Improving Your Road Bike. Making Inexpensive Effective Upgrades.
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- In this video:
How to improve your road bike if you are looking to make some relatively inexpensive upgrades. Improving the weight, speed and comfort of your bike.
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Safe riding,
Reg.
Thank you!😊 You inspired me to drillium my mudguards, bike goes like the clappers now.
Next weekend, I'm going to do the main triangle.
Good luck! 🤪
Nice frame, only thing needed is to remove the derailluers and casette; a single speed would make it that much sleeker.
That’s true… although the hanger is part of the frame.
Enjoyed this video.
I’m glad! Thank you. 🙏🏻
Lovely bike Reginald,
My one is 1998 Pina Monviso 8,1 kg resprayed in chromo velato cherry red with white stikers, on tha fatty side but rides very well very snappy but preditable especiaaly on technical descents,
Great video
Thank you, sounds lovely! 😍
Ridenow tube is around 33g. I've got them in my wheels and so far they are ok.
36g and 24g video coming soon. 😉
@@reginaldscot165 great looking forward!
How’s the tire pressure? Do they leak relatively faster ?
I’m considering Ridenow too
@@reginaldscot165 TPU,s are absolutelly amazing, the closest to tubular tires.
Loled at sanding off the Prime logo haha
🤭😇
You forgot to mention the cost of all the "upgrades" you made to the bike. Considering that for the price of the upgrades average man can afford him self a nice second hand bike, that could be the most expensive "savings" ever made on the bike. Plus if the saddle is uncomfortable I can not see how is the bike now more comfortable. :)
Not sure I understand your final point? Perhaps it needs editing. 🙂
I also don’t fully understand your first comment. How would having a cheap second hand bike (for less than $500) make your first bike faster and more comfortable and lighter? It wouldn’t. My video was not about “how to buy a second hand bike.” It was how to make your current bike better. 🙂
@@reginaldscot165
At the beginning of the video you mentioned that you are going to make the bike lighter, faster and more comfortable. At the end of the video you mentioned that the saddle you put is less comfortable than the one you had before. So how the hell did that improve comfort?? :)
It's a while since you made this vid. How have the alloy cable housings held up? I would have thought that under the bar tape they might suffer from corrosion from sweat?
Zero issues. I change my tape regularly and I haven’t noticed any corrosion. Also I haven’t had to change any cables as of yet. 🙂
They creek slightly when moved under load. PTFE spray would probably solve that.
Looks great. Enjoy!
Thank you, ride safe!
Choose: 2 kg off body weight or 400 g off bike weight?
Why not both! But obviously there is a limit to everything. And what’s interesting is a lighter bike will always make you faster, but getting lighter as a rider doesn’t always have the same effects especially if the weight you drop is muscle not fat. 🙂
Option A.
Not to mention 'inexpensive'.
Option B, More weight will stay more consistent
Tire contact patch is a simple formula, weight/air pressure. If you have (I'm US) a 100 lb load on the wheel and 100 lbs sq in pressure in the tire, you have a contact patch of 1 sq in. At 50 lbs pressure, there would be 2 sq inches contact.
Very true. 👍🏻
Source? I can't see how it does not depend on other parameters like diameter of the tyre, width of the tyre and hardness of the tyre material.
@matteo.ceriotti your blindness isn't my responsibility to cure. I already said all you need to know, if you're capable of learning. It takes super dimwits to argue against basic information. Just think. The air holds up the tire. The pressure per square inch times the sq inches must equal the weight on the tire or it will sink or rise. You take it from there.
Reginald, imagine building up a WABI bike, such as the Lightning model which is Columbus tubing with carbon fork. It is a Singlespeed.
I’m too old for single speed. 😂
Hi there. Great video. Did you consider add some carbon wheels? That will also bring the weight down. Some 38mm deep wheels would be enough.
Enjoy your ride and ride safe.
Hi thank you!
Well depending on the brand m. The DT Swiss PR1400s on this bike are actually lighter than your average DT or Zipp carbon rims! But the Hypers I have are 17g lighter in size 50mm. Yes 38s would be good. But this is also my training bike so aluminium rims are good. Also the upgrades are all way less than the cost of carbon rims. The most expensive thing was the bar and saddle, about $600 each. Carbon wheels will be $1680BND minimum. 🤭
Great comment! Safe riding!
