Cycling UK Forum

So as you’ll gather from my many other threads - in the process of building up some upgraded parts for my bike.

My current is a bianchi nirone, now I’ve been at possibly purchasing a carbon frame which would then be a second bike, but is it worth it? I’m carrying extra weight - am I better to trim down rather than buying the lighter frame? Or is there more to it than frame weight?

I’m getting new wheels - I understand the arguments there and would like some for road and keep my current ones for the turbo only (with turbo tyre etc)

The rest - is it worth it? Or should I just keep my ally bianchi and just upgrade the groupset

Ok, yes I know the weather is awful at the mo but wondered if anyone can recommend somewhere for cheapy sunglasses.

Not after £300 oakleys or anything like that, just my current sunglasses arent' really going to stay on on the bike so wanted something more cycling specific but ideally cheap.

don't need to be brand name or anything like that. I can go to specsavers and buy cycling - ish, ones but they're pretty pricey being as I don't need any day-to-day ones.

tbh I don't think I'd tell the difference between a BMX cassette and a road cassette at this stage... was a bit impulsive I admit.

oh well some deals are better than others.... hopefully I'll save on the fork i'm looking at.

That's if I do take this frame...any thoughts on that? I do like the advice here.

Good advice there and thanks for the list it's really helpful.

I'm going the patient route.

So far:

11 Speed Chorus Cassette - RRP £89.99 - Ebay Purchase (new old stock) £58.78
Record Brake Calipers - RRP £191.99 - Ebay Purchase (again new) £75.00

I've been offered the carbon frame for £150. I can't inspect it, size seems to be ideal. Don't know whether to take the plunge or not.



So yes, spent so far: £133.78
Saved so far: £148.2

of course the savings for second hand are going to be pretty high and I'd probably find a decent prebuilt second hand machine for £600 but i'm quite keen to have a little project and get the gear I want. I think if I get the frame above I'll come in around £750 all in....possibly...

It’s the white and red one from 2011

So had a couple of eBay wins today,

Campagnolo chorus 11 cassette
Campagnolo chorus brake callipers

Now... I’ve been offered a bianchi sempre carbon frame for £150.....would you take it?

I think patience is the aim here really. I had it in my head to do it and went a bit dream mad!

I think i'm going to change direction slightly.

Whilst my nirone isn't flashy, it's a good workhorse, so I'm going to upgrade it, then once it's all upgraded, and all that's left is a nice carbon frame, i'll take all the nice new stuff off the nirone and plonk them on the carbon frame. This will mean no cyclecross frame or disc brakes but hey at least every purchase can get some use immediately.

This does mean i'm back to campag as that's what's on the bike atm.

plus this means my budget will go alot further.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-cal ... -wheelset/

this, I think will be the first purchase. Seem to have good reviews and a nice enough price.

I'll keep my existing wheels for turbo training and get a turbo turbo on there.

Now, my existing groupset is 9 speed, so will need to use that on the new wheel until I can find myself something better.

This route should allow me to go for 11 speed record groupset which will be a great upgrade from what I'm using now.

Definitely need a new saddle and some other bits. So really, i'm just following the advice given by you lot who have all said "when I did it I had most of the parts" so I'm going to go that route too.

Probably will still end up with a Planet X frame - but going to buy the components first

maybe not what you're after but have you tried any mountain bike gear - usually baggier/less form fitting so perhaps they have a better range.

Trouble is most cyclists are small in general so I guess they sell to the common demand (not me! i'm a fellow tubby) I take a 36" waist and use all Altura gear which always fits me well - the jersey has got a bit tighter of Christmas though...

I definitely think new would cost me more than the bike...namely a divorce haha.

I always prefer a bargain, and with the amount of riding I do it's just not worth it.

My current bike - bianchi via nirone cost me £100 and it certainly does the job but there's no bells and whistles to it. Be nice to have something I look forward to riding.

I don't mind buying a new frame if I can't find a good 2nd hand one. But the rest yeah, ebay all the way

I think - in reality cross seems to be an expensive route to a nice bike. Disc brakes etc just make the group set and stuff more than I want to spend.

So, think I’m better off sticking with a normal carbon frame and rim brakes. Saves on wheels and the group set is much easier to find at a better price.

