Bike Upgrade Questions
 

I'm thinking of upgrading my bike, this year or maybe in the offseason. Some stupid questions, but I'm not nearly as knowledgable as I would like to be, so here goes, and thanks in advance.

Riding Ability: Century Rides and commuting. Somewhere between 80-140 miles per week...but not consistent due to schedule, etc. That is the goal.

Bikes - advantages over the other, etc
Cannondale
Giant
Specialized
Motobecane (from BikeDirect.com)
Other

Frame - advantages vs. disadvantages
Aluminum
Composite

Wheels - ?
so many out there, not sure what is a good, all around wheel, that doesn't cost as much as the bike

Deraileaurs?
Shimano ? Which level?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.,

Frame, geometry, componetry.

You will need to familiarize yourself with your riding style and how you feel comfortable.

Manufacturers are not as important, except as they affect your local bike shop. What does it specialize in? If it specializes in one of the big names, that's the one that makes most sense to buy. (I don't do the logical, I buy some little boutique bike that nobody can replace except to send parts to far away factories, but I'm an idiot).

You want something the local guy likes to work on.

The heavier you are, the less the frame matters. Historically, guys over 200 were told not to buy titanium frames. I love ti, but the price for most people isn't worth it.

Aluminium is a good material, good for sprints, but not AS comfortable over long rides.

Carbon fiber is a great material and you can now buy reasonably priced frames. Specialized has a very good frame right now. My racer friend loves it and he could buy anything he wanted.

Componetry. Shimano versus Campy. Shimano should win most of the time; it costs less for quality. Campy breaks and is expensive to replace, but it looks cool, and you act European if you go Campy.

Ultegra versus Dura Ace. Ultegra is economically the better buy, but you can do a Ultegra-Dura Ace blend for a reasonable price. Dura Ace glides a little better but you may not notice the difference.

Frame geometry. Despite what everybody else says, I have agressive frame geometry and still ride comfortably for over a hundred miles. The key is changing posture and not riding too big a gear. Lower back pain is usually associated with mashing too big a gear, not from frame geometry.

Wheels. Kryserium (I don't know the spelling), great aluminium wheels or other Mavics are just fine. You can spend more than you wish on wheels, but get a good durable wheel and learn to true it yourself.

Derailleurs, go Dura Ace, Cassettes should be Dura Ace as well.

I don't know if what I said makes sense.

Thanks Archaea...yes, I know most of what you speak.

I forgot Trek and Navarro...I'm an REI guy. My local bike shop is TREK, and REI sport their Navarro bike....

Unless you're like Archea and will only buy a bike that was hand made by a journeyman who produces one bike at a time from a small shack somwhere in the Alps... Chances are...

You're going to waltz in to your favorite shop and they're going to have bike A, B, and C to chose from.

IMHO the biggest factor is the frame fit. If the frame fits you'll be able to live with almost anything else.

Based on your price range you're going to get different "packages" as far as wheels and components go.

If I were you, here is what I would do... Figure out your price range... Find out what is available and then compare deal vs. deal.

If you try to put together a grocery list of your dream bike you may not find it. It is almost always cheaper to go with a bike that comes off the showroom floor than to build one from the ground up. Some shops are cool about giving you a credit for the stock wheels and letting you upgrade but they're not usually as cool about components.

Dirty is correct about buying a package. However, you can get friendly and get the local shop to throw things in. And then gradually you can upgrade the parts. It's part of the fun.

You can get very technical, down to upgrading the ball bearings. FSA makes these cool ceramic ball bearings that cost thirty dollars a piece, which make the wheels glide, but man that's expensive.

You can upgrade the ball bearings, the crank, using a compact so that there's less overlap and do all sorts of cool things.

You can buy bike racks galore, all sorts of tools.

I don't go near a bike shop any more because my wallet can't take it.