Bike upgrade - Advice Please
Discussion
Hi All,
I recently started my journey into road biking and of course, am now looking at upgrading...
I've got a Carerra Zelos, a Halfords jobbie. It's got a compact chain ring (50/34) and a 7 speed cassette 14-28.
I like the 28, being new to cycling I'm not sure I'd want to do without it on a couple of the hills I need to get up, but I do find I spin out on the 14 going down the other side.
I'm also not a fan of the button to shift down on the hoods.
So, I'd like to upgrade the drive to give me a wider range of 'fast' gears. An 11-28T cassette sounds like just the thing. Now I'm wondering what I can "get away" with upgrading. Obviously I know there will be a lot of "Buy a new bike", but I've done a bit of looking and ones where you can spec an 11-28T cassette come with the 105 groupset and are getting on for 1k. A series of smaller purchases are easier to get past the financial controller than one large one and I do plan on getting a new frame at some point too.
So, that brings me onto the question(s). I've been on wiggle and looked at a few components that I "think" I could bolt onto the Carerra to upgrade the drive, These are..
Shimano 105 5700 STI Double 10 Speed Road Lever Set
Shimano 105 5700 10 Speed Front Derailleur (D) - Band
Shimano 105 RD-5700 Rear Derailleur
Shimano WH-R501 Clincher Wheelset
Shimano 105 5700 10 Speed Cassette (In the 11-28T variant)
Shimano 105 5701 10 Speed Chain
Which all come in at slightly more than I paid for the bike
My questions are:
1) Can I use my existing compact chain ring? or Will mine be different to suit a wider chain?
2) Do I need a new front derailleur? Not sure if I can re-use the tourney that's on there at the moment, or if i'd want to for the sake of £20.
3) Will those wheels come with a hub that the cassette will thread onto, or do I need something else?
4) Do the Levers have to be the 105's? Would the Tiagra 4600 work too? Saying that, again, only £10 between the two.
5) Is it worth going for the 105 5800 for the extra gear?
6) Are there any other combos I should be considering?
I also understand I'll need some new bar tape (plus spare to have a second go at it) as the 105 levers route the cables under the bar tape.
Sorry it's a long post, thanks for reading it, and thanks for any input / answers you may have.
Cheers,
I recently started my journey into road biking and of course, am now looking at upgrading...
I've got a Carerra Zelos, a Halfords jobbie. It's got a compact chain ring (50/34) and a 7 speed cassette 14-28.
I like the 28, being new to cycling I'm not sure I'd want to do without it on a couple of the hills I need to get up, but I do find I spin out on the 14 going down the other side.
I'm also not a fan of the button to shift down on the hoods.
So, I'd like to upgrade the drive to give me a wider range of 'fast' gears. An 11-28T cassette sounds like just the thing. Now I'm wondering what I can "get away" with upgrading. Obviously I know there will be a lot of "Buy a new bike", but I've done a bit of looking and ones where you can spec an 11-28T cassette come with the 105 groupset and are getting on for 1k. A series of smaller purchases are easier to get past the financial controller than one large one and I do plan on getting a new frame at some point too.
So, that brings me onto the question(s). I've been on wiggle and looked at a few components that I "think" I could bolt onto the Carerra to upgrade the drive, These are..
Shimano 105 5700 STI Double 10 Speed Road Lever Set
Shimano 105 5700 10 Speed Front Derailleur (D) - Band
Shimano 105 RD-5700 Rear Derailleur
Shimano WH-R501 Clincher Wheelset
Shimano 105 5700 10 Speed Cassette (In the 11-28T variant)
Shimano 105 5701 10 Speed Chain
Which all come in at slightly more than I paid for the bike
My questions are:
1) Can I use my existing compact chain ring? or Will mine be different to suit a wider chain?
2) Do I need a new front derailleur? Not sure if I can re-use the tourney that's on there at the moment, or if i'd want to for the sake of £20.
3) Will those wheels come with a hub that the cassette will thread onto, or do I need something else?
