Upgrading Your Road Bike

Do you want to give your road bike a fresh look and inject some dynamism into its appearance without changing your machine? Or perhaps take your bike to the next level with the aim of improving your performance, comfort and optimising your build? We are going to give you some tips on how to upgrade your road bike.

The modifications that can be made will depend on the following factors:

• your bike model;
• your discipline;
• your frequency of use; and
• your riding style.

For small budgets up to €200

Redoing your inner cabling gives your riding a new lease of life, whether for braking or gear shifting, and makes your ride more comfortable and enjoyable. Even if your frame doesn't change, the internals can be given a boost by replacing your cables and housing.

By regularly changing your bottom bracket bearings, or wheel bearings, you achieve lower friction and better power transfer, optimising your performance while providing a more pleasant feeling during effort.

Also, you may want to change your chainring to get a more suitable gear ratio for your riding style or simply to achieve better efficiency and perhaps save a few grams. If you fancy the experience, you have the option of trying an oval chainring, popularised by Team Sky, Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins, and testing the effectiveness of your pedal stroke in this configuration.

Changing your cassette gives you a wider range of gear ratios, particularly useful for tackling challenging routes with climbing and being more comfortable on steep gradients.

To personalise your bike, you can change your bar tape or your grips. The goal: to enhance your look, stand out from the ordinary and make a statement in the peloton with eye-catching colours, while also improving your riding comfort.

Also, bottle cages can add an extra personal touch depending on their design, and even bring more lightness depending on the structure.

The saddle is the most important element for your comfort. If you have a worn saddle, do not hesitate to change the product to find a seat suited to your body shape that improves your comfort on long rides. It can also be a way to save weight on your overall build.

If you are looking for performance, purchasing a pair of tyres is an excellent way to optimise your effort. Of course, the tyre can be a little lighter and provide better responsiveness, particularly in accelerations and sprints, but what we are really talking about here is rolling efficiency. A high-end tyre, with numerous technologies, can help you conserve a significant number of watts.

You can invest in a competition-oriented tyre for your races or other special events, and conversely keep a more puncture-resistant tyre for your training rides. This can also allow you to save on inner tubes.

If you are not a fan of clipless pedals, this could be your first investment to improve your pedalling cycle and be more efficient. Indeed, with clipless cleats you will pull through better, bring your ankle up and have a rounder pedal stroke for better power transfer.

Be careful — riding with worn pedals or cleats can lead to injuries or bad pedalling habits.

Sometimes a good wash is enough to give your machine a fresh lease of life and make your riding experience more comfortable. Cleaning your cassette, degreasing your chain or polishing your jockey wheels allows for more enjoyable use and better running of your drivetrain system.

You can also work on the drivetrain: change the rear derailleur, fit a new crankset or new gear shifters to save weight, improve smoothness of operation and increase wear resistance.

For budgets between €200 and €400

Investing in a GPS computer allows you to put numbers to your sensations. It proves useful during a ride to keep track of where you are in your training, know the number of kilometres covered, reassure yourself about your speed, and even view your GPS route and follow your track so you don't get lost.

If it works with apps such as Strava or Garmin Connect, you can upload all your data to analyse your activities and training. Even if you are not a hardcore competitor, knowing your numbers is an excellent way to track your progress and stay motivated.

Also, acquiring a new handlebar can improve your riding position. Wider or more raised for greater comfort, or conversely narrower and lower if you want better aerodynamics, your cockpit can be customised according to your needs and the intensity of your riding.

For budgets over €400

The choice of your wheelset depends on your discipline and the profile you are looking for. Weight, rim height, rim width — many characteristics come into play when configuring your build and adapting it to your route. If you invest in a high-end wheelset, you can keep it for races or special events.

This is the essential piece of kit for the competitive rider who wants to invest in their training. The power meter lets you know in detail the data collected during your ride. Reliable and precise, it is unaffected by external factors such as wind or rain. It quantifies your training and fatigue for the closest possible monitoring of your performance. You can compare yourself to your previous results, try to improve and track your progress.

You can also improve your braking system. Better braking will mean greater responsiveness and increased confidence. Moving up a level will allow you to gain braking power, comfort, responsiveness and bite by opting for a different size or type of disc.

Disc brakes are massively popular among the professional peloton. On wet roads, they can be preferred for braking comfort, enhanced safety and improved confidence in the face of urban hazards. However, it should be noted that this system adds extra weight to your machine.

Take care of the details, adjustments and maintenance

The motivation for upgrading your road bike can come from multiple sources. While some riders prioritise performance to optimise their efforts, others favour comfort to ensure a pleasant sense of well-being throughout the ride.

It is also possible to do it purely to personalise your bike and stand out in the peloton, giving your machine a unique look. All the peripherals such as the handlebar, stem, grips, pedals, saddle clamp, headset, seatpost and saddle can be changed to add some colour.

There is also a multitude of spare parts available in different colours, such as derailleur jockey wheels, bolts, discs, housing, brake hoses… Also consider carbon parts or ceramic bearings for weight savings or superior smoothness.

Beyond all the components that can be modified and upgraded, a well-adjusted and well-maintained bike remains essential and indispensable for getting the most enjoyment out of your riding.