RomeoTango

I have a 2009 Scott CR1 Team compact, and after a couple years of on/off due to injuries and surgeries (non-cycling related) I am finally back to riding. As a new rider since early 2010 I am finally really able to enjoy myself.

My Scott has all 105 components, Mavic Askiums, 11-25 cassette, Conti Gatorbacks. Have a Specialized Avatar seat that I like.

My primary riding routes have some very rough, old roads and plenty of rolling hills. Almost like doing interval training.

So getting to my actual question: What upgrades will I really notice? Not necessarily looking to drop bike weight. The Scott is pretty light out of the box (I'm the one that should shed a few pounds!). Is there more efficiency, better feel, more smooth wheels or casette. Maybe better hubs? Better crank? Swap the chain to a KMC (seems popluar and a good switch)? My frame is good (as far as this newbie can tell) and easy to work around. Handlebars and stems are just that, right? Nothing to get excited about,yes? Are my 2009 105 components still comparable to the current offerings?

Or is there a level of bike and components where maintenance is most important to having a great bike? If so, I would really appreciate someone calling out those maintenance areas and periodicity. I just learned how to adjust my rear derailleur and enjoy a little wrenching.

Thanks in advance for advice!

bianchi10

If you are wanting to shed some weight just for dropping weight, look at bars, stem, seat post, wheels, crank and brake calipers.

If you are wanting to shed weight AND have actual benefit look into wheels, light tubes, lighter tires.

Keep your chain and cassette clean and greased or lubed. I clean mine every time I wash my bike which is nearly every other ride.

roadiejorge 

I would just focus on spending more time on the saddle; what you have is perfectly fine. Typically where you feel the biggest difference is coming from a significantly heavier bike with bad components, but once you have decent equipment the differences aren't that noticeable when considered with the cost of feeling those minor differences.

Kai Winters

Many get caught up in the "upgrade" rage buying parts for the sake of an upgrade with minimal improvements and high cost.
105 is good "working man's" kit. It was considered, and still may be, entry level race kit and I knew many that raced very happily on 105.
Overall I'd change nothing if it all works well.

Personally my most important bits are the saddle, shoes and pedals...as long as the bike itself is fine and yours sound like it. A comfortable saddle that allows forward/aft movement is important to an enjoyable ride regardless of effort...shoes that fit well, don't slide on your feet attached to pedals that provide a stable base with good adjustments for release pressure is also important for comfort, efficiency and stability especially when out of the saddle.

Maintenance can be more personal depending on your fussiness level. I clean and lube my chain/drive train every 4 to 6 weeks. I wash the frame and wheelset at the same time. I also clean off the brake pad surfaces and sand them lightly with 200 grit sandpaper to remove any debris and glazing...my brake pads never squeal and have excellent modulation/braking. I use WD40 to clean the drivetrain, a quality lube for the chain and pivot points, Windex to wash the frame and wheelset...rims and tires...checking the condition of the tires as I clean them...I spray Windex on a clean shop rag and holding it to the tire as I roll it along my work bench. I clean all rim surfaces checking the condition of the rim as well. Then I spray some WD40 on the cassette and clean off the buildup.
With my bike, sans wheels, on my Park work stand I spray the chain and drive train with WD40...liberally as I get the stuff from work where we use it by the gallon it seems...the excess drips off on old shop rags sitting on a piece of carpet pad to keep the floor clean. I use an old toothbrush, holding it again all four chain surfaces...one at a time..., while turning the crank to scrub any gunk off the chain. I spray some more WD to rinse the gunk off then wipe all surfaces clean with shop rags. I lube the chain and pivot points, wait approx 10 minutes for the lube to penetrate then wipe all excess off with a clean rag. Then I spray Windex, lightly on the frame and wipe clean with a clean shop rag. I also wipe the brake pad surfaces...Once this is all done I use the sandpaper to sand the pad surfaces removing glazing.
One this is finished I spray some Pledge furniture polish on old, worn out tshirts cut into pieces and polish the frame. Put the wheels back on, check shifting for smoothness and ready to go.

Many may consider this overkill but in over 20 years of racing, most at the cat3 then vets/masters level of racing in NE I never had a race mechanical...many years over 75 races per year...including flats in races like Killington...when it was 5 days, Fitchburg, Putney, etc...very hard and challenging races with dirt roads...Putney...and varied road surfaces.
People also have their favorite cleaning/lube materials...The only good material is the material used...

Check your chain and cassette...If your chain is at the replacement stretch length you should/may want to replace it. If it has been a long time or never been replaced, replace both as the cassette gear teeth will change shape to the stretched chain and will skip when a new chain is installed.
But that does not necessarily mean you need to change them. Generally nothing will break or make riding dangerous...I always replaced my chain every 3 months when racing...but again up to 250 plus hard miles per week and maybe 3 or more races...as an experiment I did not replace my last chain for nearly 10 years...while it did stretch it hit a final stretch point and no further...I finally replaced both the chain and cassette this year for no good reason other than I felt like it. The drive train worked perfectly throughout that period and I put on an average of 3000 miles per year.

