Upgrading Groupset

Lloydy

Hi,

Bit of advice needed :-)

I currently ride a CAAD8 with Sora groupset and have been thinking about upgrading the bike over the last few months, but I am a little reluctant to pay out £2k+ as I actually like my bikes frame - it's just the groupset that I find poor.

I have looked around the web and it seems you can pick up a nice Ultegra groupset from Merlin for a reasonable price. This appears to be a win win situation for me, but I just need some recommendations as to who to ask to fit it - will bike shops fit groupsets that you didnt purchase from them?

Any ideas more than welcome

Cheers

Mark

wilburtrump

Trisports will happily do it, they've done the same for me before. It's not that hard to do yourself, actually, bit like a jigsaw with spanners, only thing is you need a few specific tools. Tool kits start around 40 quid or something, which is cheaper than the 120 quid or so that Trisports will charge, but at least you will have peace of mind from Trisports. Have you checked out shinybikes.com for groupset prices? Will

LukeDanckert

If you're looking at Ultegra, I'd always go for the SRAM equivalent so either Rival or Force. Check out Fudge Cycles

http://www.fudgescyclestore.com/

Will, I'm planning to build up my new winter bike (S1) from the frame. Past changing a tyre i've always taken it to bike shops, now I have the tool kit an enthusiasm, what could go wrong!

Jane

Go Luke!

A year ago, replacing an inner tube at snail's pace was pretty much the limit of my mechanical knowledge, the rest of the workings of a bike was a complete mystery. Had no idea what 'groupset' meant. Now I'm happy to tinker and I get good advice from the super-knowledgeable within the club. I've learnt heaps.

Definitely a fan of SRAM - fitted new Apex brakes myself (- really impressed with how easy that was) and my summer bike has a slight problem with a shift lever (Rival), so SRAM is replacing the whole handset for free c/o Townsend Light Blue Cycles in Cambridge .... who I'd also recommend to anyone (and they might even give you a discount if you say you're CCA)