Component upgrades --> Weights?

[Lonnie Utah]

Hi everyone,

Last summer I talked the wife into letting me get my first road bike. Cannondale r400. It's served it's intended purpose. Now I'm looking to upgrade the components and shave some weight off the bike. From searching and reading here, I've decided to upgrade the following components at this time: Wheels, Cranks and Shifters. My current wheels (Mach1 cvx?) come in at like 1200g each or something like that. The crank is about 1,000g and the shifters I'm upgrading from the not so great sora's that came with the setup.

Here's my question, for the wheels and crank, what are reasonable weight's that I need to shoot for. I'm guessing 900-1000 grams for the wheels and 600-700 grams for the cranks. I'm I way off? Anybody want to offer advice on specifics and prices (What should I spend?) I like to climb and have many big, long hills here to work on.

Finally, I know I would be better off to just buy a new bike, but I don't know if I could convince my better half that I need to drop $2k+ on a bike less than a year after I bought my first one.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
L

EDIT: I'd like a triple so maybe the weight there might go as high as 800g(?)

 

[abbi]

I don't know exact weights, but I would suggest going no higher than the Shimano 105 line. They are nice, durable components, but not so nice that they would be out of place on a entry-level frame, and they might let you save up more for the next bike!

 

[boudreaux]

Hi everyone,

Last summer I talked the wife into letting me get my first road bike. Cannondale r400. It's served it's intended purpose. Now I'm looking to upgrade the components and shave some weight off the bike. From searching and reading here, I've decided to upgrade the following components at this time: Wheels, Cranks and Shifters. My current wheels (Mach1 cvx?) come in at like 1200g each or something like that. The crank is about 1,000g and the shifters I'm upgrading from the not so great sora's that came with the setup.

Here's my question, for the wheels and crank, what are reasonable weight's that I need to shoot for. I'm guessing 900-1000 grams for the wheels and 600-700 grams for the cranks. I'm I way off? Anybody want to offer advice on specifics and prices (What should I spend?) I like to climb and have many big, long hills here to work on.

Finally, I know I would be better off to just buy a new bike, but I don't know if I could convince my better half that I need to drop $2k+ on a bike less than a year after I bought my first one.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
L

EDIT: I'd like a triple so maybe the weight there might go as high as 800g(?)

Cranks are a waste of time and money. Upgrading shifters means going to 9 speed unless you can find some old 8 speed units. 9 speed also means a 9 speed cassette and chain. Consider open pro rims and ultegraa hubs with butted spokes built by colorado cyclist or excel sports. You can pay alot more for nothing significantly better. Get some lighter tires to go with em. A triple means crank,BB, front and rear derailers.Your sora double shifters won't shift a triple,so you HAVE to upgrade there. Consider a whole new bike.You should have planned better.

 

[boudreaux]

I don't know exact weights, but I would suggest going no higher than the Shimano 105 line. They are nice, durable components, but not so nice that they would be out of place on a entry-level frame, and they might let you save up more for the next bike!

A R400 caad4 isn't an 'entry level' fame. Saeco won pro stages on it and it's good enough to hang DA or Record on if one is so inclined.

 

[Lonnie Utah]

Cranks are a waste of time and money. Upgrading shifters means going to 9 speed unless you can find some old 8 speed units. 9 speed also means a 9 speed cassette and chain. Consider open pro rims and ultegraa hubs with butted spokes built by colorado cyclist or excel sports. You can pay alot more for nothing significantly better. Get some lighter tires to go with em. A triple means crank,BB, front and rear derailers.Your sora double shifters won't shift a triple,so you HAVE to upgrade there. Consider a whole new bike.You should have planned better.

I might be confused (and my bike is at home where I can't inspect it) But I think it's already a triple and a 9 speed....

L

 

[boudreaux]

I might be confused (and my bike is at home where I can't inspect it) But I think it's already a triple and a 9 speed....

L

You said you wanted a triple...That implied you had a double. If it's sora it's 8 speed.Maybe you just need to ride more.

 

[Tonto]

I might be confused (and my bike is at home where I can't inspect it) But I think it's already a triple and a 9 speed....

L

I don't think you can get a Sora with 9-speed?

If you're really keen on upgrading your drivetrain, you might be better off shopping around (possibly on eBay) for an entire groupset instead of trying to do it piecemeal, especially since you seem to be on an 8 speed machine at the moment. That way you save yourself the headache of working around the various incompatibilities you'll encounter in moving from 8 to 9 speed. So you'll get new cranks and shifters and also the other parts you'll need to make them work properly.
You can also get very good value on full groupsets if you're patient and shop around.

 

[Lonnie Utah]

I just pulled the specs of C-dales webpage. Here's their disclaimer....

We do our best to ensure web content accurately reflects exact product spec, however, as changes occur there may be brief delays in site updates. We reserve the right to make spec changes to improve products without prior notification, which may cause short-term differences in the information listed on the web.

I'll look tonight when I get home to end the debate. That point aside, I'm just looking for general advice.

Thanks!

(BTW, I got my bike in late may and put in over 1,200 (road) miles this year (got a few hundred more on the MTB bike). Not too shabby (I think) for a first year rider....)

 

[boudreaux]

I just pulled the specs of C-dales webpage. Here's their disclaimer....

We do our best to ensure web content accurately reflects exact product spec, however, as changes occur there may be brief delays in site updates. We reserve the right to make spec changes to improve products without prior notification, which may cause short-term differences in the information listed on the web.

I'll look tonight when I get home to end the debate. That point aside, I'm just looking for general advice.

Thanks!

(BTW, I got my bike in late may and put in over 1,200 (road) miles this year (got a few hundred more on the MTB bike). Not too shabby (I think) for a first year rider....)

