travis85904

Well here I am about a month and a half into owning my first road bike. I originally bought a Trek domane 2.0 for $999 from the LBS with the intention of upgrading the stock Tiagra group. Im pretty much done doing my upgrades to it now and im at about $1,800 (not counting pedals/shoes) once you add the cost of the parts and then take away the money I made selling the stock stuff.

What i've done so far:
-Ultegra 6800 group (50/34 crank, 11-32 casette)
-Mavic Aksium Elite wheel/tire combo (didnt intend on upgrading wheels but stock ones wouldnt fit an 11 speed casette)

I also threw on some Speedplay Zero Cro-Moly pedals but didnt include those in the cost of the bike.

Cost Breakdown:
$1000 Trek Domane 2.0
$600 Ultegra 6800 Group
$350 Mavic Aksium Elite wheel/tire combo
$100 misc tools, etc
---------------------------
$2,050 subtotal

sold stock Tiagra group -$200
sold stock Bontrager Wheelset -$120

----------------------------
$1,830 Grand Total

Honestly I've been having a total blast getting into the whole cycling thing and I definetely feel way more connected with my bike ever since I swapped out the group, being as I basically rebuilt it from the ground up. I figured I would come here to see what you guys think about how I did with the price and all vs something I could've bought off the shelf. I think I did pretty good based on what i've seen for similarly equipped bike and alot of that i'm guessing has to do with the fact that I swapped the group myself so I saved on labor cost.

Anyways here's a picture, tell me what you guys think!

ckindt

Bike = very nice!
Seat bag = not so nice.

Now go ride and enjoy it.

travis85904

lol, whats wrong with my seat bag?

mpath

Well, what are you carrying in it?

ckindt

Seat bags just aren't very photogenic on road bikes, especially ones that could fit 3 cornish game hens and all the fixins.

noodle soup

It's freakin' huge

elboGreaze

I'm getting one, I could put a 6 of Stella in there ! Nice build, by the way, beautiful ! I do all my own work and have built up a few old steel bikes with more modern stuff, so I can relate to how you feel about your bike .

HTupolev

Road cyclists should have support cars follow them rather than use saddle bags.

netman9718

What is the felt difference between gearsets? If you rode it before upgrades. Reason I ask is I have a Domane 4.0 with the Sora gearset I'm thinking of swapping out with a upgrade gearset. I may need to do the wheel switch too.
I have the same bag and most of the time it's too big but it is perfect for longer rides or Ragbrai type ride.

travis85904

-tire repair kit including c02
-multi tool
-speed play cleat buddies

I think that's everything

rms13

Easily fits in jersey back pocket and you will look more pro

WhyFi

9/10, would read again.

jamesdak 

What bag is that? I need another large one.

69chevy

The bike looks good. I'm not a fan of the ape hangers though.

StanSeven

Who's to say a small support vehicle like a Smart Car wouldn't fit?

Nice looking bike though. The gray, black, silver and white look great together.

travis85904

The ultegra is definitely way crisper, and it's whisper quiet. Whether or not I think it is worth the $500 difference I'm not sure. But I certainly don't regret doing it. And I love the fact the the ultegra cassettes are forged steel rather than stamped.

Larry77

The best part is you feel more "connected" with your bike and now you can easily do repairs that you might not otherwise known how to do or had the tools to do it. Yes, you probably could have sold your bike and bought a new one with at least as nice components but you wouldn't have had the enjoyment of building your own bike. I think your bike looks great, the 6800 series is a great choice.

If you keep riding and get more and more into it you may want to start saving for some even nicer wheels. Wheels make the biggest difference in upgrades and you can get a nice custom set for less than $1k.

American Euchre

Sharp looking bike. Great decision on the 6800 group as well, Shimano's best in terms of price/performance ratio.

Don't let these freds criticize your choice of bike bag, man.

bakes1

Nice bike, cool bag.
The only way you could have offended the spandys even more though would have been by taking the pic from the non drivetrain side or not having matching bar tape.
The horror...

Dan333SP

I like the frame color scheme. Looks like you did a nice job on the build, but it would look a lot more appealing if you were able to flip and lower the stem. Comfort over aesthetics, but maybe over time you can get comfortable riding lower with a flatter back.

Nachoman

I think you did a great job. I've been surfing around the trek superstore website lately and nothing comes close.

American Euchre

Too many judgmental fat freds in this thread.

travis85904

What's a Fred?

WalksOn2Wheels

I would recommend getting a quick test ride on an Ultegra equipped bike to see the difference for yourself. I would also recommend looking at 105 11 speed. the 5800/6800/9000 stuff basically varies only in weight and is near identical in terms of performance. Why spend more money if you don't have to? Unless you want to. Sometimes you just gotta have a little mid-level bling.

Dan333SP

Fred (bicycling - BikeParts Wiki - Wikia)

Pot calling the kettle black in his case, methinks.

You've done a nice job with the build and have more mechanical knowledge just from swapping your own groupset than 95% of the posters here. The aesthetic nitpicking is irrelevant because you ride what's comfortable and carry what you need in the bag.