Bicycle Upgrades

Posted: April 4th, 2011 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: bicycling | Tags: Mirrycle, Monza, Neuvation, Shimano, tommaso | No Comments »

While I was sitting around growing my beer belly this winter, I created a bicycle upgrade plan. I wanted to do my yearly maintenance and get the upgrades completed before the riding season.

I love my Tommaso Monza. I was only able to do half the riding I wanted to do last year, but I enjoyed every little bit of it. The Monza is a great bicycle to have if you are a beginning cyclist. The basic build is great, and it comes with a mix of Tiagra/105 components, which are more than enough to get started. That being said, there were a few things I wanted to upgrade for this year.

Stem
The first thing I changed was my stem. I bought a shorter stem, by 20mm, so that I would be a bit more comfortable. It allows me to spend more time on the lower bars, making me more aerodynamic. That’s the theory, anyways, since I realized on Saturday that I need to get rid of my beer belly to be really comfortable there all the time.

Cassette
Tommaso ships a Sunrace 11-25 cassette with the Monza. I don’t blame them, since it is half the cost of a Shimano cassette and it is functionally the same. I found that the 25 tooth cog, as a max, made it hard for me to get up hills. So that’s why I decided to upgrade to the Shimano 12-27 cassette, which makes it easier on the climbs. An unforeseen consequence of my upgrade – my shifting is smoother than a baby’s ass.

Wheels
Although I don’t know him, I want to shake John Neugent’s hand. I did 25 miles on my brand new Neuvation R28X wheelset this weekend, and it was incredible. The stock wheels on the Monza are great because they are so versatile and solid. The stock wheels are Alex R500 rims with a Joytech Hub, and standard spokes. They could accommodate a 210 pound rider with no problems. I suspect their ruggedness also means that they were much heavier.

The Neuvation R28Xs felt lighter. They are easier to spin up, both on the flats and in the hills. I bought the R28Xs because they can be opened up and lubricated. In addition, you can replace the ABEC-5 bearings if needed. They came true in the box, and were ready to ride, with the addition of the cassette. One thing I did notice is that the wheels were a bit more “squirrelly” in a heavy crosswind. However, I expected this since the wheelset has bladed/aero spokes.

Bicycle Mirror
Although it nullifies any advantage I get from the aero spokes, I picked up a Mirrycle Mirror (STI). I figured it is better to be safe than fast. The mirror is difficult to assemble, even with instructions. The package was also missing a washer, though I don’t think it wasn’t that important. Once it was installed on my Tiagra brifter, it was great. I could finally see what was behind me, without craning over my shoulder. The one worry I do have is crashing and breaking the mirror off ($15), or worse yet, breaking the brifter ($180).

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