Upgrade steel frame vs new bike

Hello,
I've been lurking here for quite a while and finally decided to join in. I'm hoping some of you veterans can help me out with my dilemma. I've been riding my trusty old Trek bike for the last 10 years and I feel I am outgrowing the gearing on it. It has an 8 speed cassette and I was hoping to switch to a 10 speed. I took it to the local bike shop and they just said it wasn't worth upgrading since I'd have to completely change the group set and probably get new wheels. They didn't look at the bike very long and seemed more interested in selling me a new bike. So my question is, anyone have any idea if the bike is worth upgrading?

I did wander over to the local Trek dealership and they had a 2006 and 2007 Madone 5.2 in my size on clearance for around $2000. However, I do not race. I do ride 100-150 miles a week and do centuries and feel that the Madone may be a wee bit of overkill for my needs.

I'll include a picture of my old bike incase that helps. It's nothing special. Cro-Moly frame with Campy Athena parts 53/42 crank 11/23 cassette.

Thanks for any help!

http://www.dreamrave.com/images/trek270.jpg

If you like your old bike and it fits you well, I think it makes sense to upgrade it, as long as the upgrades aren't going to cost you as much as it would to buy a new bike of comparable quality. I'd ask the bike shop for an estimate of what it would cost to do the work you want and let that estimate guide your decision. Of course, if you think you'd be happier in the long run with something lighter, then maybe it would make sense to buy new rather than spend a lot of money upgrading something that you might want to replace in the near future.

I went through a similar process earlier this year when I debated getting my old (18 years old) touring bike back in shape versus buying a new bike. I went with updating the old bike since it cost at least a third what a new bike would have cost and left me with a "good as new" bike that I've loved since the day I got her. Getting a new bike would have let me get a lighter frame, but for the riding I do, that didn't make much sense.

Sarah

I love steel, so I'd be sorely tempted to upgrade it. That said, I still ride a bike with 7-speed on it. My "racer bike" has 9-speed, and I don't feel inclined to switch it to 10.

What do you mean by "outgrowing the gearing"? You've got some pretty big gears available already, and I'm not sure that a switch to 10-speed will change that much. You'll get some closer gearing in a 10-speed cassette, but the cassette range should be about the same.

I wouldn't take it back to THAT bike shop. I hate being blown off.

I say upgrade if you like! It's a nice bike!

Karen

If you find a new bike that you like (you might want to look beyond Trek), there's no rule that says you can't have two (or more) bikes. You can ride your trusty old Trek for some rides, and the new one for others. I frequently switch bikes on rides.

Thanks for the feedback!

I guess I'm not outgrowing the gearing as much as I'm stuck between gears right now. I spend most of my time on the bottom end of of the 42 ring (11-13). If I switch to the 53 it's hard for me to find a gear that I'm comfortable in for long in without crossing the chain too much. The campy group set seems to be much more tolerant of crossing in the 42 ring than the 53 ring. I had thought adding 2 more gears with the 10 speed would help me build up strength gradually so I could be in the big gear more.

I looked at buying a new group set and that is going to be $600-700 in parts, I wanted to stick with Campy. I think the back wheel can be rebuilt to allow the bigger cassette, but I need to see if any bike shops around here do that.

I did test ride the Trek Madone and it felt much better than the Trek 2.3 I rode earlier but still was no where near the lively feel of my current bike. I've been going to the Trek store because they seem the have the nicest customer service of the shops I've been too.

I did think about keeping both bikes but I'm a little limited on space.

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Originally Posted by metaphor

Thanks for the feedback!

I guess I'm not outgrowing the gearing as much as I'm stuck between gears right now. I spend most of my time on the bottom end of of the 42 ring (11-13). If I switch to the 53 it's hard for me to find a gear that I'm comfortable in for long in without crossing the chain too much. The campy group set seems to be much more tolerant of crossing in the 42 ring than the 53 ring. I had thought adding 2 more gears with the 10 speed would help me build up strength gradually so I could be in the big gear more.

I looked at buying a new group set and that is going to be $600-700 in parts, I wanted to stick with Campy. I think the back wheel can be rebuilt to allow the bigger cassette, but I need to see if any bike shops around here do that.