4) Do the Levers have to be the 105's? Would the Tiagra 4600 work too? Saying that, again, only £10 between the two.
5) Is it worth going for the 105 5800 for the extra gear?
6) Are there any other combos I should be considering?
I also understand I'll need some new bar tape (plus spare to have a second go at it) as the 105 levers route the cables under the bar tape.
Sorry it's a long post, thanks for reading it, and thanks for any input / answers you may have.
Cheers,
Personally I wouldn't bother doing anything to the zelos, they weigh 29lbs standard, and a lot of that is the frame and wheels. I got rid of mine and built a carbon ribble with tiagra groupset but 105 levers. That cost me £870 all in.
I would buy the bits separately and store them until you get ready to build. Or say bugger it and strike a deal with the bank manager or cycle to work scheme.
I would buy the bits separately and store them until you get ready to build. Or say bugger it and strike a deal with the bank manager or cycle to work scheme.
Celtic Dragon said:
Personally I wouldn't bother doing anything to the zelos, they weigh 29lbs standard, and a lot of that is the frame and wheels. I got rid of mine and built a carbon ribble with tiagra groupset but 105 levers. That cost me £870 all in.
I would buy the bits separately and store them until you get ready to build. Or say bugger it and strike a deal with the bank manager or cycle to work scheme.
Sorry I have to agree.I would buy the bits separately and store them until you get ready to build. Or say bugger it and strike a deal with the bank manager or cycle to work scheme.
The upgrade path for a zelos begins with not upgrading it at all but buying a new bike.
I came to that conclusion with a carrera tdf - which is a higher spec.
The upgrade list for a zelos is literally everything I'm afraid, I'd keep it as a pub or station bike - or if its newish flog it for the new bike fund.
I'm afraid I have to agree - by the time you've fitted all that lot to the Zelos you might as well have upgraded the frame too.
The usual 'budget' suggestions are Decathlon's Triban range (3 is the base model, not much of an upgrade; the 500SE and 5 are better but come with triple chainsets which are unnecessary weight).
Alternatively, try picking up a previous year's model - Paul's Cycles is a good place to start. They do 0% finance too... e.g http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b65s6p0/Road-Bikes/... check out the 2013 CAAD8 Tiagra. I used to have the 2012 model and loved it, and they'll do £70 deposit and 6 x £105...
The usual 'budget' suggestions are Decathlon's Triban range (3 is the base model, not much of an upgrade; the 500SE and 5 are better but come with triple chainsets which are unnecessary weight).
Alternatively, try picking up a previous year's model - Paul's Cycles is a good place to start. They do 0% finance too... e.g http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b65s6p0/Road-Bikes/... check out the 2013 CAAD8 Tiagra. I used to have the 2012 model and loved it, and they'll do £70 deposit and 6 x £105...
oOTomOo said:
My questions are:
1) Can I use my existing compact chain ring? or Will mine be different to suit a wider chain?
2) Do I need a new front derailleur? Not sure if I can re-use the tourney that's on there at the moment, or if i'd want to for the sake of £20.
3) Will those wheels come with a hub that the cassette will thread onto, or do I need something else?
4) Do the Levers have to be the 105's? Would the Tiagra 4600 work too? Saying that, again, only £10 between the two.
5) Is it worth going for the 105 5800 for the extra gear?
6) Are there any other combos I should be considering?
I also understand I'll need some new bar tape (plus spare to have a second go at it) as the 105 levers route the cables under the bar tape.
Sorry it's a long post, thanks for reading it, and thanks for any input / answers you may have.
Cheers,
At the risk of actually being helpful - in answer to your original question, you can mix and match any of the 10 speed Shimano groups, and can put SRAM kit in there too (although that gets a bit more complex as to what works with what).1) Can I use my existing compact chain ring? or Will mine be different to suit a wider chain?
2) Do I need a new front derailleur? Not sure if I can re-use the tourney that's on there at the moment, or if i'd want to for the sake of £20.
