Cycling UK Forum

Hi, I currently have a Boardman C7 Team Carbon with brake and wheel upgrades. I'm thinking about an upgrade but just too much choice, so a couple of queries.
How good is the C7 frame, is it worth continuing with a slow upgrade plan to 11 speed?
How much do I need to spend to get something that will be a noticeable step up in performance?
Any suggestions for something with similar geometry?

Cheers

you don't say what your spec is currently, so knowing what might be construed as further 'upgrades' is impossible.

In the broadest terms, apart from bragging rights, you are unlikely to be 'held back' by your bike if it already has a half-reasonable spec, and you certainly won't benefit from changing from 10s to 11s unless you regularly pine for more gear range and/or gears that are closer together. NB you will only get one extra gear or one smaller gear interval, so don't expect to see a massive difference.

If you are racing then there is some potential benefit to making changes but IME there are usually many changes that could be made to the rider, the training, the riding position etc any one of which would be likely to improve matters far more than footling changes to the bike like changing from 10s to 11s.

If you want to spend time/money on the bike in the most effective way, make sure the riding position is set up perfectly (comfort vs aero), make sure that all the bearings are lubricated and adjusted perfectly (yeah even sealed bearings...) the drivetrain is in good order and that you have good tyres. Tyres are almost invariably the single most important thing you can change on the bike.

cheers

I've had a look at a review of a C7 team and it says that the Tektro brakes aren't very good. If that's the case then they will be worth changing. If you already have say 105 brakes then you won't notice the difference changing to Ultegra or Dura Ace . In terms of performance tyres and wheels will make some difference. Buying slightly lighter components is a very expensive way to save a few hundred grams. If you have a few hundred pounds that you want to spend on say different bar and stem then it's your money but don't expect to notice much other than they might look nicer.

I don't think you would get a much better ride by changing your frame unless you go for something a great deal more expensive.

Something like a hi mod Cannondale, specialised, trek, cervelo or pinarello etc .

But then those frame are more likely be more fragile too.

If you haven't decent wheels then that would make most sense.

The boardman wheels were really heavy tbh.

Cheers James

Biggest likely bang for least buck : Clean the bike really thoroughly, especially the drive train (I mean strip it right down, get all the cogs off), service the bearings, check if you need a new chain, pump the tyres up to c90 psi, true the wheels exactly, renew the cables, have new bar tape.