Bike Noob

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Downgrading: A Tough Decision

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I’ve written about my recent efforts to upgrade my bike.  So have my guest posters, Don Blount and Jeff Hemmel.  So after my problems Saturday, I faced a difficult decision.

As you’ll recall, I broke my right shifter — the one that controls the rear derailleur.

I took the bike into the LBS, and the guy looked over the shifter.  He had bad news: The shift cable had broken off inside the shifter, and he couldn’t get it out.  “These things aren’t really made to be serviced,” he said.  “You’ll have to replace it.”

Ouch. I didn’t want to hear that.  Shifters are expensive.

The Sora shifter, with its characteristic thumb trigger for upshifts.

“Lemme see what’s in stock,” he said.  He came back with a Shimano Sora shifter.  My bike has Tiagra shifters — one level up in the Shimano hierarchy.  The Sora is at the low end of Shimano’s lineup.

I asked about getting another Tiagra.  He said it would have to be ordered.  On top of that, it would cost 50 percent more than the Sora.  Another ouch.

I hemmed and hawed.  If I ordered the Tiagra, it would be several days before I had a bike.  If I had him put on the Sora, I would be downgrading my bike.

On the other hand, I recalled my only previous experience with Sora equipment: On a rental bike two summers ago.  It worked fine.  I thought about the price.  I thought about making the ride the next day that I had been wanting to do.

“Go ahead and put on the Sora,” I told him.  “And while you’re at it, the headset needs adjusting, and I need a new chain.”

An hour later, it was all ready.  I made my ride the next day.

The shifter performed well.  Not flawlessly.  It’s less precise than the Tiagra, which is not in itself the most precise shifter.  I learned on the ride that it helped  to plan my shifts more than I’d been used to, and to click the little thumb trigger very definitely — no flicking the thumb at it and expecting a clean shift.

This evening, I took the bike out to our local time trial.  I had to turn the barrel adjusters to tighten the derailleur cable, because it was jumping cogs, popping off the cog when I applied force, and being generally cranky.  I went out on the eight-mile course, and it appears from my unofficial time that I set a personal best, beating my old mark by at least 30 seconds.  I was very careful and deliberate with my shifts out there.

I think it will take several more rides before I’m used to it.  There will be lots more time spent adjusting the cables in the coming week.  But after my experience with it over the past couple of days, I intend to make it work.

The Upgraded Bike

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Over the past month, my bike has acquired a new seat, new handlebars, and a new crankset. The seat came at the recommendation of my sore butt, and the bars and cranks at the recommendation of my bike fitter. The question is: Has all this stuff made a difference?

You bet they have.

First, the seat. It’s a WTB Speed V. I’ve already posted on this. I still like it, and since I’ve had it for more than a month without any complaints, I guess I can keep it permanently. I wish I’d gone this route a long time ago.

The handlebars. I got a pair of 44 cm bars, although the bike fitter recommended 46  But he said I could get by with a minimum width of 44 centimeters. I picked up a used pair at a good price. Even though they’re only 2 cm wider than the old bars, I can feel the difference.  There’s a less constricted feeling in the chest, resulting in a more comfortable riding position. The new bar is a smaller diameter than the bar it replaced, but that’s only really noticeable when I grab the top during climbs.  Not a big deal.

The crankset. I replaced the Shimano Tiagra crankset that came with the bike with a Truvativ Rouleur.  The new cranks are shorter — 172.5 mm instead of 175s.  This is the change I was most interested in, because I was told it would make climbing easier. I suppose it has, although as noted here a few days ago, I’m working more on hills than I have in the past, so I’m getting stronger legs anyway.  However, what I have noticed is that it makes turning the pedals easier. I get moving faster, and I run at a somewhat higher cadence than I had been. In other words, they’re easier to ride than the old cranks, and I am pleasantly surprised at the change.

So, as Don Blount reported last month, upgrading the bike results in a better ride. If you know what you need and have some spare cash lying around, you can coax more performance from your bike without having to spend big bucks for a whole new one.

Upgrading the Bike

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Guest poster Don Blount has been making improvements.

I am really enjoying my new bike. At the same time I am not missing my old bike. That’s because my new bike is my old bike but improved. I did the next best thing to getting a new bike, I upgraded components on my old bike.

After about 18 months of riding I just wanted my bike, a Scattante CFR Comp, to perform better.

I don’t know if I could say that I outperformed the bike but it seemed that I was putting too much work into keeping the bike moving (if that makes sense) and wanting it to be more comfortable as the saddle began to become unbearingly uncomfortable. Also riding in the hills, which are not forgiving, and a difficult metric century I have targeted for late June motivated me to want to have the bike running at its optimum.

This evaluation came on the heels of replacing a chain and cassette, which is not included in the cost below since that was routine maintenance. Once I started with the saddle, everything else followed.

The bike has a carbon frame and seatpost and a combination Shimano Ultegra and 105 drivetrain. Those parts along with the cable covers, stem and brake levers are the only original parts remaining.

I did a lot of comparison shopping, buying everything online and on sale from various retailers.

Here is a list of the original part, the new part and the cost in order of replacement, including tax and shipping:

Original Part New Part Cost
Forte Saddle Selle Italia SLR Gel Flow Saddle

$99
Xero Element Wheelset Williams 30X Wheelset

$529
Tektro Brakes Ultegra Dual Pivot 6600 Brakeset

$100
Truvative Rouleur Crankset Ultegra 6650 Crankset

$190
Transit Saddlebag  (110 cu in) Fizik Saddle pack (30 cu in)

$11.50
Forte Precision Alloy Handlebars Ritchey Pro Carbon Matrix Handlebars

$117
Total $1046.50

I spent a few hundred dollars less on the upgrades than I spent on the bike brand new. Why not just get a new bike? Because I didn’t want to spend three or four times this amount. The wheelset was the big ticket item but also had the biggest impact in terms of performance. I would advise anyone considering upgrading parts on their bike to do that first.


Some of Don’s upgrades. Click on each picture for a larger view.

I learned a lot by this as well. For example, despite a professional bike fitting, I was never comfortable riding in the drops. I learned that my handlebars were too long and the drops too deep. The new ones are not as long, the drop shallower and a much better fit for me.

All the new parts are lighter and so is the bike by a pound or two. Overall, it is a better ride.

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