Intresting video Reginald . Glad to see you brought out the Cinelli, did the paint finally cure? I remember you mentioning a while back that the paint was soft.I think the bike looks good.
Enjoy the ride.
All the best!
Thank you, No the paint is still very delicate, I actually scratched the frame down to the undercoat while doing the upgrade. So yeah, not good to be honest.
@@reginaldscot165delicate paint and Italian made, name a more iconic duo - the Ferrari F50 had a paint that was so famously thin that you could see the carbon weaving through the paint, which is used to spot if the car had been in a crash
Also, if the Nemo is heavy, what do you think of the XCR
Where can I find that compressionless cables and housing?
Aliexpress
Great vid , but a word to the wise, CNC doesn't always mean it's made from a single forged billet, it's still possible to have a cheaper cast piece with a machined finish . Buyer beware
Humm, that’s probably because all the factors I worked in before were in Europe where people don’t normally cheat like that. 🤭 I should be safe with the fizik stem but thanks for the warning. 💪🏼👍🏻
where do you find titanium bolts
The internet, plenty of people selling online. 🙂👍🏻
One trick to making a bike more comfortable is a smaller seatpost with a shim... a 25.4 seatpost will ride better than a bigger one
That’s a good point.
Prime carbon seatpost is £120 - mine was £20 from amazon as is 190g.
Excellent 👌🏻 job.
@@reginaldscot165 Got the prime carbon bars though. Did all the ti stuff on my MTB including the jockey wheel bolts.
you can save a ton with with calipers and wheels of course
That’s true, but wheels are a little bit more of a big investment. 😉
Nice! But why didn't you replace the seat post bolt?
Because it’s quite a unique bolt, I haven’t seen one like that in titanium.
It looks like I can’t post links. But unless I’m mistaken, isn’t the one called ”Campagnolo seatpost bolt” in Titaniumplanet the right one?
i used segmented outers in the past as well but ditched them as they were creaking, are those ones silent?
No they do indeed creek when turning the bars, but out on the road with the cars, wind and road noise I stopped noticing. 🤭
@@reginaldscot165 good on ya lad, my hubs are silent I will absolutely not put up with creaking cables.
Where did you get the rim brake titanium parts?
Aliexpress 🥰
I haven't had a great experience with RISK add ons - I installed RISK pedal extenders to open up the Q-factor. They worked great until the left one snapped at the thread and sent me over the bars. Won't be buying from them again.
Yes that seems like a high risk item. Anything you put your full body weight on has to be a quality product. 👍🏻
Hello, what kind od tubes do you use? Any specific brand? TY 🙂
The latex? Well before Michelin, but I think the ones from vittoria are better.
Here me laughing. Making my 12 kilo cross bike to 9 kilos. Changes I made were carbon fork, 40mm aluminium handlebar, carbon spacers. 1x driver train ( Got rid of front derailleur) 20 spoke front wheel. 60 grams carbon saddle. 8 speed ztto ( 11-23) titanium bolts for chainring and stem. I added a ton of aero bits on bike. Without them bike would be around late 8 kilos. Cleat pedals . The rear wheel has 36 spokes. Changing that would reduce weight even further.
Excellent work! 60g saddle on a cross bike? Unless you don’t do cross? 😁👍🏻
@@reginaldscot165 nope. Didnt even know it was a cross aluminium bike when bought it to ride with road bike buddies. The only thing that wasn't cross bike about it at the time of purchase was narrow tires. Initially it was tough to keep in the draft of road bikes but eventually fitness build up and even got better than most of them. Lately ventured onto sprint discipline and kom hunting that prompted the need to reduce weight. Otherwise I swear a steel bike is perfect for your usual enjoyable group rides.
@@colecoleman1499 yes you are right, if I put 25s on my old steel gravel bike I made I can ride in groups no problem. 😁 As long as they don’t go too fast after a red light. 😅
@@reginaldscot165 Exactly. When road buddies unleash the potential of road bikes. Steel bikes can't compete. Hence majority of people catered towards typical non competitive road cycling would be better off with non bank breaker steel bikes that provides the most enjoyable ride and get way more fitter for dragging a steel bike rather than carbon.
@@colecoleman1499 I wouldn’t say steel can’t compete, many people still race steel. The reason I can’t keep up on my steel gravel bike when they accelerate quickly is because my bike is 14kg and very flexible. But, my steel road bike is pretty quick, I have and do race on it and often finish in the bunch sprint. 🙂
Latex tubes are the best! Where did you order all the titanium bits?
