Road Bike Upgrades - Carbon Handlebars or something else?

[jesusbuiltmycar]

I currently own a 2013 Focus Izalco Pro road bike with SRAM Force 10 speed groupset.

I have already upgraded the wheels (Capagnolo Zonda), seatpost & saddle and I am now thinking about upgrading the handlebars & stem to something lighter and more aero (better looking). Is upgrading the handlebars worth it? If so can anyone recommend brands / models. I am pretty sure that I need 40cm bars with a compact drop of about 120mm.

Alternatively would I be better off upgrading something else, such as SRAM RED 11 speed or carbon wheels

I was originally thinking about getting a new bike but I am put off by the gearing (52/36 with 11-28 is a big jump from 50/34 with 11-32) - I don't fancy spending £4K+ on a bike and then having to spend an extra £500+ for a Wifli rear derailleur and a new cassette, especially if the bike would be no lighter...

[adam85]

jesusbuiltmycar said:

I currently own a 2013 Focus Izalco Pro road bike with SRAM Force 10 speed groupset.

I have already upgraded the wheels (Capagnolo Zonda), seatpost & saddle and I am now thinking about upgrading the handlebars & stem to something lighter and more aero (better looking). Is upgrading the handlebars worth it? If so can anyone recommend brands / models. I am pretty sure that I need 40cm bars with a compact drop of about 120mm.

Alternatively would I be better off upgrading something else, such as SRAM RED 11 speed or carbon wheels

I was originally thinking about getting a new bike but I am put off by the gearing (52/36 with 11-28 is a big jump from 50/34 with 11-32) - I don't fancy spending £4K+ on a bike and then having to spend an extra £500+ for a Wifli rear derailleur and a new cassette, especially if the bike would be no lighter...

I'm not sure if I'm killing the buzz, but handlebars etc will likely make little difference to your bike, sure it'll save weight (in your wallet) and look bling but literally nothing else to be gained IMO. Get a nice 11 speed group set it'll really improve your shifting and braking experience.

Carbon wheels are the same, I own a pair and they look great but if my legs are ste then I go just as quickly as I would on any other set of wheels.

Ride upgrades don't buy upgrades!

I should add, if you have the spare cash and want to buy bling and improve you're morale on the bike (and ride more) then by all means! Bear in mind though there's an awful lot of marketing guff in cycling.. you'll not go *that much faster spending £££

Edited by adam85 on Saturday 2nd June 19:44

[nammynake]

What do you mean by "upgrade"? What are seeking to achieve? If you want some new bling then no-one is going convince you it's not worth it. If you're looking for performance gains then you'll need to be specific about your aims. It's almost certain that any "upgrades" will NOT make you go noticeably faster unless you have the fitness to exploit their benefits. Weight savings in particular are pretty pointless on the climbs in this country and truthfully would you really enjoy your rides more if you were x seconds faster on a climb? Aero potentially has more to offer, although again are you really bothered if you can ride at say 0.5 mph faster (which is probably wildly optimistic unless you're talking deep section wheels).

Not trying to be negative, but it's so easy to get sucked into the marketing and forget the simple joy of just riding a bike. As I say though, if you want something to LOOK bling, then I totally get that. After all if you're bike is something to lust after, then you're more likely to get out and ride the thing, which in the end it what really matters.

[gazza285]

adam85 said:

Get a nice 11 speed group set it'll really improve your shifting and braking experience.

I doubt that very much.

OP, why the need to upgrade, what exactly is wrong with what you have, and how do you think you will be able to improve it, without just wasting your cash? Buy some nice shoes instead.

[adam85]

gazza285 said:

I doubt that very much.

OP, why the need to upgrade, what exactly is wrong with what you have, and how do you think you will be able to improve it, without just wasting your cash? Buy some nice shoes instead.

Doubt away - I reckon it's the best place for money to be spent out of the suggestions. My old Shimano 105 10 speed upgraded to Ultegra 6800 was night and day. Shoes? I agree, OP could throw money at pointless st like shoes

Edited by adam85 on Saturday 2nd June 23:56

[gazza285]

adam85 said:

gazza285 said:

I doubt that very much.

OP, why the need to upgrade, what exactly is wrong with what you have, and how do you think you will be able to improve it, without just wasting your cash? Buy some nice shoes instead.

Doubt away - I reckon it's the best place for money to be spent out of the suggestions. My old Shimano 105 10 speed upgraded to Ultegra 6800 was night and day. Shoes? I agree, OP could throw money at pointless st like shoes

Edited by adam85 on Saturday 2nd June 23:56

Your 105 wasn't set up right then, it is a perfectly acceptable groupset when working correctly.

