Currently riding a 2019 Ridley Dean TT bike. Pretty much stock, switched out the cranks for shorter crank arms, upgraded the wheels to deep dish carbon wheelset, bike has rim brakes and mechanical shifting. Bike was $1,800.00 new before the pandemic.
I have priced an upgrade to Di2 and can add the aero bar shifters, brake levers and shifters on the base bar, and both derailleurs and needed components for about $1,400.00 - Everything is in stock, I can order it and have a local bike mechanic put it together, whole thing should take about 2 weeks.
I really like the fit of this bike, I really like the way it rides other than the shifting. I’ve had success training and racing it. It has been well maintained and probably has 3k miles on it.
So, I could probably sell this bike for a little less than what I paid for it and upgrade, but what I’m seeing is disk brake and maybe $4k to $5k instead of the $3,200 I will have in my current bike upgraded to Di2. A lot of bikes are backordered and would require a longer wait. I might be back to square one as far as trying to make it fit correctly and whether or not I could get the cranks swapped out without having to replace the cranks as soon as I buy it. So, are the more aero dynamic headsets, disk brakes, and internal water and flat repair storage worth $1,500 or so? Am I missing other advantages to buying new other than having a brand new bike.
I usually would just sell and replace over going through a major upgrade like this, but Di2 builds are spendy on new bikes and it seems like it might be worth it.
I don’t see a huge advantage for disc brakes on a TT bike. Unless perhaps you want to have a fleet of mid and deep section wheels you can swap between your road bike and TT bike - given the future for road bikes looks disc only, this means your TT bike has to be disc brake too? Or you want to run 28mm tires on your TT bike.
I don’t see a huge advantage for disc brakes on a TT bike. Unless perhaps you want to have a fleet of mid and deep section wheels you can swap between your road bike and TT bike - given the future for road bikes looks disc only, this means your TT bike has to be disc brake too? Or you want to run 28mm tires on your TT bike.
Only real advantage I can see would be in wet conditions. I’m kinda dated in that I run rim brakes on everything. Worse problem I have right now is switching brakes pads before races.
Thanks for the input. I hope I’m making the right decision.
I wouldn’t get Di2… but that’s me. If I wanted to spend money, I’d upgrade something that will make me faster.
The Dean looks like a nice bike for the money. Maybe better aerobars and an aero front brake and I think you’d have a very good bike.
I was hoping di2 would make me faster. Less drop in power during shifts and having control of derailleurs while climbing and up on the base bar seems like it would help. Never considered a more aero front brake although after a Google search I must say they look incredible.
Would you consider a 55mm deep rim to be deep dish?
Yes, was just saying mine are 60. Pardon me for the antiquated lingo. Not sure where I would make the distinction between a shallow and deep wheel. I guess I just think of them as being “deep dish” from when they first became common on the amateur crit racing scene in Colorado. You were typically either on alloys or “deep dish” carbon. Thanks for weighing in.
I was hoping di2 would make me faster. Less drop in power during shifts and having control of derailleurs while climbing and up on the base bar seems like it would help. Never considered a more aero front brake although after a Google search I must say they look incredible.
How much you need to back off the pedal pressure to shift is a function of your rings, cogs, and chains I think. At any rate the milliseconds that takes to make a shift also gives your muscles a short rest, so any loss would be very close to zero. I never thought it was problem if I was climbing on the basebars, to reach up and shift… but if you ride very technical and hilly courses maybe there would be some marginal gains. The cost is pretty high though, IMO. Going to 1x front ring makes shifting easier, but if you climb steep hills, that’s out.
The Tririg Omega brake is very good, and Alpha One bars also… particularly for easy adjustments.
I personally wouldn’t worry about sticking with rim brakes for the next decade or so. There are aero benefits vs disc, and if you want better braking you can get some Hed Jets, which are fast and cheap. If you wish to upgrade your bike in the future, you’ll be able to pick up a used high end bike that will be as fast as anything made.
I wouldn’t get Di2… but that’s me. If I wanted to spend money, I’d upgrade something that will make me faster.
The Dean looks like a nice bike for the money. Maybe better aerobars and an aero front brake and I think you’d have a very good bike.
I was hoping di2 would make me faster. Less drop in power during shifts and having control of derailleurs while climbing and up on the base bar seems like it would help. Never considered a more aero front brake although after a Google search I must say they look incredible.
