I’m trying out the Silca Mattone saddle bag because I’m tired of stuffing my jersey with tools and spares on every ride. I’m not a huge fan of the look of saddle bags, but this one seemed like a decent compromise for now.
I used to have my Varia mounted on the seat post with the standard mount, but I recently switched to the seat rail mount for a cleaner setup. Still not sure if it’s the way to go, though.
Oh, and the chimney on the steerer is temporary! I’m planning to cut it soon since my bar height is already dialed in with my fitter. No slammed stem for me, but I’m happy with the current position. ☹️
My goal is to make the bike look even better—sleeker and more aggressive. What would you upgrade or change with a $600 budget?
by Edinburgh_The_First
32 Comments
… what needs to be upgraded? If nothing, why feed into the consumerism BS that bike industry pumps out?
Probably not much for $600?
TPU tubes over butyl and a power meter!
Unsure if your steerer tube facilitates internal routing so I didn’t recommend one piece carbon aero bars.
Nice lookin rideeee.
I‘d upgrade the Varia to the Varia dash cam model.
Scrap upgrades take that beauty on exotic trips. Or just use that budget as gas money
Training camp
Why do people usually use 2 small water bottles instead of 1 large bottle?
Tires, you can get faster than the Rubinos
If your primary concern is making the bike *look* better, then the one big thing I’d look into is an integrated cockpit with internal cable/hose routing IF your steering tube and fork can accommodate it.
Go for vacation for 600 bucks
Saddle, get a nice one with a pressure relief channel, those old school Fiziks suck for longer rides. Whatever’s left, use for LEGO valve caps.
Possibly better tires too
Look better = buy some helicopter tape (the brands like RideWrap uses 3M Visionshield), spend a couple of evenings measuring and cutting out. It’ll save your paint from scratches
Or you can pay RideWrap £400 or something insane to do it for you.
Bikefit
No need to upgrade, that’s just hyper consumerism getting the best of you.
*however* you could take this apart down to the frame and send it off for a single color of powder coating. Maybe some Cerakote. It’ll be right around or slightly less than your $600 budget and now you’d have a one of a kind look that grabs way more attention than an upgraded drivetrain would. Check my post history for one I did with Cerakote
Nice bike. Would you recommend the seat rail mount?
Are your seat rails carbon?
Definitely a power meter
Probably clothing or other (worn) quality kit. Bike seems fine to me unless budget were much higher, and even then it’s only marginally worth it.
Bars, bar tape, tires
600$ worth of fine food to power the thing.
conversion to tubeless & conti gp5000 s tr‘s 👌🏻
power meter?
Cassette
Stages powermeter
Power meter assioma pedals
On that bike; Literally nothing.
You have nice set up. The only thing I’d swap out are the tires. Vittoria Rubinos are decent tires, but Vittoria Corsa or Continental GP5000 would be much better.
Don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades, somewhere other than at home
Power meter? Bike computer? Bike fit?
Take it criterium racing and you’ll know what you need.
Your bike looks like it doesn’t really need upgrades.
Beautiful!!
Just ride it, upgrade not needed