I have a 2013 Quintana Roo CD0.1 that I’ve been riding for six years. I love it and nothing is wrong with it, but it’s starting to show it’s age;. Below are my current bike specs and I’m trying to decide if I should upgrade the bars to carbon, drivetrain to 11 speed, possibly with Di2, and get some better wheels or if I should just bite the bullet and buy new with the potential option of upgrading to disc brakes. If you do recommend new, any brand recommendations? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.
Someday I need to write an upgrade manifesto. Unlike a car, a bike is really just a collection of parts that are all (mostly) individually upgreadeable. And, taking stuff like fit or break-fix off the table, you are really only upgrading for a few reasons… buying speed, buying sexiness (looks or convenience such as Di2).
These are a few of the hot ticket items in the speed category…
More aero & lighter cockpit
More aero & lighter frameset
More aero wheels
Lighter crankset
The sexiness changes might be:
Better looking frameset
11-speed from 10-speed
Electronic from mechanical shifting
Disc brake wheels
Frameset upgrade for aero is a pretty bad RoI, because the frame itself is not a huge opportunity for most modern bikes. But, a frame upgrade for general looks or disc brakes is a different equation. And obviously, if you want disc brakes, then you are looking at a multitude of simultaneous upgrades that have to include wheels & brake levers, which then typically trigger 11-speed drivetrain upgrade.
If you start wanting to do a bunch at once, then it might make sense to buy a whole bike. But that assumes you can find a bike that is a perfect match for all of your subtle wants. Otherwise, it might be better to do individual upgrades (usually around keeping your existing frameset).
it might be better to do individual upgrades (usually around keeping your existing frameset).
That’s what I’ve been doing for the past 2 years. You don’t have to spend a lot of money if you are patient and can wait. I saved keywords on eBay and buy when good deals show up. I bought my Tririg brakes when they have sale. I didn’t want to spend too much money at once, so upgraded front first, waited a bit and upgraded rear. I recently upgraded the base bar(Svet R) and aero bars(Devox from Felt IA take off $25 on eBay). Tires are next in the list.
If there is nothing wrong with it and you love it then maybe upgrading it is the way to go. Especially if it fits you and you’re comfortable on it. Aerobars, wheels etc will freshen it up nicely, and might be the cheaper way to go. Newer is nice, but not always the best route. There is the mental aspect of new… as you’ll get excited about it… and often that will give you additional speed, and if you “feel” faster you probably will be
Last time Matt Russell won one of the races and he uses Tririg bike so they had some of their products on sale.
I think they also had Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale as well. I think it’s kinda random, so you have to check their website often.
When do tri rig brakes go on sale?
As mentioned above, our promotions are not on any specific schedule. However, the best way to find out is to join our Newsletter, which we send out about once a month. Subscribers are the first to find out about new products, new sales, etc. Thanks!
I think your approach is smart. I have a 2012 aluminum Felt S22. I assume a more modern carbon frame with a little better internal cabling would be an upgrade, but I think I could bring lots of upgrades over to a new frame.
I have a 2010 BMC TM01. Last year I looked at new bikes and came to the conclusion that they were distinctly poor value and not any faster than what I had. So I upgraded my 10 speed mech to 11 speed SRAM eTap, and slapped on a new cockpit. I had already changed the seat and wheels so the only original piece of the bike left was the frame. I could not give a rat’s patootie about disc brakes and intend to ride this bike until the frame cracks.
