I bought a Trek 1.5 earlier in the year to help get fitter, well after 3 months of it doing very little it is now getting weekly 30+ mile rides. I have to say I am really enjoying it, and I can feel a massive difference when riding my local trails.

So with been new to the roadie thing and without swapping it for a madone, what are the first upgrades I should look at?

Wheels and tyres are always good they will add a bit of speed.

Some decent bar tape can improve comfort considerably and is a nice, cheap start.

Bang for buck;

1) SPD-SL
2) Vittoria Corsa evo CX 23mm Tyres
3) Latex tubes

Everything else quickly gets you into diminishing returns.

4) Wheels – No factory crap, buy some Ultegra/DA or Chorus/Record (if you have any class) laced onto mavic OP's with Sapim lazers or DT somethings.

I would second wheels and tyres.

I second upgrading the wheelset, i'm in the exact same position – i've got a Trek 1.5 too and couldn't believe how heavy the rear wheel was when I had it out to mend a flat last week, Hope Pro II/Mavic XM719 wheel for my Orange is loads lighter.

Might be worth getting a decent cassette too, the stock ones are a hell of a lump

Sort the contact points – saddle, shoes, good clipless pedals (it's a subjective choice and I wouldn't but anything on one person's reccomendation alone)

Light tyres and rims (wheels).

I don't know much about your bike but functionally stuff from tiagra up works well and isn't worth upgrading IMO…save for a new frame or bike.

So other than the Vittoria Corsa evo CX 23mm Tyres as recommended, any other favorites!!

Guess it might be cheaper to lose a stone…

lighter wheels and 60+ miles

If I bought a 1.5 I'd do what everyone else I know has done to theirs- swap to a HT2 style crankset, the FSA Vero is crap. It needs decent tyres (Corsas are good) too. Otherwise, for the money, the wheels are good and light enough, finishing kit good quality (you could get a carbon post) and gears reasonable. I'd say do the cranks and save so that you can buy a better specced "summer" bike in the future.

Thing is I only ever saw this as a way to get more from mountain biking, I could in theory sell another bike and fund a much better one, but really I thought I wouldn't get much more from it without getting competitive and joining a club…

tyres I thought would probably be the first step and tube, and I thought the cassette looked bulky…

I guess it really boils down to how much ridding I do…

Regardless, the wheels on a 1.5 are good but the cranks are the weak spot where money was saved. Upgrading to Tiagra cranks would be good, or even a Bonty Race chainset if you want to keep it matching.

Not really a bike part upgrade, but you'll be going a lot quicker in no time at all!

New bar tape, better brake blocks and Vredestein Fortezza TriComp Quattro tyres.

A nice wheelset is never a bad investment, as you can keep it if you do choose to upgrade the bike.

I'm in the same position, got an allez elite, going to upgrade the wheels asap, thinking of second hand on ebay. should have 200 to spend, so should get a good upgrade fr that sort of money

If you want to upgrade the components i have a brand new 105 group set.

my new road bike is being delivered on Thursday but i have managed to get a full Duraace group set at a good price.

e-mail me if interested and i can even spec it with the size cranks you want.

other than that the best place would be wheels, tyres and tubes.

If it ain't broke, just ride it!

My advice is to leave it exactly as it is, but keep it well maintained and clean. If bits break, or wear out, get cheap replacements.

If you are still doing 30m plus rides a week this time next year, build a better bike.

Keep your current bike for the winter and bad weather.

As has been said, wheels are the number 1 candidate for upgrading. Cheap crappy wheels are the main blight on bikes of a grand or less, not just heavy but some are also prone to spoke loosening and failures. Saddle would be the next obvious thing unless you get on well with the stock one. Other than that I'd just upgrade as bits wear out (I certainly wouldn't replace a nearly-new cassette as a priority!).

Everybody's said the obvious, and they're right.

How's your riding position? I've heard of a service called Bikefit where your angles etc are all measured and saddle and handlebar positions altered to give the best results. Even crank lengths and shoe inserts are looked at, as well as bar width and profile.

3rd, 4thd or 5thed Wheels.

I'd go factory, just becasue they'r easier to buy/sell second hand. And your not likely to pringle road wheels like mtb ones so replacement parts arent so bad an issue (i'd never get factory wheels for an MTB).

Tires and tubes, go for conti GP4000 and conti supersonic (50g) tubes, avoid latex as they'r irepairable and also weigh 50g so pointless.

Bar tape, saddle, roadie SPD's are all good bits to get right.

Chainset and BB will shed the most weight usualy (there are some very very heavy sqr taper shimano OEM BB's out there!)

Then carbon bits, bars, chainset (although lighter and alloy is just as good) and seatpost to dampen vibrations, more an issue on longer rides where your hands start to go numb from the constant buzz.

Then I'd go for the forks, usualy a good bet for shedding half a lb.

Beyond that you break through the £1 per g barrier (i.e. your spending more than £1 to save off each gram) which is the point i'd call it a day!)

Keep the old bits, then when you get the upgrade itch go for a new frame, transfer the new bits over and sell the old one as stock.

quentinfarquar – Member
So other than the Vittoria Corsa evo CX 23mm Tyres as recommended, any other favorites!!

