Upgrade steel frame vs new bike

[Becky]

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.

[Tuckervill]

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

[tulip]

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.

[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.

[Becky]

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.

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.

[ilima]

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.

[metaphor]

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!

[metaphor]

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.