You think another sprocket will make that much difference? Ultegra 6800 is what, £450? The OP is on about a pair of handlebars and a stem...

I'd rather have a pair of nice shoes to connect the bit that provides the drive, to the bits that turn the wheels, or failing that, a nice pair of bib shorts.

[anonymous-user]

£450 can be spent on aero bars / stem easily enough too

E.g http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vision-metron-integrated-5...

[oddball1313]

I put a Zipp SL70 bar on my bike for the comfort factor rather whatever aero gains it offered. I do think that improves the enjoyment of the bike quite significantly

[jesusbuiltmycar]

oddball1313 said:

I put a Zipp SL70 bar on my bike for the comfort factor rather whatever aero gains it offered. I do think that improves the enjoyment of the bike quite significantly

The SL70 is great looking bar and one I have been browsing.

I know that any upgrades will not buy speed/performance - I am mainly looking for something to motivate me onto the bike... I currently ride about 200-250Km a week but it is often a struggle to get my ass out of the door - I always enjoy it when I am out but before hand is another story.

Apart from new bars, in the past I have considered getting a power meter - but at 48 years old it may be depressing seeing my power decline year on year as I get older...

Edited by jesusbuiltmycar on Sunday 3rd June 14:22

[Jimbo.]

jesusbuiltmycar said:

The SL70 is great looking bar and now I have been browsing.


I know that any upgrades will not buy speed/performance - I am mainly looking for something to motivate me onto the bike... I currently ride about 200-250Km a week but it is often a struggle to get my ass out of the door - I always enjoy it when I am out but before hand is another story.

Apart from new bars, in the pst I have considered getting a power meter - but at 48 years old it may be depressing seeing my power decline year on year as I get older...

Shiny things to motivate you is a slippery (not to mention expensive) slope. Once the new/shiny/carbon/wow/bling handlebars become just “bars” under some well-used bar tape, you’ll have forgotten all about them, the “high” that came when they were new, and then you’re back to square one, shelling it more cash to get back out on the bike.

A power meter, or a damn good week away in Europe with the bike, will 100x better for keeping you riding.

[millen]

Talking of power meters, I've ordered one of these new cheapo ones. £250 for a proper dual leg meter is good value - I need to track both legs following a knee replacement last September. Obviously there's a risk that it won't make it to production/ it won't work/ it won't be compatible with my Wahoo. Target delivery is November. They're raised way over their target fund raise, which is positive. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cycling-power-m...

I've also thought about trying aero bars on my road bike, both for better positioning and less wrist-pain. Not taken the plunge yet - so many of my local roads just wouldn't be suitable.

[Matt_N]

Carbon bars do kill a bit of road buzz, the very nature of the material acts as a damper. I wouldn't bother with a carbon stem though, not much benefit over a decent alloy one.

For good vfm look at the Deda range, a Zero 100 stem is one of the best vfm alloy stems out there and are normally on sale for £40ish, they do a couple of different styles of bars, the Superleggero which is a compact bar or the Superzero which is compact but aero profile, both are normally available for less than £150 with a bit of searching.

What tyres do you use? Nice tyres and tubes always gives a decent change in feel too, something with a high tpi and sticky tread offers a bit more plushness, lowers rolling resistance and better grip, some options are Vittoria Corsa G+, Specialized Turbo Cotton, Bontrager R3 320 or you could give the new Conti GP4000 RS a try, bit lighter and faster than the normal GP4000.

[Mark83]

When I was upgrading my Focus Cayo to lose some weight I opted for standard carbon bars.

When building my Parlee, I thought I'd try some aero carbon bars and bought these https://www.mantel.com/uk/3t-aeronova-team-stealth... They are incredibly comfortable and definitely recommend them over regular shaped bars.

Swapping to Red will save a chunk of weight over Force and the 11th gear is nice but what you don't have, you don't miss. I have 10sp Ultegra on my Focus and Red eTap on the Parlee and didn't think I'd notice the extra gear but I do. It just smooths the gear changes.

A cycling trip is a great idea. Something to aim for. We've flying to Lourdes for £59 at the end of the month for a few days in the Pyrenees.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

Jimbo. said:

jesusbuiltmycar said:

The SL70 is great looking bar and now I have been browsing.


I know that any upgrades will not buy speed/performance - I am mainly looking for something to motivate me onto the bike... I currently ride about 200-250Km a week but it is often a struggle to get my ass out of the door - I always enjoy it when I am out but before hand is another story.

Apart from new bars, in the pst I have considered getting a power meter - but at 48 years old it may be depressing seeing my power decline year on year as I get older...