Guess it might be cheaper to lose a stone…

Not sure if this was a specific tyre question… Ultremo's here combined with superlight tubes. Very light and nifty. Makes a change to my Paselas/Marathons on the tourers.

don't buy supersonics, they tear like single ply Andrex. Latex aren't repairable but you'll never hole them so it doesn't matter, I went through 5 supersonics in under 6 months, i hven't lost a latex tube in 18 months. You do need to fill them every ride though…

I'm with Cynic-al, gte your contact points sorted, saddle, pedals, shoes and bars. Ensure you have the saddle and bars at exactly the right angles and heights, a few mm and few degrees here and there make the difference between a bike you can only ride for 30 miles and one that you do centuries on with comfort.

Comfort wise I am pretty happy, and I am a fussy sod. I have bought some clip in shoes. The only thing I struggle comfort wise is my nads get a bit numb from leaning forward in the saddle, but I don't really stand up at all.

it is now getting weekly 30+ mile rides.

Don't spend any money on it until you're doing a few more miles. Sure, it feels nice to shell out on kit, but 30 miles a week isn't a whole lot, is it?

🙂

thisisnotaspoon wrote;

Tires and tubes, go for conti GP4000 and conti supersonic (50g) tubes, avoid latex as they'r irepairable and also weigh 50g so pointless.

I disagree, latex tubes typically react better to pinching and as such last longer, they also offer significantly lower rolling resistance when combined with a reliable fast tyre like the Corsa CX (arguably the ultimate tyre). An 18-20 latex tube (in a 23mm tyre) is more effective in terms of energy maintained than a 50mm front wheel. Thus, all of the best tubs come with latex liners.

Rims, tyres, tubes, that's where the time is made.

Do a search on rouesartisanales for the relevant papers.

Comfort wise I am pretty happy, and I am a fussy sod. I have bought some clip in shoes. The only thing I struggle comfort wise is my nads get a bit numb from leaning forward in the saddle, but I don't really stand up at all.

er… alright, tubes may be trivial then…

Start with some positional adjustments and go and look at the Specialized saddle range in your LBS.

ordered the Corsa CX's and some light tubes, I will see how a get on, then consider crank and saddle next. From experience on the mountain bikes, changing the tires and tubes from the standard can make a big difference.

An 18-20 latex tube (in a 23mm tyre) is more effective in terms of energy maintained than a 50mm front wheel.

WTF ❓

roadie SPD's are all good bits to get right.

I've been thinking about this (about to get my 1st proper road bike) would i notice a [notable] difference between these and my mtb shoes /pedals?

Don't latex tubes leak to? Not sure I'd want to be faffing with pumping tyres up before each ride.

You need very stiff road shoes to negate the difference in hotspot using spds over road clipless pedals. Not a killer though, adn more significant on long/hard rides. You can certainly start off on spds and mtb shoes and see how it goes for you.

trickydisco – Member

roadie SPD's are all good bits to get right.

I've been thinking about this (about to get my 1st proper road bike) would i notice a [notable] difference between these and my mtb shoes /pedals?

I use MTB SPDs/shoes on my touring bikes and have many 1000's of miles on them with no problems. I prefer the double sided pedal design for no fuss starts particularly with tandems.

When I bought my new roadie, I started with MTB SPDs but changed out to SPD SL/stiff roadie shoes after a couple of hundred miles.

I found a significant difference in stifness/power transmission albeit with high end carbon road shoes vs floppy well worn MTB shoes 🙂

Coudl just be new gear syndrome of course 😉

Carn't use clipless on the MTB, tried but gave up, the road bike on the other hand I love it, so bought race shoes, but the dual pedals so I can jump on a nip to the shops or the gym.

WTF ❓

You read it right.

quentinfarquar – as others have said, you will have to put air in the tubes before each ride, latex naturally leaks air slowly. I have found a bike fit calculator which might help you out (download is safe), just skip to the road bike section;

Click me

I bought 50g butel conti tubes, as the latex thing did seem a faff…

MTT, very interesting, buying a saddle based on the size of your undies… I am a larger guy at 6"2 so I would be in the Max saddle catagory, hence the numb nad's I guess. Anyone found a saddle to suit the bigger guy?

Lighter whels have made the giggest difference to my riding, that and a 20 mile each way commute.

Out of interest to those recommending the Vittoria Corsa evo CX tyres how are they in terms of puncture resistance. Been thinking about buying a set but waiting for some reviews as I know the previous version wasn't too good at resisting cuts and punctures.

Out of interest to those recommending the Vittoria Corsa evo CX tyres how are they in terms of puncture resistance.

Seem OK so far on three rides, including a rutten farm track yesterday. Mind you, I do tend to run them towards their upper pressure limit (which is 145psi). Very comfortable for clinchers, and fast rolling too.

I still don't know why we're all proposing spending money for 30 miles a week.

MTT, very interesting, buying a saddle based on the size of your undies… I am a larger guy at 6"2 so I would be in the Max saddle catagory, hence the numb nad's I guess. Anyone found a saddle to suit the bigger guy?

just because you are 6ft 2 doesn't necessarily mean every other 6ft 2 person needs the same saddle as you. peoples sit bones vary and could be wider or narrower than you. selle san-marco do their saddles in various widths through the S.I.Z.E. system and specialized toupes come in a couple of widths.

FWIW i'm 6ft 1 and use a 143 width toupe that's the perfect saddle for me and possibly shorter people too.