Sonmi451

I just purchased my first bike. I love it and it's fun to ride, but I would like to shed some weight so I am looking to upgrade components over time. I can probably handle changing the seat post & handlebars & wheels no problem, but the drive train is not something I am really familiar with.

How can I choose a system that I can upgrade slowly over time? Or rather, how can I make sure the parts fit?

Also looking for recommendations as I really don't know where to start. Pretty much looking for the best bang for buck.

Currently looking at: SRAM Force 22 BB30 Crankset. I was looking at Ultegra stuff because I see people talk about it but it was a little heavier. There's so many different sku's of stuff I'm not really sure what to buy.

I attached my stock config which is what I have. Bike is in my sig. I guess my current 50/34 is fine. I don't use the highest couple gears or the lowest couple really.

Jamminatrix

I see you said handlebar. Are you planning on converting the Sirrus to drop bars or keeping the flat bars? This will determine what kind of shifters you need (and ultimately what drivetrain components you will be limited to). More importantly, if you are planning on converting, I'd recommend doing a fair bit of research on geometry and fitting to make sure you'll end up in a comfortable position at the end.

As for upgrading, the reality is with modern 9/10/11 speed drivetrains, very few things become interchangeable, making upgrading the drivetrain piecemeal very challenging - and in some cases - just not possible.

For instance, just upgrading to that Force 22 crank won't work with your 9spd chain without causing lots of chain rub in the bottom end of your cassette due to chain width.

Best bang for your buck is usually tires/tubes, wheelset, and crankset. And then seatpost, seat (should only upgrade if it's uncomfortable otherwise keep it), bars, pedals.

And of course, rider weight. That's free.

Sonmi451

Keeping flat bars. I'm not ready for drop bars yet. Rider weight is already set at 145 and not changing much. I've been obsessively looking into wheels, but I'm not sure what to get to be honest. Someone recommended Mavic Crossmax SL which are about $800. They look really nice, but was hoping to spend a little less. I've been on craigslist to see what I can find as well but I don't want to rush it unless I find a deal.

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll upgrade the other things first and have someone pick out a crankset for me later that will cause minimal collateral replacement.

Darth Lefty 

Ride your bike and save your money... spend for nice consumables and contact points (tires, brake pads, seat and handlebar and grips or wrap)

Change or upgrade something when you understand why you don't like it, and that your upgrade will fix it.

dsaul

First thing is that the BB30 crank won't fit your frame. Your frame takes a threaded BSA (english) bottom bracket. SRAM does make that crankset in a GXP version that will fit your frame. As far as your shifters and derailleurs, Sora components work well and you won't see any performance advantage from upgrading them. They are only responsible for shifting the gears and Sora does that just as well as Ultegra or Dura Ace. You may save a small amount of weight, but it comes at a steep price. The best value and most noticeable upgrade you can do is better wheels and tires.

HillRider

You can quickly turn this into a money pit. The biggest speed inhibitor with tour bike is the flat bars and the upright seating position they require since aerodynamics are by far the biggest factor in bicycle speed for any conditions except steep climbs. Since you said you aren't ready for drop bars, any component upgrades will pay minor dividends in performance.

obed7

save your money... ride the bike as is...you might shave a few ounces, but you will not really improve the performance of the bike to any substantial degree...when you are ready for a "performance" bike, buy one.

cny-bikeman

+1 Assuming a 20 lb bike your bike when moving weighs 165 lbs (you + bike). Even dropping 3 lbs off the bike is only a 2% difference, which will make much less than a 1% difference in speed/effort, the net effect being smaller as speed rises (wind resistance being the number one factor). You already have a high end bike - get out and ride it if you want to go faster or easier. An extra hour or two of riding a week will gain you far, far more than a drop in weight - which will cost you time in the saddle. Even doing the work in winter is at the expense of keeping in shape with non-bike activities or on a trainer.

p.s. If you already don't use the highest gears then mainly what you're going to do going to 10 or 11 rear cogs is add some useless gears, especially with a 50 tooth front.

