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Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new?
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I'm sure many people have asked themselves this regularly, especially considering that it's always fun to have a shiny new bike. I'd love to get your opinions about which you would choose:

1. Refresh my old Cervelo S1. It's a 2009 model, all original 10-speed ultegra (FSA crank), aluminum frame. It's a great aero frame, but not the softest ride. I used it for plenty of races over the last 11 years, and it's been a steady workhorse for road riding + triathlons.
Upgrades would include:
a) Drivetrain: can I upgrade to an 11 speed DI2 or 12 speed SRAM force etap? I'm not sure if the frame provides clearance.
b) Paint: I want a fun custom paint job
c) new aero wheels (would probably keep the rim brakes). possible get some used ones since other people are upgrading to disc brakes.
My guess is that this all would cost ~$2000?

2. Just get a brand new Trek Madone SL6. Carbon frame, a bit of dampening for a comfortable ride, latest ultegra manual shifting 11 speed.
More than double the $ - around $4700.

Which is the best bang for buck? I can't imagine my triathlon race times will be substantially different, but I can be convinced otherwise.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [LivingTri] [ In reply to ]
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You HAVE to get disc brakes.

Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [LivingTri] [ In reply to ]
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Keep in mind that wheels might not fit old frame.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [LivingTri] [ In reply to ]
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Paint, an electronic drivetrain overhaul, and wheels will undoubtedly be more than $2,000.

I'd say you're looking at at least $500 more.

I say sell the old one and buy a new one. Yeah, it won't be electronic shifting, but new Ultegra shifts amazingly well.

@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [LivingTri] [ In reply to ]
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So, let me just say it - I'm cheap.

Last year I bought a 2007 Trek 1500 SLR in great shape. I replaced everything with 105 R7000, which required a new rear wheel for the change from 10 to 11 spd. Added Conti 4000 tires. Total of about $1,000, including buying the bike. Not the fastest bike out there (but I'm not fast either) and not the state-of-the-art look, but it works for me. Maybe I'll paint it one day.

Earlier this year I bought a 2012 Cervelo P2C for $750. I haven't done anything to it except new Conti 5000 tires. I need new armrest padding and bar tape, but haven't got around to that yet. It still a 10sp Ultegra. Maybe I'll paint it too one day.

I bought a used pair of power pedals that I swap back and forth.

I'm searching for 30-40mm deep wheels just because they look good, but I'd have to go to 23mm on the Trek to use the wheels on both bikes because 25mm won't work on the tri bike. (anyone have really old 30-40mm wheels they want to get rid of cheap? :) )

I train almost exclusively on the Trek. I figure I don't need to take KOMs (which I probably couldn't do on the fastest bike that wasn't power assisted) or set PRs while training.

I'd also love one of those new shiny bikes and often dream. But... as I said, I'm cheap.

Not a coach. Not a FOP Tri/swimmer/biker/runner. Barely a MOP AGer.
But I'm learning and making progress.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [LivingTri] [ In reply to ]
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The S1 would be not be a bike I would bother to put a new chain on. You will never recoup the investment.


The Canyon Aeroad with Ultegra Di2 is $5000 with nice DT wheels. You might see if the Trek store will knock a few bucks off to make the sale.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [grumpier.mike] [ In reply to ]
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I just went through this. Instead of upgrading my 2005 cervelo p3sl I bought a new p-series. The level of comfort on a new carbon bike vs an old aluminum is significant! Combined with disc brakes (old bike had carbon wheels with poor braking) the comfort and confidence of the new bike is like night and day from the old bike.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [khanlon] [ In reply to ]
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All really helpful info! I think I'm leaning toward the new bike. Top comments that helped me decide:

"The level of comfort on a new carbon bike vs an old aluminum is significant!"
"The S1 would be not be a bike I would bother to put a new chain on. You will never recoup the investment."
"Keep in mind that wheels might not fit old frame."


Looking at long term investment - the new bikes just seem significantly better based on 11+ years of updates. Comfort is a big benefit. Thanks for all the feedback!
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [LivingTri] [ In reply to ]
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I recently went through the same debate in my head. I ended up going with a new to me bike I found on eBay. There are other places to look. I treated it like used car shopping-create a list of needs and wants then start searching. It took a while but I found a 2015 Felt B2 with Di2 and a power meter used for 1 season the stored, basically the equivalent of buying a low mileage Caddy from a grandma.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [LivingTri] [ In reply to ]
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By a "new" second hand 3 year old bike for ~$2000. Retire old frame to trainer or to rain bike duties. Best of both worlds.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [LivingTri] [ In reply to ]
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11 year old bike.
Lots of miles.
You are going to spend a bunch of $ on updates and still have an old bike.
One of the two will happen:
1) That may get a hairline crack or something similar where you need to replace the frame ( I have had a few Cervelos crack). If you bought new you will get a warranty replacement and you will pay the lbs to rebuild it. If you bought used you will be buying a new frame.
2) You want a new bike, and you will get a new bike. So if you do a refresh, you will spend the money on the refresh and the shortly thereafter you will buy what you want. Thus wasting the money on the refresh.

Long story short you can buy once or you can buy twice. But you will buy a new bike.

2017 Cervelo P2
2017 Cervelo S2
itraininla.com
#itraininla
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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devashish_paul wrote:
By a "new" second hand 3 year old bike for ~$2000. Retire old frame to trainer or to rain bike duties. Best of both worlds.

That is a solid suggestion. I was going to suggest looking at the old EF Education bikes. Those were either Super of System 6s with DuraAce Di2 for between $3600 and 4000. I checked and they don't have anything now.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [japarker24] [ In reply to ]
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I agree. Disc brakes have a lot going for them. Better stopping power in the rain and they don't damage the rim.

What I would do is look for a good 2nd hand bike either on the classifieds here or elsewhere online. A new bike sounds great, but paying over $4000 for a bike that I need to replace the wheels on right out of the gate really leaves a sour taste in my mouth unless I am certain that the bike is going to retain more of its value than usual such as a limited edition model.

The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.
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Re: Money better spent? Refresh old bike or just go brand new? [LivingTri] [ In reply to ]
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Focus group of one but putting new money into refreshing old mechanical things rarely ends well. Especially when you start thinking about things like paint jobs etc.

People do this with cars, boats, etc and the obvious question is always “why???”

Spending money on restoring something rare and vintage (like a 70’s Colnago, eg.) is one thing. Making something old current is another.

If you love the dear old steed, keep it as a winter bike and replace parts with the appropriate level of spec that merits...
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