Which is a better upgrade?

SteelIsReal said:

I have been racing for a couple years now and am getting more serious in the sport of cycling. The problem is the gear I use isnt the best. I have a triple crankset running a shimano 105 group. I want to get a double crank with either ultegra or dura ace so I can improve my cross chaining and lose some weight plus to have a 39 for climbing instead of the 42 I use now,who really uses a 30? Also I have old look clipless pedals and the lowest end sidi shoes they have. My question is lose the triple or get carbon soles and new pedals??

Just buy a 39t chainring & swap it for the 42t on your current crankset ...

If you want to change the Q-factor, then get a new BB & remove the granny.

BTW. Do you really need new shoes, or simply want a new pair?

alfeng said:

Just buy a 39t chainring & swap it for the 42t on your current crankset ...

If you want to change the Q-factor, then get a new BB & remove the granny.

BTW. Do you really need new shoes, or simply want a new pair?

Well i know that rotational weight is more cost effective. My pedals are heavy like around 350-400 grams heavy. They also squeak when im out of the saddle doing efforts. Plus i heard carbon is more stiff and has better power transfer is this true?

SteelIsReal said:

Well i know that rotational weight is more cost effective. My pedals are heavy like around 350-400 grams heavy. They also squeak when im out of the saddle doing efforts. Plus i heard carbon is more stiff and has better power transfer is this true?

IMO, SIDI's nylon soles are not as stiff as some other brands (e.g., Shimano's nylon soled shoes are probably as stiff as their carbon fiber soled shoes) ... which is why SIDI shoes are lighter, or vice-versa -- that is, SIDI shoes have a thinner sole.

I don't think your pedals are extraordinarily heavy ... not light, but pretty normal, IMO.

You can re-LUBE the bearings on most LOOK/-type pedals ... one of the spindles is left-hand threaded (I would need to have one in front of me to tell you which is which ... someone can probably tell you OR you can see which one unthreads from the pedal counter-clockwise and surmise that the other will unthread clockwise).

New cleats might eliminate some of the noise you are noticing.

SteelIsReal said:

I have been racing for a couple years now and am getting more serious in the sport of cycling. The problem is the gear I use isnt the best. I have a triple crankset running a shimano 105 group. I want to get a double crank with either ultegra or dura ace so I can improve my cross chaining and lose some weight plus to have a 39 for climbing instead of the 42 I use now,who really uses a 30? Also I have old look clipless pedals and the lowest end sidi shoes they have. My question is lose the triple or get carbon soles and new pedals??

alfeng makes the bargain suggestion for the crankset issue. Having a 39 will broaden your gear range and you don't need the triple.

Performance-wise for a pedal/shoe change, doubt you will notice any difference if the current shoes are comfortable. A few grams in the pedal weight doesn't really matter.

That said, the newest pedal systems are easier to get in an out of and the newer cleat designs a bit more durable and walkable.

Until I bought a new bike I did the swap the middle ring to a 39 trick on my bike. I was in the same boat as you basically. I was racing a triple and not wanting to use the 30 (shifting out of it could be too slow - seriously even if the sift just took a couple of extra seconds it would be enough to cause a gap). I switched the 42 for a 39 and locked out the 30. It would have been pretty expensive for me to switch to a double so I decided to save my money towards a new bike.

Eden said:

Until I bought a new bike I did the swap the middle ring to a 39 trick on my bike. I was in the same boat as you basically. I was racing a triple and not wanting to use the 30 (shifting out of it could be too slow - seriously even if the sift just took a couple of extra seconds it would be enough to cause a gap). I switched the 42 for a 39 and locked out the 30. It would have been pretty expensive for me to switch to a double so I decided to save my money towards a new bike.

Yeah i like this idea it sounds like a money saver. I need to have the front derailear readjusted as well I would think to not have it jump down to a triple that isnt there? Right? thanks for the help.

SteelIsReal said:

Yeah i like this idea it sounds like a money saver. I need to have the front derailear readjusted as well I would think to not have it jump down to a triple that isnt there? Right? thanks for the help.

Yeah - after he (my husband did all the wrenching for me 🙄 ) put on the 39 he adjusted the front derailleur so that it couldn't go down into the 30 - I left the little ring on, mainly because its kind of a pain to pull it off and the weight savings isn't that great... you need to put in a spacer if you are going to take it off.