There is no friggin debate! If it's sora it's 8 speed. If you you don't know what's on it or how many speeds in the back,you just need to ride more rather than throw money at 'upgrades'. That's good free advice.

 

[Lonnie Utah]

There is no friggin debate! If it's sora it's 8 speed. If you you don't know what's on it or how many speeds in the back,you just need to ride more rather than throw money at 'upgrades'. That's good free advice.

What I'm trying to say is it might not be a sora....

Thanks for the advice, (as they say, you get what you pay for!)

 

[boudreaux]

I don't think you can get a Sora with 9-speed?

It's an absolute. Sora is 7 or 8 speed.

 

[Lonnie Utah]

I know that the derailurs are both tiagra if that helps.

Let me rephrase the question. I have crappy heavy components on my bike. I would like them to be lighter. I'm pretty light myself. I would like my bike to be lighter. Thanks for your help....

L

 

[dhk]

I just pulled the specs of C-dales webpage. Here's their disclaimer....

We do our best to ensure web content accurately reflects exact product spec, however, as changes occur there may be brief delays in site updates. We reserve the right to make spec changes to improve products without prior notification, which may cause short-term differences in the information listed on the web.

I'll look tonight when I get home to end the debate. That point aside, I'm just looking for general advice.

Thanks!

(BTW, I got my bike in late may and put in over 1,200 (road) miles this year (got a few hundred more on the MTB bike). Not too shabby (I think) for a first year rider....)

IMO, the weight savings stuff is overrated by those pushing high-dollar components, or people trying to buy speed without putting in the thousands of training miles necessary. Saving the last 100 grams may make a difference to racers who win or lose sprints by inches, but durability and freedom from maintenance is more important to me. Besides, most of us recreational riders can afford to lose at least a couple of pounds of bodyweight at no cost whatsoever.

In general, would advise upgrades when the wheels or other drivetrain stuff needs replacing. By that time, maybe 5-10K miles down the road, you may just want to trade up to a new bike anyway.

 

[LowCel]

OK, not sure what year your r400 is but if it is an 04 then it came with Sora 8 speed. Here is a link to it. http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/cusa/model-4RR4T.html

If it is a 2003 it is sora/tiagra 8 speed. Here is a link to it.
http://www.epinions.com/bicycles_2003_Cannondale_R400_Triple/display_~full_specs

If it is a 2002 then it is sora/tiagra mix with 8 speed. Here is the link to it.
http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/02/cusa/model-2RR4T.html

IMO the only thing I would upgrade on this bike is the wheels and tires. If you get into converting over to a 9 speed you will end up spending a pretty nice chunk of change. It is already a nice bike but I'm sure those wheels weigh a ton.

 

[boudreaux]

I know that the derailurs are both tiagra if that helps.

Let me rephrase the question. I have crappy heavy components on my bike. I would like them to be lighter. I'm pretty light myself. I would like my bike to be lighter. Thanks for your help....

L

Throw away everything but the frame and maybe the fork. Colorado Cyclist has Ultegra 10 triple build kit for $1229. Same in Chours is $1699. If only the best is good enough, record 10 triple is $2239.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

... BTW, I got my bike in late may and put in over 1,200 (road) miles this year (got a few hundred more on the MTB bike). Not too shabby (I think) for a first year rider....

This is not intended to insult, but 1,200 miles since May '04 is not very much. Between mid-April and mid-September I've put in over 3,000 miles and am still a recreational rider. That isn't much either. There are many guys on this forum that do 10,000+ miles a year and do it every year.

My point is this, going from Sora to 105 or Ultegra is not going to improve your ability to climb or ride very much at this point in your riding career. You will be very disappointed. There are so many other things you can do to improve your ability to climb at this point. You will get much better performance gains by improving your aerobic engine.

If you want to get another set of wheels and tires in order to have one set for training and one for racing or doing personal bests that's one thing. But to start upgrading everything to 9 speed just isn't going to do yeild any tangible results. Not until you can start logging some serious miles for a few years.

You could also consider swapping out the rear cassette in order to obtain different gear ratios (not for weight savings) as most bike companies just use whatever they obtain the cheapest and not what is suitable for your particular terrain.

So the short of it is keep your bike, maybe get some extra wheels and tires and start logging those miles. And as you wear out individual components consider upgrade them. If you wear out the components around the same time (or have a financial windfall) then consider getting a new rig and keeping the R400 as a beater to ride in the rain or something.

Edit: You could also consider going clipless if you haven't already. That will make a difference over toe clips & straps.

 

[Lonnie Utah]

There are so many other things you can do to improve your ability to climb at this point. You will get much better performance gains by improving your aerobic engine.

Thanks Doc! That's why I just got through busting my @$$ on the trainer for the past hour. Looks like I'm in the market for wheels only.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Thanks Doc! That's why I just got through busting my @$$ on the trainer for the past hour. Looks like I'm in the market for wheels only.

Aren't trainers great? I simply love mine, especially since it's 27 degrees today where I live.

Wheels sound good along with some decent tires and clipless pedals/cleats if you don't have them already. I was amazed at how completely different my pedal stroke was after the switch. I never would have believed it had I not experienced it first hand.

The Ritchey Comp V3's have received great reviews at http://www.mtbr.com/ and are on sale cheap at Nasbar. They are basically cloned 939's.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?...and=&sku=11219&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

 

[Lonnie Utah]

Doc,

I actually went with the shimano SPD sport pedal. The original intention was to so that the cleat would be interchangeable with my MTB shoes (my road bike shoes are the pearl isumi "Vapors"). I've never actually switched them around (But I could if I wanted too...) The other bonus is that the SPD cleat will clip right into the lemond rev masters we have here at work....

L

 

[Lonnie Utah]

8 speed sora flight deck....

L