di2 is a quality of life item, not a necessary upgrade
Saddle is also a quality of life item, but if you have the wrong one currently it's absolutely a necessary one.
Bars are a fit concern first, if the ones you have work for you, you aren't' buying a ton for flashy expensive ones
Wheels are nice, I'd probably get a disc over the 90 unless you have a specific reason not to.


Spend your money on a good fit first if you haven't. Then good clothing, then start going down the list of "accessories"

just my 2c

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Proper bike fit.

+1 on the fitting. It's soooo important to get a top-notch, reputable bike fitting. They're hard to find, frankly, so do a lot of research on the best person in your area. You have to be efficiently comfortable above all else.

I also agree that Di2 (or etap) is a luxury. Wheels and a saddle would be my next purchases, as well.

Good luck!

Thanks. Forgot to add that but that is the first thing I will do

Thanks. Bike fit is first on the list. Forgot to add that one

+1

If you can't do it yourself very proficiently, this is money well spent. It is worth a lot of comfort and could be worth more watts than anything you can buy that is a physical object.

Next, I own both a 60/90 setup and a full 90/disc set of wheels along with 60/60 on my road bike. If I had to do it over again, I would only own the 60/60 road bike wheels and swap those to the TT to train on and own the 90/disc.

The 60/90 is no more stable and is pretty much just a filler set for me right now.

If you're looking into mechanical "kit" items in the drivetrain.......it is worth it IMO to own several cassettes and maybe even more than one chainring setup. Optimizing your gearing for your races can be worth a lot

Next, after you do a fit.......so you know where you'd wind up before buying.........try out some helmets and suit combos. Buy, sell until you get to the fastest and most utile combo. Same with the cockpit, I'd maybe hold off on that until you get a fit so you know what your body looks like up there and which cockpit will facilitate your fit and also be cleanest.

I'd go:
1. Fit
2. Helmet/suit combo based on where the fit wound up
3. Cockpit, also depends on the fit
4. Wheels, this is down here because despite offering gains.........the gains of a good fit with the right helmet and suit and right cockpit are all worth more savings.
5. Mechanical kit items (rings, gears, shifting, etc...)

Wheels and di2 are about the last things I’d upgrade

1) fit (and assorted doodads to enable the fit). You could be looking at spacer kits, crankset, aero extensions, etc). It adds up

2) saddle (concurrent with fit)

3) shoes, possibly. I always go as high end as I can afford, it makes a difference. And fit is key.

4) clothing. Race day and decent training wear.

5) power meter. I just got one and it’s a world of difference in the quality of my training.

6) indoor training setup (assuming you already have a basic indoor trainer)

7). Now you get to the wheels and di2.

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Tubes and tires are one of the most significant and cheapest upgrades you can make from a dollar to speed perspective.

+1

My suggested order:
1 fit (saddle goes here)
2 power meter / indoor set up (if you’re not training right it doesn’t matter what you upgrade)*
3 helmet / tri suit
4 tires (bc cost benefit)
5 wheels
6 mechanical

If the pm is out of budget there are other ways to estimate power / or a smart trainer.

(1) fit shouldn’t be an upgrade but if you haven’t done it, yes get that done first
(2) saddle
(3) tires/tubes
(4) helmet-giro A2

(5) race suit
(6) premier bike chain
You can spend ~$400-$500 total for Numbers 2-6 above and get LOTS of speed and comfort.

(7) powermeter and old school trainer. You can get a very nice PM for sub $500. Direct drive trainer is cool and fun but has done nothing for my training.

(8) aerobar

(9) wheels

(10) Di2

All the other posts are amazing and the only thing I'd add is a coach who can help you acheive your goals. All the upgrades in the world are useless if you're not properly trained.

Edit: I cant spell.

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________________________________________________________
Taylor Rogers

2024: IM Hamburg

Thanks. Great info.

Would you recommend tubeless vs tubes? Both bikes I own so far are tubeless so I don’t have any experience with riding tubes since Huffy days

Thanks

Thanks. Power meter is something that’s being added to my list also.

Try a race first and make sure you like it?

Bike fit to get aero in a position of good power production.

di2 is great. Dura Ace is a waste of money over Ultegra unless you've optimized just about everything else.

Tires and tubes are great speed-per-dollar investments. Latex or tubeless and low rolling resistance tires are a must.

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Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
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What brand and model are your tires?

Does it matter? If you’re going for a speed per dollar, with no races coming up soon, just run whatever you’ve got then go to a best tire /tube you can afford when the current ones wear out.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

+1 on that....