3) Will those wheels come with a hub that the cassette will thread onto, or do I need something else?
4) Do the Levers have to be the 105's? Would the Tiagra 4600 work too? Saying that, again, only £10 between the two.
5) Is it worth going for the 105 5800 for the extra gear?
6) Are there any other combos I should be considering?
I also understand I'll need some new bar tape (plus spare to have a second go at it) as the 105 levers route the cables under the bar tape.
Sorry it's a long post, thanks for reading it, and thanks for any input / answers you may have.
Cheers,
1 - you need a new crank. It has to be the right BB fitment for the frame - one of the reasons we're recommending "new bike".
2 - Yes you need a new 10 speed one. You could possibly bodge the original to work but it would likely be a mess.
3 - I suspect you'd need new wheels for 10 speed. I can double check if you're dead set on going down that route.
4 - Any 10 speed Shimano lever. These are expensive new and can be had for a LOT less used.
5 - The new 105 looks like a very compelling price point for 11 speed. If budget is an issue you'd be best off taking advantage of the flurry of cheap 10 speed kit available new or secondhand. I've seen complete Tiagra 10 speed groupsets go for a hundred quid...
6 - I like SRAM. Apex is cheap and works nicely - also has a wifli rear mech that will take an 11-32 cassette for a very big granny ring.
Basically you could use ebay and small adds etc to pick up a 10 speed groupset for circa £100 and another £100 for some Aksiums or similar.
Getting a crank that will fit will be a challenge and it wont fit a new bike (I suspect it's a square taper). But you'd still be wanting to change literally everything else.
TheLemming said:
... Helpful stuff...
Thanks for that. You were helpful.In answer to the above question, budget I was thinking 100-200 really, so the above was pushing it at 250 and is really pushing it with a new crank.
I found out today that shimano do a 11-28 7 speed cassette, current wheel won't take a cassette, so I was thinking I could get a set of 501's and a spacer which would give me the lower gears I'm looking for. Then I could re use the wheels if I were to get a tiara group set off the bay, thus getting rid of the thumb shifters. That comes in at under 100.
I did look at the fulcrum 7 wheels too, which are a bit lighter, but 120 as opposed to 71 quid, I suspect the difference there would be better spent on some good rubber.
Blimey. There aren't many options for 7-speed freewheels!
You could however just use an 8-speed one, I think.
The spacing is close enough to work with your 7-speed Tourney sti shifters.
You'd probably need to set the rear derailleur limits too.
The rear wheel would be slightly out of dish.
It's a bit of a cludge but it would get you into an 11-28 freewheel for under 7 quid!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UN3F-Bicycle-Bike-Casset...
http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/153611...
::edit:: I'm not sure I would recommend this as the 8-speed freewheel axle is fragile.
Get a cheap rear wheel, a 7-speed 11-28 cassette and a spacer. I wouldn't bother upgrading anything else on that bike.
You could however just use an 8-speed one, I think.
The spacing is close enough to work with your 7-speed Tourney sti shifters.
You'd probably need to set the rear derailleur limits too.
The rear wheel would be slightly out of dish.
It's a bit of a cludge but it would get you into an 11-28 freewheel for under 7 quid!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UN3F-Bicycle-Bike-Casset...
http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/153611...
::edit:: I'm not sure I would recommend this as the 8-speed freewheel axle is fragile.
Get a cheap rear wheel, a 7-speed 11-28 cassette and a spacer. I wouldn't bother upgrading anything else on that bike.
Edited by Barchettaman on Monday 21st July 21:42
Barchettaman said:
Get a cheap rear wheel, a 7-speed 11-28 cassette and a spacer. I wouldn't bother upgrading anything else on that bike.
Current thinking is..http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-wh-r501-clincher-w...
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/hg41-7...
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-cassette-alloy-spa...
Gets me some wheels that are probably an upgrade (and I can re-use if I do decide to go 10 speed) and the 11t rear cog I'm looking for.
I may or may not throw some new tyres at it if i'm feeling flush.
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