Shiny things to motivate you is a slippery (not to mention expensive) slope. Once the new/shiny/carbon/wow/bling handlebars become just “bars” under some well-used bar tape, you’ll have forgotten all about them, the “high” that came when they were new, and then you’re back to square one, shelling it more cash to get back out on the bike.

A power meter, or a damn good week away in Europe with the bike, will 100x better for keeping you riding.

I am now browsing power meters...

As for a trip - I already have a 3 week family holiday booked in Cyprus. As with previous years I will be taking the bike - the cycling there is fantastic.

[bakerstreet]

adam85 said:

. Get a nice 11 speed group set it'll really improve your shifting and braking experience.

What a load of BS Shimano recently stated that shifting performance should be near identical on Ultegra Vs Dura Race, but Dura Ace uses more exotic materials to make them lighter.

I run cheap carbon bars on my two road bikes and my CX bike. When I started, it was all in the name of weight saving, but I also found that it took the buzz out of bars. Really noticed it on my new carbon bike that just had stock ali bars. After about 40 minutes on the bike, my hands would ache and become a bit numb.

Replaced with £33 Toseek bars from Ebay. Buzz disappeared, but those bars aren't as nice as the 3T Ergonova replicas that I bought a couple of years ago. Hylix also make some good stuff, but as you would expect the bars are slightly more expensive (£60) and are lighter. Longer reach too. I have those on my CX bike. The only thing I don't like about those is they are red and white. Look good on my CX but would stand out like a sore thumb on my two road bikes.

[outnumbered]

jesusbuiltmycar said:

I know that any upgrades will not buy speed/performance - I am mainly looking for something to motivate me onto the bike... I currently ride about 200-250Km a week but it is often a struggle to get my ass out of the door - I always enjoy it when I am out but before hand is another story.

Edited by jesusbuiltmycar on Sunday 3rd June 14:22

Do you mostly ride on your own ? If so, try spending £20 on joining your local cycling club, riding with other people can provide a lot of motivation, and enjoyment. I doubt that changing bars/stem will do much for overall motivation...

[Matt_N]

bakerstreet said:

What a load of BS Shimano recently stated that shifting performance should be near identical on Ultegra Vs Dura Race, but Dura Ace uses more exotic materials to make them lighter.

He wasn't comparing Ultegra to DA though, he was comparing 10 spd 105, most probably 5700 to 11 spd Ultegra 6800, which is different.

Not only because it's 10 to 11 spd but also because the 5700 and 6700 generation of shifters were known to be draggy and not as crisp shifting due to the internal routing. I have 105 5600 with external cable routing on my commuter, the shifting is much better than the Ultegra 6700 I had on my Tarmac, which was set up (repeatedly). The 11 spd Shimano groupos are much better than the '700 series 10 spd.

[bakerstreet]

Matt_N said:

He wasn't comparing Ultegra to DA though, he was comparing 10 spd 105, most probably 5700 to 11 spd Ultegra 6800, which is different.

Not only because it's 10 to 11 spd but also because the 5700 and 6700 generation of shifters were known to be draggy and not as crisp shifting due to the internal routing. I have 105 5600 with external cable routing on my commuter, the shifting is much better than the Ultegra 6700 I had on my Tarmac, which was set up (repeatedly). The 11 spd Shimano groupos are much better than the '700 series 10 spd.

He didn't say anything about groupset, but apparently 11sp will make my braking better, which is mostly rubbish. I have SRAM Force brakes on one road bike and direct mount 105 on the other. They feel slightly different, but I can still lock a wheel in seconds on either.

I have been on rides where I've seen people on Carrera TDFs (£250) obliterate people on machinery than costs ten times that and all you can do if laugh your head off.

However, if the OP wants to spend £50 on new bars and tape and it gets him out more than crack on.

You mention crisper shifting. The OP runs SRAM force. The downshift are riffle bolt like in action and more positive that Shimano 105 or Ultegra IMO. Sadly going up the block is a little less precise IMO. Still miss SRAM Force on current good bike.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

Hope I don’t regret it but I have ordered Quarq DZero power meter - not looking forward to doing an FTP test once it is fitted!

Edited by jesusbuiltmycar on Tuesday 5th June 21:28

[Barchettaman]

bakerstreet said:

You mention crisper shifting. The OP runs SRAM force. The downshift are riffle bolt like in action and more positive that Shimano 105 or Ultegra IMO. Sadly going up the block is a little less precise IMO. Still miss SRAM Force on current good bike.

The SRAM stuff has a more wound-up return spring on the rear derailleur, which apparently accounts for the very postive downshifts.

I've read that it's possible to ramp up the spring tension on a Shimano rear derailleur to mimic the feel of SRAM.