As some of you may have read in another thread, I have only been cycling for 8 weeks now. I bought my Carrera Virtuoso through the Cycle2Work scheme and have really got into this cycling lark as a means of improving my fitness! I’ve been using it quite a bit (non-commuting miles only) for probably nearly 1000 miles now.
So far I have upgraded the wheelset to Planet-X Model B’s (which are excellent) and the tyres to Vittoria Rubino Pro III’s. I also added some MK1 Crudracer mudguards (great in the wet weather) and front and rear lights (vision 1’s arrived this morning and to be fitted later). Although I have some tacx rollers, my intention is to try and continue riding into the dark evenings and get out as much as possible (weather dependent).
I’m really enjoying the Carrera and have as of last week broken the 50 mile barrier on it. As a rule of thumb it is quite comfortable on decent-ish road surfaces, but when you start to traverse over road surfaces which are less good, i.e.where the tarmac is starting to break up, the shock / vibration travels up through my whole body. This is more noticable a good few miles into rides when I’m probably starting to feel a bit more tired.
For me one of the biggest negatives on the bike is the STI 2200 levers, or to be more specific, the fact that it is very difficult to go to a smaller gear when I’m on the drops. The old stretch your thumb to try and change down inevitably ends up in some comedy wobbling!! I’ve been looking on the web for a solution and noticed these. As much as I would like to improve the ease of gear changing, would it be sensible to start spending almost £200 to remedy that, to then maybe start looking at upgrading other things such as Carbon Forks, Seatposts etc? I’m very conscious that I could soon end up spending than what I bought the bike for in the first place.
Obviously wheels, tyres, lights, mudguards etc are all transferable which is fine. But once you start into carbon forks, r500 levers and such like, you end up specing the bike to a point that you’d probably been as well off buying a more expensive new one. Even with the upgrades you still have sora gears, lesser brakes etc.
Regardless of whether I upgrade or go for another, my intention is to hold on to Virtuoso and ride it throughout the winter without much worry about the adverse effects of the weather etc. If I did get another, it would be the old n+1 scenario which seems to be a favourite on here!
I am very conscious of the ‘grass is greener’ scenario, but I've been sorely tempted by these - Focus Cayo 2010 Ltd Edition (£1020 inc postage) and Planet-X SL Carbon Pro (£1099 inc postage) Purchasing another bike at this time would probably end up quite expensive for me (not only the cost of the bike but also the cost of a divorce
), but if you were in my position, what would you do? Would it be better to hold off for another month or two and try to pick up a bargain in the autumn, or would it make more sense to change the alu forks to carbon, get the ST500 levers and for less than £300, possibly transform the bike?
I know in reality,the models I’m looking at are the more basic carbon framed ones with better components than what I have. Question is, are they going to be much faster / more comfortable than what I already have considering the upgrades I’ve made? More than that, will my legs with only 8 weeks of cycling behind them be able to take advantage of any perceived benefits?
Or as cyclists, are we never truly satisfied with the current bike that we have and always looking for something which is “better” whether in truth this is the case or not?!
Apologies for the exceptionally long-winded post, but any thoughts, advice, opinions would be much appreciated!
Ian
So far I have upgraded the wheelset to Planet-X Model B’s (which are excellent) and the tyres to Vittoria Rubino Pro III’s. I also added some MK1 Crudracer mudguards (great in the wet weather) and front and rear lights (vision 1’s arrived this morning and to be fitted later). Although I have some tacx rollers, my intention is to try and continue riding into the dark evenings and get out as much as possible (weather dependent).
I’m really enjoying the Carrera and have as of last week broken the 50 mile barrier on it. As a rule of thumb it is quite comfortable on decent-ish road surfaces, but when you start to traverse over road surfaces which are less good, i.e.where the tarmac is starting to break up, the shock / vibration travels up through my whole body. This is more noticable a good few miles into rides when I’m probably starting to feel a bit more tired.
For me one of the biggest negatives on the bike is the STI 2200 levers, or to be more specific, the fact that it is very difficult to go to a smaller gear when I’m on the drops. The old stretch your thumb to try and change down inevitably ends up in some comedy wobbling!! I’ve been looking on the web for a solution and noticed these. As much as I would like to improve the ease of gear changing, would it be sensible to start spending almost £200 to remedy that, to then maybe start looking at upgrading other things such as Carbon Forks, Seatposts etc? I’m very conscious that I could soon end up spending than what I bought the bike for in the first place.
Obviously wheels, tyres, lights, mudguards etc are all transferable which is fine. But once you start into carbon forks, r500 levers and such like, you end up specing the bike to a point that you’d probably been as well off buying a more expensive new one. Even with the upgrades you still have sora gears, lesser brakes etc.
Regardless of whether I upgrade or go for another, my intention is to hold on to Virtuoso and ride it throughout the winter without much worry about the adverse effects of the weather etc. If I did get another, it would be the old n+1 scenario which seems to be a favourite on here!
I am very conscious of the ‘grass is greener’ scenario, but I've been sorely tempted by these - Focus Cayo 2010 Ltd Edition (£1020 inc postage) and Planet-X SL Carbon Pro (£1099 inc postage) Purchasing another bike at this time would probably end up quite expensive for me (not only the cost of the bike but also the cost of a divorce
), but if you were in my position, what would you do? Would it be better to hold off for another month or two and try to pick up a bargain in the autumn, or would it make more sense to change the alu forks to carbon, get the ST500 levers and for less than £300, possibly transform the bike?I know in reality,the models I’m looking at are the more basic carbon framed ones with better components than what I have. Question is, are they going to be much faster / more comfortable than what I already have considering the upgrades I’ve made? More than that, will my legs with only 8 weeks of cycling behind them be able to take advantage of any perceived benefits?
Or as cyclists, are we never truly satisfied with the current bike that we have and always looking for something which is “better” whether in truth this is the case or not?!
Apologies for the exceptionally long-winded post, but any thoughts, advice, opinions would be much appreciated!
Ian
I was amazed at the difference in the new model (upgraded to S-Works forks). 
When you get into the realm of new carbon forks (£100), Shimano R500 lever set (£170) and new carbon seat posts (£70?) it's basically at the value of a new Virtuoso. I've decided (more or less) to try and get the necessary funds gathered up for the Planet-X SL Pro SRAM Red. Sure it's probably far too good for me and probably more than I'll ever need, but it's the same principle as driving a Porsche 911 Turbo or Ferrari. Truth is, you'll never (legally) be able to exploit the full potential on the road. But isn't it nice to know that it's there anyway just should you need it! 