A mix of “Titanium planet” and “Aliexpress” online. 🙂👍🏻
Try Prime 38mm carbon wheels from Wiggle
I’m sure they are good actually. 😃
Free speed= narrower bars with inturning hoods to achieve a hood to hood outer of around 36cm.
Consider reviewing position,saddle setback could be reduced significantly to assist quads power engagement.
Interesting.
🙂👍🏻
How is that free though? What if you do not already own the bars?
Get a carbon tubular wheelset. Might save you a kg. Second hand these are extremely cheap atm. Bought a set last week for just 100 euros with good tubes on em
They are great. But I prefer the versatility and ease of use of tubes. But you aren’t wrong. 🙂👍🏻
Ajusting your diet equals 0 cost. Loosing 400g for that amount of money is just way out insane, especially if you add that wieght again in water, lights and your bikecomputer.
Get rid of your tummy, and BAM -5 Kg ;-)
Or… hear me out… why not, both?
🤭
@@reginaldscot165 cause it´s a waste of money?
Taking a dump before getting on your Bike saves the same, and is totaly free ;-)
@cellestinohernendes3081 You dont get it. losing 400g in bodymass is way easier AND cheaper, than spending a buttload of money on bike upgrades that are just plain stupid. Plus 400g makes you no bit faster that before, unless you are a top level pro cyclist that is climbing the alps.
Inexpensive upgrades but no, weight weenie nervosa. 🥶
Not sure I follow…? But thanks anyway. 😁👍🏻
8.5kg is supposed to be heavy?!
For a rim brake performance road bike yes. 3-4 years ago the average bike coming in my shop was 7.4/5 Now with e group sets and disc it’s always 8.5-9+
good for you. Just say no to spending 5 digit$ on a crazy complex heavyweight new bike.
I want a simple life and a bike that simple to ride and maintain. 🙂
Ride on 23mm tyres in the UK and very quickly your backside will be cursing you. The roads here are terribly rough and potholed to the point of being dangerous. Possibly your local roads are smoother? I might give the latex tubes a try though.
I lived and cycled there for 30 years. Yes some of the roads are bad, terrible in fact. But never used anything bigger than a 23mm. (I lived in the countryside and some of the roads hadn’t been reappeared… in all the years I lived there.) I still use 23s… even on light gravel. I tried 25s… can’t say I noticed any difference… apart from being heavier. 😁
Dump the chunky Ultegra calipers and put of some Sram Apex, cheap as anything and the performance is the same/
I’m not sure the cable pull for the RD is compatible?🤔
@@reginaldscot165 The calipers, not the shifters? To be honest the other factor was i just prefer black componentry, rather than Ultegra graphite, on bikes with a strong colour like your Cinelli. Mine is an acid red/ orange CAAD12 with a black hollowgram crankset. There really isn't any difference in performance, it seems crazy that entry level Sram is lighter than Ultegra.
@@reginaldscot165I have sram red on my nemo.. works fine, pretty lively.
I now have Dura Ace 9100 pedals and replaced My older and way heavier 6700s and They roll and feel way faster.
Lighter/stiffer moving parts and hardwares make a world of difference for sure!
Nice 😎👍🏻
Adjust the tire pressure through trial and error until the bike stops feeling like riding on a washboard when on seemingly flat asphalt.
👍🏻
Too heavy? :D Lol, my gravel bike with road tires weights 10,4kg :D (carbon frame) lmao...
Ha! That’s nothing, my gravel bike is almost 16kg! But I expect less weight from a “road bike” so it’s not a fair comparison. 😁
"Faster tire and lower pressure equals smaller contact patch somehow. Turns out not to be true."...? That isn´t entirely correct is it, or am I misunderstanding you? I have read and heard that a wider tire means that I can run a lower pressure without incurring the risk of a pinch flat. Wether that is true or not I´m not quite sure, but to me it seems like it has been proven quite clearly that both comfort and speed is increased by running 28 or even 30 mm instead of 25 og 23 mm, of course also depending on your rim width, as a rim width which is about flush with the tire width makes the wheels more aero and therefore faster, of course up to a certain limit. If you don´t agree with this it would be interesting to hear why. Thanks in advance.
I’m in the process of making a test/video on this subject 🙂👍🏻