Got myself one of these last year:

Cannondale six 105
Click on the right for full spec

Ive been really happy with it and am getting more and more into covering the miles and doing some sportives etc.

Im looking at doing some upgrades to my existing stock spec and wanted advice on what is gonna be best return etc.

currently considering :
Sram Red bb30 crankset (-300G) £260
Tyres and tubes (-~1-200g?) £60-70
Wheelset Stans Alpha on Tune or similar(-700g)£7-800
Carbon bars + stem (-100g? ) £200?

What would you do?

if you have the money, look at the wheels.

agreed. In the last year, for my Klein frame, I upgraded from a 105 setup,to a very good condition second hand dura ace setup of a same age … total difference? minimal, but slightly better changing.

I also changed from stock bontrager wheels to the a set of shimano RS80’s total difference …. huge. The bike feels so much nimbler, accelerates quicker and climbs easier.

Tyres … to an extent make a difference, especially their size, but i’m of the opinion that I want realibility out of tyres, so dont mind running slighly heavier ones ( gatorskins ) to minimise punctures and things which spoil a ride.

So for me, you’ll see the biggest difference out of new wheels / hubs.

Wheels and shifters are the big two to change in my eyes on a road bike. They would change the feel and ride of the bike the most without ditching the frame.

As above – wheels first, shifters if you’re feeling flush (the more expensive shifters just feel nicer to shift, like mtb shifters).

Wheels & tyres though do make hugely noticeable differences.

so if my current wheelset is around 1900g

I could drop to something in the 1500g range maybe with a bit of aero
or
i could go for a sub 1500g such as the dura ace c24

Dura Ace

or Stans and Tune to go sub 1200 (i’m pretty light):
http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/wheelprices.htm

I’d agree with the other in terms of wheels but would include tyres with that too. I’m not overly bothered about tube spec for non-dh riding.

I wouldn’t notice the difference between my cranks and high spec cranks if I’m honest but that’s the same arguement as having a dump before or after a ride. I’m only worried about the rings rather than the arms.

Bars and stem are only weight saving/aesthetics like the cranks unless you’re going for something completely different to what you already have which then may improve comfort which is therefore a benefit and would e next in line after the wheels.

Don’t bother with the dura ace c24, get the rs80s. Saves you like £200-250 and the only difference is ultegra hubs instead of dura ace.

Upgrade wheels and tyres first. Slamming makes you faster as well, it’s a scientific fact.

Wheels would be first to go.

Conti GP4000s tyres are light/sensible choice. 23mm or 25mm is a good argument as supposedly 25mm rolls better and is marginaly more comfortable, but is less aero and weighs marginaly more.

Conti supersonic inertubes are 50g each and dont lose air anywhere near as quickly as their latex equivalents, just don’t try pumping up with a hand pump as the valves are fragile.

Bar+Stem, is a comfort/feeling/fit/controll thing, don’t get hung up on weight as some light bars flex alarmingly, but some heavier bas are comfortable. Like saddles, saving weight here is a false economy.

Chainsets, 3rd party ones tend to be the lighter, eg FSA SL-K.

My Cannondale R500 (bottom of the cnnondale range) now has a 2nd hand DA groupset, FSA SL-K chainset, R-550 wheels, Conti GP4000 tyres & SS tubes and some bontranger carbon bars (medium reach but shallow drops as I like a longer/lower stem so didn’t want the drops/hoods to be miles away from the tops. Buying all that 2nd hand has been pretty cheep, whole bikes probably under £700!

Next on the list are some new wheels, probably fairly heavy handbuilts (open pro, 32spokes, average hubs) so not saving any weight just replaceing the current ones and adding some stiffness. And probably a new set of finishing kit as it’s a bit of a mish mash of brands and the bars aren’t as nice as I thought they would be.

Wheels first (sub 1200g if poss) keep the clinchers though, then tyres GP4’s as said, shifters only if you feel you need to as winters on it’s way, then bars/stem and saddle/post.

I dunno, if all you’re doing is covering some miles and riding sportives thne I wouldnt bother with sub 1200g wheels.

Those RS80’s are supposedly decent

tyres

then wheels

in particular dont ruin niceish wheels like RS80s by running ghastly gatorskins on them 🙄

RS80s, with Conti supersonic tubes and schwalbe ultremo tyres would be very nice. I use he conti tubes & schwalbe tyres on my PX model B’s – they certainly add nip over standard tubes and Michlin Pro 3s which I train on.

I was looking at Dura ace and stans so i could give road tubeless a go, anyone running that? do the rs80’s do it?

Most people seem to think road tubeless isnt worth it. Me included.

Most people seem to think road tubeless isnt worth it. Me included.

IIRC it weighs the same/more than tubes, and doesn’t make as much difference to rolling resistance as in lower presure off road tyres.

However……..

Tubeless rims have the advantage of being stiffer/lighter/stronger (pick 2 or an average) as they don’t have holes drilled in the inside part of the rim. Obviously this doesn’t apply to Stans.

Wheels absolutely although be careful about rider weight limits if you’re a heffer and looking at really lightweight options. I’d save some money and go for the common Mavic Ksyrium Elite or Shimano RS80 options, you’ll save less weight but a pile less money and wheels don’t last forever especially if you train on the them to.

I wouldn’t do any of the other upgrades you list just to save weight. Carbon stems don’t usually save much/any weight on a road bike and carbon bars can be a minefield trying to find decent ones and one crash and you’ll be wondering wherever they’re safe to use or not.

Chainset I’d only change if I needed new rings to to off-set some of the cost.

Sportives aren’t competitive events so personally I’d worry most about comfort and reliability than lightweight stuff. Go lightweight/aero if you start racing – or just want to piss away money just to get a certain look 😉

you can put together a 1300 gram wheelset quite easily and still have change from £200 using new components- IRD Cadence rims-780 grams, taiwanese hubs 277 grams, dt revs 240 grams, aluminium nipples 15 grams, it was a no brainer for me 🙂

Righty, do you have anymore details on these? Where did you get the parts from?

It’s rims from, fine adc who are the importers, Lots of hubsets on eBay. from taiwan/China from £70 ish, I paid starting price of about 65, do a search for 6 pawl, that will bring a variety up. I went with 24/28, would want to go any lower for a front wheel and its didn’t recommend it hth

Sub in Planet X 20mm carbon tub rims and they’d be under 1050g, and still under £250…

Cheers righty, I’ll have a look tonight.

Dont fancy carbon rims njee.

Fair enough. I do, and I’m really really tempted now, damn my PowerTap, can’t Garmin hurry up with their Vector pedals! 🙂

that is pretty tempting… part of me wants something shiny and expensive though!!!

Tubeless rims have the advantage of being stiffer/lighter/stronger (pick 2 or an average) as they don’t have holes drilled in the inside part of the rim.

What, like Ksyriums..?

Which is all I’d buy (Ksyrium Elite, that is) and leave the rest of the bike alone. Flash kit is nice, but doesn’t make you feel any better when you get a battering from someone on an old iron.

In the land of MTB, hardware can make a big difference. In the land of road, it’s almost all about your legs….

how about these:

http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/kinlin-xr300-alloy-wheel/

VS

http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/stans-notubes-ztr-alpha/

I’ve got a pair of shimano rs80’s (24mm front and 50mm rear) for sale.only used for a few hundred miles.I’ve just built some 50mm px carbon tubs on American classic hubs :0).

for anyone interested ive just gone for a set of these:
http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/velocity-a23-wheelset/

will also get some gp4000’s for them. I’ll do a proper proper write up once i get hold of them. 🙂

Forget all that, get Super Record and Bora Ultras. Sorted. Much easier.