MRT2

I would ride the bike for at least a year before changing anything. If I were to hazard a guess at what you might change out when the time comes, wheels and tires might make the most sense. Changing out the 9 speed drivetrain in favor of a 10 or 11 speed might be an expensive proposition for very little upgrade in performance.

wphamilton

Best bang for the buck starts with tires, then wheels. If you're shaving weight after that, there are inexpensive light saddles which would mean more weight saved per dollar, though you may sacrifice some comfort.

With the choice of upgrading your 9-speed Sora, a bang-for-the-buck evaluation isn't really appropriate in my opinion. You get more gears, a little lighter, a little crisper. That may or may not be important to a given rider so it's hard to say how much "bang" can be had there. But objectively, for performance, weight savings and ride quality, good tires and tubes improves the most for the least, followed by better wheels.

Marcus_Ti

Problem being any real upgrades rapidly exceed the value of the the bike they're going on.

Further, given Shimano componentry, you upgrade wheels and you're stock with a pair of 9spd hoops that are unusable if/when you go to current-standard 11speed.

Ride the bike (lots). Once you come to the point where you want a drop bar roadbike...which will be around the time you regularly start doing 1 hour+ long rides and start experiencing hand numbness...then start shopping for a full-on roadbike with drop bars.

Jiggle

Agree with the comments to save your money on this bike.

Somni, you're running into the conundrum my dad and I ran into when I was a junior. I wanted the components I wanted on the frame I wanted with the wheels I wanted. We couldn't get that on a factory offering so he bought the tools and I bought the parts and we put bikes together in the garage. Been doing that all my life.

Since then I've added wheel building, machining some of my own small parts, and I'm working on adding carbon repair.

That way you always ride the bike you want to ride.

wphamilton

Good points, but I don't necessarily agree that those are always true. My 9-speed Vuelta Corsa wheel for example is 11 speed compatible. While that wheel is not worth more than the bike, I wouldn't necessarily care if it were. The wheel doesn't care what the bike cost, and will give me the same benefit on a $400 bike or $4000 bike.

Sonmi451

Thanks for the feedback. Okay, maybe I will leave the drivetrain alone but I do think I'll look at wheels/tires eventually. I currently do a mix of 30 minute rides in light dirt gravel paved trail, and 60-75 minute rides down the coast. My hands do get numb sometimes already which is annoying. But overall I am really enjoying riding, being outdoors, and getting exercise.

cny-bikeman

That should be addressed before worrying about other things. Check saddle fore-aft position and tilt (nose not down) distance to bars, and consider cycling gloves if you don't have them, and bar ends are another option.

Sonmi451

I do have bar ends. I just went on an 18 mile ride, and only my left hand was slightly numb a couple times. I think changing my grip and relaxing helps. I have gloves coming in a couple days we'll see if that helps. I'll probably get my positioning analyzed eventually.

Blue Belly

You should start with problem areas. Problems shifting? Too much flex in a crank arm? That type of thing. After that, wheels. Get the best that you can.

cthenn

Reading your posts OP, it seems like you are completely new to cycling (correct me if I'm wrong). Also, looking at the bike specs, frankly they are pretty low end (not that there's anything wrong with that). The point is, if you spend money on upgrading an entry level bike, but at the same time really get big time into riding, you will probably end up regretting buying individual upgrades. I would ride the bike for a while (at least a year), and if you find yourself gaining fitness, and want to stick with it, maybe at that time you could just sell this bike and upgrade to a standard drop bar road bike (with higher end/upgraded parts). It looks like this bike is a hybrid/city bike, which is just not worth "converting" into a road bike, IMO. Unless you are looking to build the most badass city bike ever, haha!

Redbullet

I have researched a lot about prices before buying a bike. My feeling was that buying a new bike on the web was far less expensive than separately buying the bike components one by one (not to mention the assembling effort). Handlebars, wheels, seat post, Ultegra / SRAM 22 - that sound like a very large proportion of the bike. What would be the difference in price between all those, on one hand, and buying a new bike, on the other hand?

Redbullet

P.S.: flat bars to drop - would the final geometry fit? Then: 9 cogs to the modern 11 (not that it would really bring a lot of comfort...), possible compatibility issues all around... maybe you would spend some 20-25% more for a new bike, than you plan now to spend only for an upgrade... And you would finally have 2 bikes instead of 1.

exmechanic89

My advice would be to get out and ride, you have a bike that rides just fine as is. Dropping bike weight will not make you a better rider..