what I wanted.
Knee pain is never good, I'd definitely move the seat back until the knee pain goes away.
As far as the frame being too big for you and feeling stretched out, shorter stem is all I can really think of to help fix the problem.
Well, that and the thought that you'll probably get used to it eventually.
If the bike is a recent purchase (and very recent) then you might be able to exchange it at the LBS at which you bought it.

Seats and wheels. The two most important parts on your bike.

I got a shorter stem and flipped it, and went with bullhorns.
That let me move my saddle back.
I like the stock saddle, except for the weight; still, it weighs less than a Brooks.

My Pista's stock wheels have eyelets and weight 405 grams.
If they don't fail, and they show no sign of doing that, how can I improve on that?
DT Swiss RR 1.1 rims weigh 415 grams and would cost a pretty penny.
As long as my present rims don't fail, I can't see replacing them.

My stock headset didn't make it a year.
I've replaced it with a Chris King headset.

I also bought a couple of Sugino/SR chainrings and EAI cogs from Sheldon Brown and with the chainrings in the outboard postion and the cogs installed with the flange inboard, I have a remarkably perfect chainline.

I also upgraded my pedals to double-sided Shimanos.
They probably weigh a little more than the stock double-sided pedals, but they work beautifully.

I've swapped to a carbon fork on my '04 pista. Reason was when I started riding on hills I noticed a lot of flex on the stock fork. If you have a brake you can test it out by getting up to speed and then slamming the brake.

jeff

I got a Specialized Alias saddle. Expensive, but very comfortable. It comes in 3 widths--you sit on some memory foam at the LBS to measure your best width. The stock fork seems ok to me--I did 54 miles last Saturday, but the roads were mostly smooth.

agreed. and the 05 silver one is just awful.

when i bought mine (05) it had already been upgraded to a better bianchi saddle which was also a pos. two days later i put on a brooks b17 and it's all love.

next is a new fork, but steel, not carbon, and it's really an aesthetic thing, because imo the stock fork is fugly

Yeah, I replaced the stock fork with an Easton EC30 carbon fork that I bought from Nashbar. I never really liked the feel of the steel fork, plus it was a$$-ugly, in my opinion. There is definately a difference in handling and ride quality. The fork really soaks up pavement joints -- it makes the whole ride feel smoother. The difference really is night-and-day. I was a bit concerned about the effects on handling, since the original fork had a rake of 28mm, and the Easton has a 43mm rake. This effectively reduced the trail by 15.6mm, which theoretically should make the handling less stable. Although, I haven't noticed any reduction in the stability, and in fact it feels more "precise" in its handling than it did before.

I also replaced the stock pedals with Time ATAC Aliums, I installed a shorter stem (90mm) and replaced the stock saddle with my old WTB Podium saddle. I also added some nice 4mm thick keirin grips. I thought the gearing was a bit low for the velodrome, so I replaced the cheapo 16t cog with a 15t Dura Ace. I removed a couple links from the chain, which reduced my wheelbase by a bit.

A note about the wheels: I kept popping spokes on the rear wheel of my '05 Pista. Curiously enough, the spokes broke right at the threaded end, and not at the head, which apparently is a sign of weak spokes. I had the entire rear wheel rebuilt with Wheelsmith 14ga. spokes. The guy who rebuilt my wheel has an '04 Pista, with the same spokes, weighs about 235 lbs, and has never had any problems. So, maybe mine were just built from a bad batch. Anyway, I would still consider upgrading the wheels in the future.

oh yeah first thing i did was replace the stock stem. i did it after the first ride (canal to 125th) cause my shoulders were hurting from the stretch. actually forgot because it was like the first day i bought the bike.

i also put mks pedals on there because i prefer clips on fixed

next upgrades will be fork/cockpit, then cranks, then wheels

i replaces the stem and got bullhorns and got a chain tug and MKS pedals and a wtb saddle i'm not going to put any more money into it except maybe when the time comes tires.

other wise i'm all saving for my next bike

As many people have been saying, the Pista is not a real bike so upgrades aren't even an option.

Now that's the funniest post EVER.

When in doubt, always follow the opinion of the herd.

By the way, what does constitutes a "real" bike?

i must not be a real person cause i love the springy feel of my pista and stock fork. i did ditch the headset for a ck and the bb for an fsa platinum.

An unreal person here, too.
I love the way my Pista performs and looks.
What does a real person ride?

A real person rides a bike that is made out of matter and actually exists.

This forum needs another brooks recommender like it needs more pista threads, but I'll go for it anyway:

I finally broke down and put a b17 on the Masi, replacing a Terry Fly Ti (about 8 of these together weigh the same as the brooks). best move. Ever. I had no idea what comfort was before. I'm faster, too...comfort does that too you, and I feel much better in the drops!

I dont know why everyone here hates pistas. Aside from the sizing problem, I love the way it handles and cannot remember the last time i had so much fun on a bike. I didnt have 1 G to spend on a prof track bike or the time or know-how to dig up and quicken a old beater. I feel my purchase was well worth the money. I happen to like the way it looks and I am simply interested in fixing my sizing problem and making the most cost effective upgrades. Sorry