New Bike or Upgrade

[DODDY]

O.K. This is the question!

I currently ride a Claud Butler Criterium. Reynolds 531 framed road bike. Nothing added, nothing taken away. I ride approx 40 miles a week and do regular spinning, circuits and run on a regular basis. My fitness is good and I enjoy going on 30-40 mile rides with mates. The main problem is my hill riding. It is the main downfall in my ride!!! If I have £500 pounds to spend and decide to change the bike. Will I see an improvement, or should I uprate things on the CB. Also the 63 million dollar question................................WHAT DO I BUY????? Is the Giant Defy 4 or the Carrera Vanquish a good choice. Or do I look at second hand Trek 1000.

Cheers

 

[TheDoctor]

Better wheels. The answer is always better wheels. And tyres.

 

[tyred]

Most will probably tell you to buy a new bike but if you are happy with your bike in every other respect, I would upgrade. A 531 frame is a thing of beauty.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Just gone through the same dilemma and ended up on the upgrade route.
It wasn't cheap to get good quality components and I'm bolting it altogether as we speak - still a few bits to get but when it's finished it'll be a beaut!!
Good thing is too if I do decide to change the frame in time all the bits I've got now will do the new frame!
But then as Tyred says 'a 531 frame is a thing of beauty' and he's only right.

 

[DODDY]

So, upgrade rather than new bike! Wheels, tyres.............then what???

What other bits should I look at changing?

Should I be looking at the new fangled gear changers or stick with Down Tubes Shifters?

Cheers

 

[ASC1951]

What other bits should I look at changing?

Your body. Your general fitness may be good, but efficient hill climbing is about a lot more than that. You need to develop power and technique and one of the best ways to do that is to climb with better riders e.g. go out with a club occasionally.

Ergo changers are a lot easier to use than downtube shifters so long as they are correctly indexed, but they wouldn't be a priority for me: if you want something to buy after you have got new wheels and some good 23mm tyres, how about a cheap fixed project? Riding fixed some of the time will build up your leg power, improve your technique and give you a lot of fun.

 

[ontheroadtofrance]

Save your money and work on your "climbing" technique i think. Do you spin out or "dance on the pedals" what type of hills you climbing and how often?

 

[HLaB]

If the frame is a good one, I'd go with the upgrade route. I like my Sirrus Frame and gearing so I went with the upgrade route and I think that has been more rewarding. A minor changes I made initially was to replace the suspension seat post with a fixed carbon one and spds. The next upgrade was the tyres and wheels and finally I converted the bike to dropped bar.

 

[Joe24]

Ride the bike you got and just upgrade!
The Defy 4 isnt all that light anyway.
If your happy with downtube shifters then stay with them, if you want the STI gear changers/brakes then go for them, they are pretty expensive though. New wheels and stuff like that.

 

[bonj2]

O.K. This is the question!

I currently ride a Claud Butler Criterium. Reynolds 531 framed road bike. Nothing added, nothing taken away. I ride approx 40 miles a week and do regular spinning, circuits and run on a regular basis. My fitness is good and I enjoy going on 30-40 mile rides with mates. The main problem is my hill riding. It is the main downfall in my ride!!! If I have £500 pounds to spend and decide to change the bike. Will I see an improvement, or should I uprate things on the CB. Also the 63 million dollar question................................WHAT DO I BUY????? Is the Giant Defy 4 or the Carrera Vanquish a good choice. Or do I look at second hand Trek 1000.

Cheers

er.. spending money on new stuff isn't going to make THAT much an improvement to how good you are at riding up hills (I presume it is the UP hills you mean that is the downfall you talk of) . Spending money on new kit can make your cycling slightly more enjoyable, comfortable and convenient. But it isn't a magic bullet and wont' give you power, speed and stamina.

 

[DODDY]

So..............New wheels could be the first upgrade!!! What should I buy at a reasonable price? In the region of £150ish

The other thing that I may need to change are my handlebars! I think these are steel!!!! Any suggestions for a nice lighter set?

Cheers

 

[ontheroadtofrance]

I have just looked at your bike, i had them shifters on my first racer and realised how hard they were to Gear when climbing and even on the flat. I have since changed to a Dawes racer with "sora" gears and found the difference a hell of alot because the gears are in where you hold the handlebars when climbing so you can change gears at your will unlike when climbing your gears are in the middle you can't get in a rhythm whilst changing gears. If i was to make any suggestions change your gears. Or test ride a similar bike but with Sora gears or Tiagra and you'll see the difference in it
All the best

 

[Dan B]

Your body. Your general fitness may be good, but efficient hill climbing is about a lot more than that. You need to develop power and technique and one of the best ways to do that is to climb with better riders e.g. go out with a club occasionally.

Ergo changers are a lot easier to use than downtube shifters so long as they are correctly indexed, but they wouldn't be a priority for me

Agree with the first para, but I got Ergos on both my bikes about a year ago and would not willingly go back: I'd say that being able to change up a couple of cogs on the uphills without moving my hands is one of the best bits.