I did test ride the Trek Madone and it felt much better than the Trek 2.3 I rode earlier but still was no where near the lively feel of my current bike. I've been going to the Trek store because they seem the have the nicest customer service of the shops I've been too.

I did think about keeping both bikes but I'm a little limited on space.

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What about putting a different crankset on the bike? Maybe a compact double, or just swapping some chain rings? Or maybe a different cassette with slightly lower gearing is in order? Just some thoughts....I'm not as familiar with Campy as Shimano, so I don't know off-hand what parts are readily available in 8-speed.

I think the shop is right. That being said, only you can decide whether it's "worth it" to upgrade your frame. Nothing wrong with steel. I just bought a brand spanking new steel road frame this year. But you don't seem particularly enamored of the frame, calling it 'nothing special'.

Do the math and then decide whether it is "worth it" to you. To upgrade to a ten-speed gearing you'd need to replace the STI shifters ($300), crankset+bottom bracket ($200+), cassette ($80), front derailleur ($40), rear derailleur ($80), chain ($30), plus labor to take off the old parts and put on the new ones ($150+). That's a lot of moola.

As to the Madone, $2K doesn't seem like such a great deal given the Madone changed drastically for 2008. It's not a bad deal, just doesn't seem like anything special. If the shop will swap out the stock wheels for a set of Ksyrium SLs or upgrade you to the Shimano tubeless wheels for a couple hundred bucks more, that would be a decent deal.

Since you want to stick with Campy, I'd suggest contacting Branford Bike to get a good picture of what would need to be changed out in your current setup to achieve what you want. They're considered by many to be Campy experts. (http://www.branfordbike.com/)

Also, eBay and ProBikeKit are both good places to find good prices on parts.

Good luck! :)

Most hubs are 8-9-10 speed compatible; I know that's true for Shimano and I pretty sure for Campy. And your Ergo levers might be able to be upgraded to 10 speed, which would save a ton of cash.

Some things to try before spending $ on a new bike (an potentially doing an impulse buy):

-Have your front derailleur adjusted, including the trim (you are using trim, aren't you?).

-Try a smaller big chainring. You're running some pretty big gears (a lot of new bikes come with compact (50/34 or 50/36) cranksets) on your bike.

ilima, I'm not sure what trim is on the front derailleur. Is it the metal protector part? Also, you are correct - after doing some checking around 2K for a 2006 Madone 5.2 SL does seem a bit high.

I did find some info on branfordbike.com that seems to suggest that the 8 speed levers can only be changed to 9 speed. I'll have to email them to verify that.

Don't get me wrong I do like my current frame. By "nothing special" I meant that it was, I believe, the entry level frame back in the mid 90's when it came out. It's not the highest quality or the lightest frame around, however, it is a good workhorse bike that only feels like it weighs a ton when going uphill :)

thanks again for all the info!

Thanks again for the advice. I think I'm going to get a 13-26 cassette to put on and see if that does the trick. I know it won't make a big difference but I think the little change may be good enough.

After thinking about getting a new bike the last couple days I've realized that the big thing keeping me from upgrading is that I really like the way the Campy gears shift more than the Shimano. Call me crazy but I like the thumb shift button.

I replied to this thread yesterday but I think the response is stuck in approval limbo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by metaphor

I'll include a picture of my old bike incase that helps. It's nothing special. Cro-Moly frame with Campy Athena parts 53/42 crank 11/23 cassette.

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Have you thought of replacing the 42-53 with a 39-53 or even with a 34-50 compact? That could solve your problem right there, much less expensive than buying a new bike, especially if you know how to change the sprockets yourself... :)

I'm looking at doing something similar with my late 80's bianchi steel bike. It was low-end then, but it was my first real bike, my parents bought it for me, so there's a lot of nostalgia there.

So I'm wondering about the need to upgrade the bottom bracket, cranks and front derailleur. Everything I've found online says that these can stay. Is that not correct?

My current setup is Shimano, and I was thinking of doing a mix of SRAM and Shimano so that I didn't have to swap out the BB, cranks and front derailleur. If I have to change everything than I'll just go Campy.