I'm thinking:

Frameset
Planet X XLS Frame and Forks.....£349.99
Planet X carbon seatpost...........£49.99


Groupset
find something on ebay I guess....£
Wheels
Shimano RS170 Wheelset...........£114.99
Tyres
Gatorskin Tyres.......................£65.98
Handlebar
FSA handlebars.......................£24.99
Stem
FSa Gossomer Stem..................£35.54
Bottom bracket
to suit crank bought at top.........£

Now that's £641.48 before I even get the groupset and most of the fiddly bits..... eek

Sorry, making some quite repetitive threads...

Anyway, popped down the LBS and cyclecross is definitely the route I want to take with my bike - nothing more than because it allows wider wheels and I think I'd really just need to swap tyres if I wanted to do something more offroad, then back to slicks for the road - or in worst case scenario - two sets of wheels and tyres (better than two bikes)

Now, planet X do one off the shelf for £1,000

my question is - can I do it better, cheaper - using second hand parts?

I want to be more road spec than cross with my groupset, so a double crank rather than single and wheel and tyre setup will be road based but using disc brakes etc to fit the frame.

I would like to use the Planet X XLS frame - mainly because it's fully carbon - and looks cool - and is a decent price (but feel free to suggest something else)

So, how about a forum project - what can you build? what would you build? or should I just buy one off the shelf (less fun to be honest)

Happy to scour ebay etc. Like the idea of a Gossamer crank - seem to be alot 2nd hand in great knick for less than £50 - that's a fraction of new price.

Anyway.... please help, would really love to get started

Hi all,

so, i'm thinking of slowly building myself an "outdoor" bike. Yes bit odd I know bare with me...

I have an old bianchi via nirone. It's ok, wheels aren't that good, and tbh it could just do with a refresh. This being said, as a turbo hack it's great!

So thinking of keeping it purely for the turbo, chuck on a turbo tyre and leave it setup.

this then leaves me short of the vital N+1 bike required number!

I am not fit enough to warrant heading out spending a load on a new bike really and I quite like the idea of building something over the coming months and use it purely for road rides - will mean my turbo training is harder and should see me enjoy being on the road on my nice bike more.

My thought:

I've managed to pick up a bargain for a set of fulcrum racing 5 wheels.
that's the start

Now, I want to get absolutely everything else second hand.

Ideally a carbon frame - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Planet-X-Xls ... %7Ciid%3A1
something like this would be cool. I've always thought planet X seem great value even new.

The main problem comes with groupset.

The wheels are set for campag. Now campag groupsets even second hand seem really expensive. But I don't know if I can mix or do I just need new hubs for the wheels?

I can get a great ultegra groupset
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Ulte ... Sws5FeJBr8

which is pretty reasonably priced. But then Is that the best option? should I look for an FSA crank? mix that with a campag cassette then just find other bits as I go? Groupsets just confused me with what goes with what.

essentially I want a cracking bike that does the job I give it. I'm not light myself so saving 3g here and there doesn't really appeal to me for the extra cost. I always liked my old tiagra groupset - it was a triple but did a great job. But if a 5 year old ultegra set is a better option then great!

I aim to use this for a weekend ride (50 miles) and the odd sportive - really want to have it ready for Norwich 100 in May, and perhaps that will encourage me to do more of these types of ride.

any help would be great.

I've got the wheels - through some recommendations at me for the rest

NickJP wrote:A mapping app on a phone will do the directions for you. However, a) phone screens aren't easily readable in sunlight, b) you need a waterproof phone, or a waterproof cover for it, c) for a ride of any length, phone battery life may be inadequate, and d) you need some way of securely mounting the phone on the handlebars.

I've never bothered with speed or cadence sensors for use with a GPS - the GPS will show your speed without the speed sensor, and my legs are the best cadence sensor I've come across.

hmm food for thought, didn't realise the GPs had speed on it - I don't want it because I'm a massively fast rider, more just to keep an eye on average page if anything, i.e. my run was 14mph average. That'll do for me.

so perhaps the explore is indeed the kit for me.

See that’s the thing.

I like the look of the explore but £160 ish for the unit, plus £45 for speed and cadence sensors or £45 for a 10,000ah battery which would easily do the same life as a nav unit. If I got a small frame bag I could put the battery pack in there and forget about it.

Still need sensors I assume but I guess £100 all in? My phones isn’t top of the range but a good size screen and resolution etc so a viable option if the apps are workable.

Really if I can get what’s offered with the Garmin explore on my iPhone it does seem the best option (I.e battery and sensors)

Then I guess the question becomes what app and what sensors