My drive train is a mix of Campy Record Carbon and Chorus parts, 9 speed, 1999 vintage...it was new when I put it on my frame. The kit is a higher quality than 105 but keeping your drive train clean and properly lubed is a key to a smooth system that lasts a long time.

It's a lazy Sunday morning and you caught me in a loquacious mood, hence the long winded post.
My bike runs and looks like new...It's a '99 Merlin Ti basis road frame...and will keep running/looking that way for years to come. I hope yours does too.

If you enjoy riding and want something "nicer" I suggest saving your money and buying a new bike. Save your current bike for wet roads, etc.

TakingMyTime

I'm just starting out again myself. I'd love to have your bike. I'd say, keep it clean and lubed and ride the hell out of it.

hhnngg1

Honestly, probably nothing you upgrade will make a really big difference in comfort or speed.

My $650 entry level road bike rides pretty much as well as my Cervelo. A bit differently, but the ride is just as comfortable and just as fast. The shifting differences between Sora and DA are the obvious difference, with my Sora triple being a bit finicky at the extreme gears as well as shifting under pressure. But outside of shifting (which you pay a huge premium to upgrade and won't notice any real difference from 105 to DA), you won't have any obvious improvement in changing lots of stuff. Sure, little small improvements, but no major things.

It's actually pretty shocking how good an entry level bike stacks up against a $4k+ bike outside if you compare comfort and speed.

johnny99

I disagree. The most common (and useful) upgrades are intended to change your fit on the bike. A longer stem, narrower handlebar, different shaped saddle, etc. can make a big difference in your comfort and even your speed if your upgrades make your bike fit significantly better. Gear ratios and tire width are also worth considering, but probably not until you have a 1000 miles on your bike.

Upgrading components just for fun is pretty silly since you are still limited by the original frame.

mshred

Bibs and jerseys. Contact points. Put that avatar to the test on some 3 or 4 hour rides. Might decide you want a new saddle...might not. Get a good fitting if you are having any pain and/ or comfort issues.

Bike sounds nice... I'm jealous.

just my two cents.

Homebrew01

Good 25mm tires at 100 psi will smooth out those rough roads a bit.

RomeoTango

I very much appreciate all the advice and find all of it spot on to my own reasoning. I have been moderately fitted to the bike meaning I had my local shop fit me AFTER I had researched and fitted myself (with the help of a cycling friend). They didn't change much at all. I do find that my Scott is likely much better at cycling than I am so I am not soon to overtake the bike! Given that my biggest distractor right now is shoes, as Kai called out, - I am on the hunt for some affordable carbons. I had also considered a cassette change to a 12-27 (feels like wimping out getting rid of the 11-25). So the bottom line is maintain it and ride it!

I had been considering saving up for a nicer bike so I believe that's route I'll take rather than go crazy upgrading. Though hhnngg1 called it - I may not notice the difference. But what the heck, we'll see what happens. Only thing better than one bike is two bikes, right?! I really don't know what I don't know about bikes. Bought the Scott -brace yourself- on the Internet. Guess I got lucky, but I did do enough research. It was just the best deal by a good margin and I didn't know any better.

bianchi10

But he isn't asking what items he can change to have his bike fit him better. True, a saddle that fits you or bars that are shaped better for you will always be an upgrade regardless of brand, price or material. He is asking what he can get that will be better in terms of performance.

carpediemracing 

If you want immediate cheap stuff then make sure your cables are trimmed down, your bar tape is fresh, your tires are in good shape, clean up your bike.

Clipless pedals and good shoes are a huge step.

Fresh chain and cassette will tighten up drivetrain feel, less slop. Both those work the same when new regardless of price - the nicer stuff usually lasts a bit longer (except when you get to Ti cassette cogs and hollow chain pins).

But I'd get wheels, lighter wheels, with light rim strips, thin butyl tubes, and some light tough tires (I don't know the Contis because I tend not to like them).

A teammate upgraded his entire bike from an alum/105 bike to carbon/ultegra. Even with a steep discount he spent thousands of dollars to buy that second bike. I was a bit surprised because I told him the best upgrade for the least money would be for him to get wheels for his alum/105 bike (and if he really wanted to spend all that money he could get a used power meter).

Then he upgraded the wheels/tires, a year after he got that new bike. He spent about $750 total for wheels, tires.

He never raved about the upgrade with the bike. He couldn't shut up about how great the bike felt after he upgraded the wheels. It's not cognitive dissonance at work there (he should have been raving about the bike). He was really happy with the wheels, how it livened up his bike.

