We all love riding our bikes, but let's face it - a lot of us are just as in to our shiny
bits of kit. However, unfortunately very few of us have an unlimited budget.
This is the Felt road bike of our channel editor Mike, and as you can see, it's in dire
need of a lot of upgrades.
I wish my wife was this dirty!
However, this is a top 10 video, so let's go through the points on this bike that could
most do with a shiny bling new piece of kit.
If you're somebody who's looking to save a large chunk of weight on your bike, then the
first thing you should look to upgrade are your wheels. Of course, there are a lot of
different wheels on the market at the moment, but there's something to suit everyone. If
you're somebody who likes to do mountainous sportive events, you might want to go for
a shallower carbon rim as that's going to be the lightest. However, if you're predominantly
riding on flat roads or you race a lot, you might want to go for something that's slightly
deeper and slightly heavier, because that will be more aerodynamic.
Yes, this is potentially going to be a rather large outlay, particularly if you opt for
some of the modern, super light, top of the range carbon wheels. However, if you do wait
around long enough, you're bound to eventually come across a bargain. Our suggestion - if
you do make this purchase, save these ones for special occasions.
This is the least sexy upgrade on our video. However, changing your inner and outer cables
will not only improve the performance of your gears and brakes, but also make it feel so
much better. In fact, your bike can feel like new again.
Unless you've got a cracked frame.
The jury is definitely still out when it comes to non-round chainrings produced by companies
such as Rotor and these ones by O Symetric. However, there are a number of professional
riders who use them, including of course Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, who won the Tour
de France in 2012 and 2013 respectively. On the front here it gives you a promise of 10%
more power - that might be a little bit excessive, but it's worth giving them a try, and at the
very least they're going to be a big talking point on your local group ride.
This is a bicycle component which you want to get right. A badly fitting saddle will
cause you discomfort and generally mean that you just don't enjoy riding your bike. Your
local bike shop should be able to help you out with your needs, and some saddle manufacturers,
including Fizik, offer local bike shops a try before you buy scheme, so that you can
actually make sure it works for you.
Some top-end saddles like this one might look quite painful, but actually comfort is less
about padding and actually more about the shape of the saddle versus the shape of your
arse. This is also a great way to save some weight on your bike, with top-end saddles
using titanium or carbon rails here versus the aluminium rails that you'll get on standard saddles.
Rotating weight has an even more pronounced effect on the way your bike handles and feels
than static weight, so tyres are a great way of saving a few grams and making your bike
feel that much better. Don't go for anything super, super light - that way you'll be even
more susceptible to punctures. But a good-quality folding tyre with a high thread count will
make a big difference if you're somebody that's used to a beaded tyre which is quite heavy.
However, our advice is not to go for super lightweight latex inner tubes. In our experience,
you don't get much bang for your buck and again, you'll be more susceptible to punctures.
Our next recommended upgrade is a brand new bicycle computer such as this Garmin 1000
here. It's got GPS functionality and it works with things like Garmin Connect or Strava,
so you can analyse your rides in detail. And even if you're not a super competitive person
that likes to go on Strava, it's still a great way to keep track of where you've been. Also,
if you're a numbers geek like me, there are more than enough functions on here to keep
you satisfied.
If you're somebody that's relatively new to the world of cycling and you haven't yet upgraded
to clipless pedals like these, well that's the first place in which you should upgrade.
Being attached to your pedal will allow you to pull up as well as push down, allowing
you to develop a more efficient and rounded pedaling style. You can spend a lot of money
on a pair of pedals, but spending that much won't make much difference in terms of how
they function. So save the extra money and use it on a pair of shoes, because that's
where you'll really feel a difference.
Handlebars come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and the one which came with your bike
might not necessarily be the best one for you. If for example you're someone that's
relatively short, you might want to opt for something which is narrower with less of a
reach and less of a drop. This should help your bike handling in general and also there
will be less of a drop down to the drops for general riding. However if you're somebody
that's simply looking to get more aerodynamic, narrower bars might also be something for you.
You can track your progress in training using a variety of methods. It might be heart rate,
it might be speed, or it could just be the time it takes you to get up your local climb.
However, if you want to get truly scientific about it, it's time to invest in a power meter.
Power is not affected by outside variables such as temperature, air density, fatigue
or even caffeine intake, so it's a great way to gauge and monitor your training progress
and compare yourself against yourself.
The grass is always greener on the other side, so the saying goes. It's very easy to look
at other people's bikes and forget just how good your own bike is. The best way to rectify
this is just to give it a good clean. Get some degreaser, get your chain coming up like
new, clean between the sprockets, even clean behind the chain set here on the frame, which
is normally obscured. A shiny bike feels like a new bike.
So what's the best ever upgrade that you've made to your bike? Make sure you let us know
in the comments section below this video. Meanwhile, I'm off to make upgrade number
11 - which money can't buy.
GCN water bottles! You can only win these. To do so, just keep your eye on the news show.
See that? That's what it should be looking like. Disgusting.
He doesn't even ride it, I don't know how he gets it so dirty!
He probably just made it this dirty deliberately so that he'd get some free new tape.
Do you think it's a bit of a coincidence that he wants his bike used for the top 10 upgrades video?!