we talked about it on the ride today, but i have NO idea what anything is, bicycle component-wise lol.
WHAT DO I BUY?
What’s your budget?
What’s wrong with your current drivetrain? Or are you seriously going to make a play at being a racer? (That’s cool if so - just asking)
sram is the toughest, cheapest and lightest.
My suggestion, as it was 2 hours ago, is to buy the Veloce group from Ribble for $4XX and ride it for a year or more.
out of stock
I like my modern Campy and SRAM equaly.
Never used modern Shimano. (It’s just so ugly)
The best value is to purchase a whole groupset. Piecing together a group cheaply is nearly impossible.
veloce.
fixed that for ya
of course, getting STIs is the whole point of this thread
find some friends with each and see what hood shape you dig. for bang/buck id do 105 for shimano, rival for sram and veloce for campy.
that being said, i have new veloce on my bike, from ribble and love it. not as light as rival, but i love campy. and durability of campy is wayyy up there. you’ll need new wheels though.
What is on the bike now?
srammmmmmmm
+1 if on a budget Rival can’t be beat for performance for $$$
Get what feels best under your hands.
out of stock[/quote]
They received the shipment on Friday and the website will show stock by Wednesday.
never owned anything else but I love mah srams. Someone had a set of Dura-ace for sale for 200 over in marketplace, I’d just camp out there and grab the next group before spending a lot on a new group. I’ve got a 8-speed dura-ace group you can have for 250, but that’s no tarckdeal so you should probably hold out for better.
Sora, tiagra really need not apply. Matt probably isn’t sure what he wants, but some of the local kids (myself, Nate, Mikey) are encouraging him to get something that brings his bike closer to a road-race/fast century bike. The simple fact remains that California terrain is hilly and going at a moderate pace requires a lot of shifting. Also, it’s a really nice custom steel frame that merits the expenditure. Not c-record level of expenditure, but something new-ish. Also, I’d never recommend an 8 speed or older group to anyone that wasn’t willing to invest the time in tracking down parts. 9 speed bits are pretty spendy comparatively.
As far as SRAM goes, I’ve not personally owned a SRAM group, but I’ve heard and read of them feeling “cheap” and breaking easily. Also, the benefit of SRAM is weight, and come on, it’s a steel bike with a Brooks saddle. I personally love my Ultegra bits because they shift well, but I also don’t see the difference between that and 105. Campy is well, Campy. I’m gonna recommend the Veloce group or 105 either from Ribble. Either is less than $600. I don’t think you can get Rival for that.
A new group is gonna necessitate wheels.
Once again Sol starts a thread to ask a question that anyone else would have posted in the stupid questions thread.
Sol, I’m going to make this VERY simple.
1: Read the manufacturers websites to understand the group hierarchy.
2: Go to your LBS and ride bikes with different stuff on them.
There is no “best” group. It all depends on what you personally prefer. And you can’t figure that out until you ride it.