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Upgrading the Bike

05.09.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

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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Categories // Components, Equipment Tags // Blount, components, Equipment, guest post, upgrades, wheels

It must be the wheel

09.29.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, after I groused about my warped tire, my friend David suggested I come over and borrow one of his spare wheels. He recently bought them for his five-year-old Fuji, but then he decided to upgrade and got a new Giant Defy. So the Fuji and its almost-new wheels were not being used.

After the Bike Fest, I rode over to his house, and we swapped my front wheel for his. One of the first things he noticed was the feel of my old wheel. “Feel that?” he said. “When you spin it between your fingers, you can feel the grinding in there. This hub needs work.”

We tried the same test with his wheel, and it spun freely. It’s a Forte Titan — the Performance house brand, and appears to be the least expensive road wheel they offer. To top it off, it carried a new Continental Ultra Race tire with a Kevlar belt and a red tread. When mixed with the black and blue paint of my bike, it’s a striking look.

RedwheelThe Forte Titan stands out because of its black spokes, which are flat, and the red tire — which may not be to everyone’s taste.

I haven’t been riding as much lately as I did during the summer, so the new wheel has only been on two Sunday club rides. It seemed okay, although with a 23 mm tire, instead of the previous 25, it felt a tad twitchier. I figured I’d keep it until I had a chance to get my old wheel over to our club bike mechanic, and get his advice about the hub.

Then tonight came the last time trial of the season. I wanted to ride, since no official time was posted for the last TT. My previous best time was 24:10 and 20-something mph. I wanted to beat that tonight, and get my time under 24 minutes.

The ride seemed easy. In fact, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to beat my old time. I was well within my comfort zone for most of the ride. Over the last two miles, I pushed harder than I had during the first six.

Holy cow! My unofficial time was 23:02! I knocked a minute and eight seconds off my previous best. Speed was just a smidge over 21 mph. How was that possible? I’ve been riding less, I don’t “train” for rides like this, and honestly, I felt as though I’d left something out on the course. Sure, I rode hard. But I think I could have ridden harder.

Mrs. Noob nailed it: “No way you improved that much in three weeks,” she said. “It must be that new wheel.”

Yeah, that’s it.

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Categories // Components, Equipment Tags // wheels

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