Fit is a huge upgrade if the bike doesn't fit you right now. I went from a "squeeze-into-a-factory-fit" bike to a lower grade custom fit (SystemSix to an all aluminum frame). The frame alone weighed 300g more (the fork I used was about 150g heavier), it didn't have the tapered head tube (that's still on my wish list), but it fit me better. It is effectively about 5-6 cm longer in reach, has a 1.5 cm shorter chain stay (for handling as a side effect of the extra long top tube). My inexpensive custom frame (current price is $900 I think, back then it was $650-750) absolutely and totally changed the way my bike fit me, a massive change for me. If someone offered me a super duper frame I'd refuse it unless I could get it in my preferred fit. Venge, P5, whatever, useless to me because no one makes a factory tiny frame with a super long top tube.

Since most people fit factory bikes you can work on optimizing your fit. What happens is that as you get more cycling fit you can get into more of an aggressive position. That aggressive position isn't just for racing, it recruits more muscles, you go faster for a given effort due to being more aero, etc. Even your climbing improves. Plus it's fun to go a bit faster than you did before.

For starters bar and stem can make a difference. Saddle too, since it's a contact point. On a given fit these things till transfer from bike to bike so I personally spend money on some of those things (stem, saddle) and I happen to cheapen out on bars.

Crank length changes can help bring together your fitness and power curves (I tend to push, I tend to be not fit, I have high absolute power but low endurance, and for me long cranks seemed to really help me).

Brake pads can make a difference for not a lot of money. I run Koolstop pads in all my brakes (which vary among Campy and Shimano).

I would not upgrade brakes, front derailleur, headset.

Cranks are a poor return for the money, but a good set of cranks is much stiffer, the chainrings run straighter, and there's a satisfying solidness to the shifting when you have new higher quality chainrings (which are thicker, stiffer, and wear longer).

After all that the rider also makes a huge difference. You implied that you could lose some weight. Work at it. It's not as easy as just riding - if that were the case I'd have been super light in 2009 but I started that year at about 200 lbs (5'7") and, after doing multiple weeks of 4 hard days in a row (3 racing, 1 training), I was finally getting moderately fit at 183 lbs. After a bad crash that August (my first ever broken bone) I dieted. I was down in the 154 range before I started training a lot and raced the next year at 158 or so, 25-30 lbs lower than the prior year. It was the first year I qualified to upgrade to Cat 2. I didn't do any weird training, in fact I did less racing and group rides than the year before but I was riding much better. So I'd encourage you to spend a few months dieting and losing weight. It's not easy (I'm back at 172-174 from peaking at 185 or so) but this is my goal for this fall/winter. Losing 20 lbs is worth more than anything a bike can offer, and it benefits you even off the bike. Most people can safely lose 2 lbs a week (that's about my max rate) so that's 10 weeks of militant dieting. During that time I'd leave training as a side thought - if you feel like riding fine but if you don't ride at all that's fine too (I couldn't ride for something like 8 or so weeks and I started my diet after I was sort of able to pedal but I didn't train much until the end of December).

gcottay

As already mentioned, with a decent bike that fits us the most important performance upgrades are all related to the motor.

thehammerdog

lose about ten pound, ride 10% more each week, use HR monitor and SMILE!

Gharp23

Upgraded legs.

RomeoTango

Yep, start with the legs. Not sure about the rest of me...wife might have some input...

kenji666

Schedule a bike fitting if you have not already done so.

knobster

I switched/upgraded (whatever you want to call it) from Conti 25mm Gatorskins to Grand Bois Cyprus 32mm tires and it was a major improvement in both comfort and speed. I (knock on wood) haven't gotten a flat in years, regardless of what tire I was using so I don't feel the need to use Gatorskin type of tires. They ride like crap and are slow...

pgjackson

The only thing that you can buy that you will notice is better clothing. Upgrade comfort. You can't upgrade performance.

rearviewbeer

Ride up grades...

cqcumber

upgrade the engine by training and riding your bike

sreten

Hi,

Switching tyres and running them at the right pressures
can make a big difference. Rough roads the widest near
slicks that will fit run at optimum pressure is an idea.

Other than that, if it ain't bust, don't fix it, ride it.

If the rear cassette has a range not suited to you
a new one might help with better gear choices.

rgds, sreten.

kv501

Lose weight. Seriously.

When I started road biking I weighed 235~ lbs. I road that way for quite a while, losing 5-6 lbs in the summer when I was riding a lot, then putting it back on in the winter. Eventually I cleaned up my diet and got down to 190 (which is still too heavy). The difference was absolutely stunning. Totally unbelievable.

Hills got easier, I had WAY more endurance, I was faster all-around, and I just felt better in general. I'd say I started noticing a difference when I hit the 20 lb mark. If you think about it, taking off 45 lbs meant there were almost three 16 lb bowling balls that I wasn't lugging up a hill every time. Taking tthe weight off isn't really that hard if you commit to eating clean and ride a lot (and if you live in a colder climate stay active in the winter).

If you are set on buying something: wheels.

nastystang

Wheels and tires will give the bike a different feel. Everything else unless broke is just a vanity upgrade. Who am I kidding even the wheels and tires are. Riding the bike and getting fit is the best upgrade but you will notice wheels and tires.

Dean V

Not a bad idea but they might not fit. 28mm Schwalbe ZX wouldn't fit on my Scott Addict.