Rooster1
I was right about that saddle
I was lucky enough to pass by a car boot sale last year (Berkshire, UK) and spotted a box of goodness for sale.
The owner wanted to get rid of a load of ULTEGRA 6600 components. I could not believe my luck. For each thing I picked up, he wanted £2.
Its not the latest groupset, but for my 2012 Giant Defy, its pretty much a perfect match.
Pair of Ultegra Shifters, like new, £2
Ultegra rear mech (still got stickers on, no use) £2
Triple front mech derailuer (stickers still on, slight signs of use) £2
Triple Crankset with Bottom Bracket £2
Ultegra Pedals - didn't want them but took them anyway (£0
Carbon Seatpost and Saddle £2
+ Pump, chain, cassette etc etc.
Total price = £15. He was happy, I was crying with joy.
My estimates are that the whole lot would have fetched £150-£200, maybe more.
See a photo of my car boot goodness below (apples not included)
I managed to remove the existing Sora Triple Chainset, still running nice but very scratched and rust on inside, replaced with the 6600 Ultegra chainset. Kept the existing Bottom bracket as was serviced recently.
Also removed the Tiagra front and rear mech - rear very scratched and a lot of lateral play which meant the gears jumped occasionally. Swapped out the Tiagra brakes (still in good condition) with the Ultegra brakes (bike actually came with cheap Tektro brakes which ceased up after 2 years). Replaced a couple of cables. Kept the Tiagra shifters as I am not confident to change them yet, and they work fine.
Did the whole thing in 3 hours on Sat PM.
Main problem encountered was I could not get the Ultegra pedals off for love nor money. I prefer to use Look Keo's so I was a bit stuck. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but if for any reason my bike is not 100% useable, I get in a complete sulkathon. I can't bear to think I can't go out because of a mechanical issue. It has to be fixed and ready!
My pedal fix was to go and get some Shimano Cleats. They feel a bit different to the Look Keos, and the cleats have a rather large wing footing which is odd. I guess I will have to get used to them. They seem alot harder to kick out of even than new Keo cleats - I will have to be careful!
Have done a short test drive but hope to do an hour tomorrow.
So, it may not be a carbon beauty, but with a small family and lots of bills, this will have to last me another year.
The owner wanted to get rid of a load of ULTEGRA 6600 components. I could not believe my luck. For each thing I picked up, he wanted £2.
Its not the latest groupset, but for my 2012 Giant Defy, its pretty much a perfect match.
Pair of Ultegra Shifters, like new, £2
Ultegra rear mech (still got stickers on, no use) £2
Triple front mech derailuer (stickers still on, slight signs of use) £2
Triple Crankset with Bottom Bracket £2
Ultegra Pedals - didn't want them but took them anyway (£0
Carbon Seatpost and Saddle £2
+ Pump, chain, cassette etc etc.
Total price = £15. He was happy, I was crying with joy.
My estimates are that the whole lot would have fetched £150-£200, maybe more.
See a photo of my car boot goodness below (apples not included)
I managed to remove the existing Sora Triple Chainset, still running nice but very scratched and rust on inside, replaced with the 6600 Ultegra chainset. Kept the existing Bottom bracket as was serviced recently.
Also removed the Tiagra front and rear mech - rear very scratched and a lot of lateral play which meant the gears jumped occasionally. Swapped out the Tiagra brakes (still in good condition) with the Ultegra brakes (bike actually came with cheap Tektro brakes which ceased up after 2 years). Replaced a couple of cables. Kept the Tiagra shifters as I am not confident to change them yet, and they work fine.
Did the whole thing in 3 hours on Sat PM.
Main problem encountered was I could not get the Ultegra pedals off for love nor money. I prefer to use Look Keo's so I was a bit stuck. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but if for any reason my bike is not 100% useable, I get in a complete sulkathon. I can't bear to think I can't go out because of a mechanical issue. It has to be fixed and ready!
My pedal fix was to go and get some Shimano Cleats. They feel a bit different to the Look Keos, and the cleats have a rather large wing footing which is odd. I guess I will have to get used to them. They seem alot harder to kick out of even than new Keo cleats - I will have to be careful!
Have done a short test drive but hope to do an hour tomorrow.
So, it may not be a carbon beauty, but with a small family and lots of bills, this will have to last me another year.