I would absolutely do the Di2 upgrade. Ability to shift from 2 spots is huge if you ever do much climbing. I made that upgrade a few years ago to a bike that fit me well. When I wanted to upgrade the frame a little over a year ago to a new bike, I just bought a frame and swapped the parts for a dream bike. No lose IMO. I feel Di2 is a far better move than disc brakes.
I wouldn’t get Di2… but that’s me. If I wanted to spend money, I’d upgrade something that will make me faster.
The Dean looks like a nice bike for the money. Maybe better aerobars and an aero front brake and I think you’d have a very good bike.
BTW, the stock aero bars are Deda Parabolicas with a single bend. Bike fitter and I agree that they fit me pretty well. I’m comfortable in them. Added a spacer system so they’re up higher and I can really get my elbows in them. Also like the current water bottle configuration. I run two cages behind the seat although one of them just has a patch kit, spare tube, tools, and CO2 in a bottle during races. One cage on the down tube and one between my arms with a cpu mount on it gives me a bottle with nutrition and 2 with Gatorade I can resupply on course. I’ve been racing 70.3 predominantly although this year I have a 140.6 on the schedule.
only thing on a new bike with disc brakes. discs, whether people like it or not, are they way of the future. that fact is undeniable. i think less thought should be given to the performance differences/benefit debate, and the focus should be on future upgrade potential. even now, most new fancy wheels that are released are disc-only, and that will only continue in the years ahead. so if you plan to get fancy new wheels in the next couple years, you should probably get a disc brake bike purely for that reason. of course there will be used rim brake wheels out there, this is just part of the decision to go disc in my view.
however, sounds like you have a bike that works for you and the DI2 will absolutely make you love it even more. and crucially, if you can actually make it happen now with supply/availability, go for it. if you wait for a bike, like you say it could be delayed or just cause you issues, not to mention you’re paying more money to go that route anyways. 100% go with the di2 and don’t look back.
only thing on a new bike with disc brakes. discs, whether people like it or not, are they way of the future. that fact is undeniable. i think less thought should be given to the performance differences/benefit debate, and the focus should be on future upgrade potential. even now, most new fancy wheels that are released are disc-only, and that will only continue in the years ahead. so if you plan to get fancy new wheels in the next couple years, you should probably get a disc brake bike purely for that reason. of course there will be used rim brake wheels out there, this is just part of the decision to go disc in my view.
however, sounds like you have a bike that works for you and the DI2 will absolutely make you love it even more. and crucially, if you can actually make it happen now with supply/availability, go for it. if you wait for a bike, like you say it could be delayed or just cause you issues, not to mention you’re paying more money to go that route anyways. 100% go with the di2 and don’t look back.
Thanks. I was on the fence about starting this thread because I felt like perhaps it fits into the broad category of “help me validate my decision.” But, I appreciate the reminder about disc wheels. I run hydraulic disc brakes on MTB and gravel, but I just haven’t justified the spending on road bikes. You’re 100% correct that it is the future and isn’t going away. I’m sure in 2 or 3 years time that will be the reason I sell this bike, but hopefully I can make it that long and render it pretty useless by then. I train 70 or 80% on a road bike, but hoping the sexy new di2 will change that. As we all say, it’s complicated. I try and feel lucky that I have some good guys to ride with, prefer outdoors riding, and have nearly year round riding weather and don’t lament the “lost fitness” of staying on the trainer.
only thing on a new bike with disc brakes. discs, whether people like it or not, are they way of the future. that fact is undeniable. i think less thought should be given to the performance differences/benefit debate, and the focus should be on future upgrade potential.
I’ve always thought that was a silly argument. The trendy “herd” moving to discs just means there are more used rim brake bikes for sale. The fancy disc wheels are slower than rim brake ones, so that reason is moot. Maybe in 10+ years when it’s hard to get decent rim brake equipment, then it would make sense. Electronic shifting will probably be a reasonable price as well.
only thing on a new bike with disc brakes. discs, whether people like it or not, are they way of the future. that fact is undeniable. i think less thought should be given to the performance differences/benefit debate, and the focus should be on future upgrade potential.
I’ve always thought that was a silly argument. The trendy “herd” moving to discs just means there are more used rim brake bikes for sale. The fancy disc wheels are slower than rim brake ones, so that reason is moot. Maybe in 10+ years when it’s hard to get decent rim brake equipment, then it would make sense. Electronic shifting will probably be a reasonable price as well.
look, I’m not saying discs are a million watts faster or whatever, but just seems that it’s false to assume disc brake wheels are slower than rim brake ones because of the fact they’re disc brake. i think we’re past that line of thought these days.
