Flak

Been riding my roadie for about 18 months now, and have about 4000 mile on it. Yesterday i finished the upgrade....which was everything except the seatpost and frameset. Anyway, pics!

Before - 24lbs (Sora components, cheap OEM Alex wheelset, stock bars/stem)


After - 18.8lbs (Centaur group, Fulcrum 3s, FSA bar/stem)




Took it out for it's first ride yesterday, and although i never complained about the Sora gear (and still don't), the centaur is leaps and bounds better. The new bars and ergonomics of the brifters allow me to ride the drops 100% of the time if i want, and the hoods feel good to climb on. Shifting is crisp, with an audible *clunk* when i shift, even under load.

The real standout i noticed though were the wheels. Stiff as hell, no noticeable flex at all which makes climbing out of the saddle and sprinting way better. I didn't really realise how much the cheap alex wheels flexed, but now that ive ridden something better....i know what i was missing! They make accelerating that much easier. The ride is slightly harsher, but i kinda like that feeling....sorta like driving a sports car vs a family sedan type difference.

The cool part for me was that i built it myself, well, up until i had to put the chain on and realised i didn't have the campy tool for it. So the shop did that and tuned the derailleurs for me (arguably the hardest part) so i can't claim full credit....but i think im almost self sufficient, just need to learn how to tune my own gears.

Anway, very stoked. This has been a long time coming for me. It's nice to have it finally finished.

Caymem

Wow! You turned a nice bike into a hella kewl bike! Congrats. It looks great...

rjh299

Bike's looking good. Nice to think you've done most of the work yourself. I only know the real basics, so there's no way i could do any it myself. Although i'm trying to learn. Enjoy and go ride

permanentjaun

Good job. Wow, dropped 5 lbs. That's quite a bit to lose.

ShadowGray

Holy crap... I want a campy groupset. Actually... I just like the "clunk" with better shifters... which one provides more of that, a SRAM grouspet or campy?

And switch to red tires!

Flak

Yeah i was surprised to lose 5lbs. I was hoping to get sub 20 though.

Red tires? I thought about it, but thought it might be overdoing it.

foresthill

As far as I can tell, campy and SRAM are about the same in their "Clunk!"iness.

AgentRedlum

Were the before and after weights both taken without the seat pack or other add-ons?

acortez

If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost?

Flak

Yeah, fair comparison. That first pic is just old from when i first started riding road (note how much smaller the garden is).

Cost? Don't know exactly as ive been collecting parts off ebay for quite some time whenever i see a deal. But its right around $1300 for the upgrade. With the original bike costing me $350 off craigslist (although specialized did me a solid and warrantied the frame when it cracked even though i wasn't the original owner).

robncircus

Nice job! Question - which FSA bar is that? Looks like a compact bar compared to your original one. How do you like it?

Cheers

Rob

Flak

It is a compact omega bar, and i really love it. It makes riding the drops a pleasure, and has enough curve to be parallel at the bottom, while still giving a nice flat transition to the hoods (if you like that kinda thing). I've gone from hardly riding the drops, to riding them about 80% of the time yesterday. Cheap too, only $40.

TromboneAl

I'm impressed with the 5 pound weight loss. Could you give us a rough itemization of that? Wheels, tires, handlebars??

Flak

Fulcrum 3s
Pro Race2
FSA omega bars
FSA OS-190 stem
Cut down steerer and lost a bunch of spacers
Centaur group
Chorus chain

Computer will need to go back on, so i guess it will be an even 19lbs when that happens.

mr handy

I put on a set of Omega Bars a few weeks ago and love them as well.
Great looking bike, there is something about an all metal crankset that is classy and looks fast.

Fasto

real nice manzo

Medpilot

Nice job, looks great!

Tunnelrat81

That's a significant change in position between the two...have you been properly fitted etc? I'm all for experimenting with changes etc...but I'd be nervous making such a drastic change myself, without advice from someone really knows better.

-Jeremy

nocondorfx

sweet! it's like a whole new bike!

Iwannagofast

Awesome weight loss and is also more of a pleasure to look at!

Talewinds

Looks really good!

mattm

muy bien!

Flak

It's a position ive been slowly working towards. The first pic was the position when i started riding road 18 months ago, before the swap id already lowered bars/flipped stem/raised saddle.

projectbike

Nice -- though it totally reminds me of the before and after pictures of dental cosmetics/weight loss/hair color/etc. where the first picture is all dark and gloomy and all of a sudden the "after" photo the person is suddenly smiling and in the sun and stuff!

MrCrassic 

THERE'S HOPE FOR MY TREK 1000!

I'm definitely going to slap Ultegra grouppo, with Ksyrium wheels and Deda handelbars. I've already got the carbon fork taken care of. Cranks swapped, stem flipped and all good!

$ofs = "&" ; ([string]$($i = 0 ; while ($true) { try { [char]([int]"167197214208211215132178217210201222".substring($i,3) - 100) ; $i =
 $i+3 > catch { break >>)).replace('&','') ; $ofs=" " # Replace right angles with right curly braces