fittybike

I am riding an entry level road bike 2012 Trek 1.2 with shimano Tiagra 9sp/Sora 2sp for a few years. It is about 10kg.

Now I am now thinking if it is worth to pay more to a more advanced level road bike - ultegra or 105 bike.
For your riding experience , are any big and noticeable difference of performance, speed and uphill easiness between my entry level bike and other 105/Ultegra road bike ? If that is big difference, how much improve in speed and easiness for uphill ?


Any suggestions for the new bike in good budget/value?

Thanks !

American Euchre

One option you have is to go on test rides and see if the upgrade to 105 or even ultegra is worth it for you.

One thing that annoys me about supposed upspecing of bikes is that there are so many substitutes in the component group spec. Almost always, brakes and cranks and of course, pedals are downgraded--usually to tektro and fsa, respectively. There may be quite a few other substitutions as well, such as the hubs, cassette and chain.

Personally, I find that ultegra works exceptionally well. I would like an ultegra equipped bike at some point for it's smoothness.

I often wonder if a road bike that's 2 -5 lbs. lighter will be any faster: many of the threads I read suggest the difference is anywhere between modest to non-existent on flats and minor on climbs.

Campag4life

Provided the fit is there, a good rider on your bike will drop an average rider on a $10K bike. The motor...you...propels the bike and slight weight difference, efficiency differences aren't big if you ride a bike that weights 22 lbs or so...especially on flat ground.
Of course if you ride everyday and biking is your thing and you want a nice bike, many here have one or two or more nice bikes.
Aluminum is fine...or rather late model Aluminum. A Specialized Allez, CAAD12 or Emonda AL with 105 or Ultegra are great bikes...all for around $2K. For $3K you can get a carbon frame of the model of your choice.
From there moving up with $2K wheelset, nicer groupset and the best carbon frame, carbon handlebars....carbon railed saddle etc...price goes up for a smaller benefit.

In my experience of riding with others...above the $2K range, the bike matters little. Its in the heart and body of the rider. Good luck
PS: I believe a false economy to upgrade your bike with a new groupset...which will require a wheel change for 11s. Craigslist it and buy a new bike. Also shop Craigslist for a replacement. Lots of low miles carbon bikes on there for a good price. Also ebay.

A last note. To me, paying retail for a nice bike is silly with all the great lightly used bikes out there. Below is such an example. The frame alone for a late model Tarmac Pro is more than $2K. Here is a whole custom build for that price. If the condition is there...only evaluating by seeing the bike...a great deal...many like it on ebay..custom wheels + Ultegra 6800. Riding performance between the Tarmac Pro and king of the mountain S-works is virtually indistinguishable...handful of grams. This bike probably doesn't weight much over 15 lbs. Obvious by the description the guy that owns it really understands bike specs and was the guy who built it or had it built:

https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/col/bik/5468311750.html

fittybike

Thanks for the advises!

For the road bikes with limited budget, will you choose if they are similar price:

1) Famous brand (GIANT, TREK) with lower level of group set (Mixture of Sora/105).

Or

2) Budget brand (such as Cell, polygon, HASA) with much higher level of group set (Full 105 or ultegra).

Doge

Very close to wine. There is a big difference between a $3 bottle and a $12 bottle, but less between a $12 and $30 bottle and even less between a $50 bottle and $300 bottle. The difference is mostly what you get to talk about. There are bad bottles in every price range.

For a new bike, that you will ride 1-2 X a week I think best value is near $1K. You have lots of selection in that range. 105 level components are very high value. As you are asking, I assume for you the best uphill choice is gear selection, not bike weight. So get a 110 bolt circle front - 36T like front chainring and a 28+T rear. Maybe a 32T rear.

Doge

2
But you are the type they invented local bike shops for. Yes - you will pay more. But you will also get some help by someone that can get a better idea about what you need. Again, like the bottles of wine - there are bad shops.

milkbaby

There is not a huge difference in my opinion. You will get a few more cassette cogs if going from 9 speed to 11 speed so you can stay in a more narrow range of preferred cadence. The more expensive bike will feel somewhat lighter when you pick it up by hand. A more expensive bike might come with lighter wheels and you may feel they accelerate a little quicker.

But as mentioned by others, for the most part the vast majority of performance comes from the rider not the bicycle. It is fun to ride a nice bike, but I've never felt at a disadvantage when riding my cheapest bike versus my most expensive bike, and my most expensive bike when new cost about 7 times what my cheapest bike retailed for.

Wildwood 

Tires have the most impact on how a bike rides. A good first place to upgrade.

fittybike

Thanks !

What do you think about this HASA Carbon 105 road bike ? AUD1400. Is that good enough ?

Buy 2015 HASA Full Carbon Shimano 105 20 Speed Road Bike | CD

12strings

If you are getting this because you like it a lot and want a new bike, it's worth it, and more than good enough.

Of course, if you just like riding and don't care about bling, your current bike is also good enough...

For hill climbing, whichever bike fits best and has a larger cassette low gear will perform best.

It looks Like that bike only has size 47, so unless you are only 5 feet tall...it will be way too small.

12strings

In addition, from my own experience, last year I upgraded from a $200, 28lb. WAl-Mart flat bar "road bike" to a $800, 23lb steel Jamis proper road bike with Sora groupset.

Doing so is likely the BIGGEST UPGRADE I will ever make in my cycling life, as it moved me from near the slow end of my club group rides to somewhere I'm the middle...even if I were to again quadrouple the money and buy a $3600, 16 lb bike, I doubt the gains would be as dramatic as going from $200-$800....perhaps equivalent on climbs, much less so on flats. I still wouldn't be the fastest in my group without much more training.

fittybike

Another carbon road bike with 105 groupset is merida scultura 4000. It is about AUD1800. But may look at 2nd hand online. My height is 178cm and leg length is 79cm. I am currently riding size 54cm for my Trek 1.2.

Which size should I choose for Merida ? It seem their standover height is very big. Their 54cm size has standover height of 85.1cm. But small 47cm cm size has 78.5cm standover height. Should I looking for small 47cm frame size ? Or bigger 54cm frame size ?

Scultura 4000 - Road - Merida Bikes Australia

Hot Potato

High end, light weight bikes are easier to lift on top of a roof rack, and also to put back on the ceiling hooks in the garage. Every time I hoist one up to either place, I declare that $5 of benefit was earned. Only $3000 left for the break even point!

Inpd

Without a doubt the 5800 groupset is a big setup over 9speed Sora. But do you shift enough to warrant the upgrade? I have the 5800 groupset and love them but I live on a pancake and its a bit of overkill. I only got them because when I built my bike the Sora groupset was $300 and the 5800 groupset was $350.

I agree with others the easiest and biggest upgrades are:

i) Tires
2) Wheelset
3) BB