You've spent more time with your bike than your children and tended to it more lovingly than your wife. In return, it has supported you more faithfully than a well-trained dog. A well-trained dog made of carbon fiber.
Here are the four
essential bike component upgrades that your life has been incomplete without. Even if you didn't know it.
3. Titanium Bolts
Ti may be losing the war against carbon fiber, but it's hard to argue against its incredible strength, durability, and lust worthiness. It's practically chemically inert in it's alloyed form, resisting as many sweaty trainer sessions as you can throw at it. In addition, it's the strongest metal for its weight, as strong as many common steels but 45% lighter (1), and has the highly touted argument of a high fatigue limit. Whereas metals like aluminum will fatigue to the point of failure over time, Titanium is immune to any stresses below the force of it's fatigue limit. Will bolts on your bike experience this limit? My guess is almost certainly not, but it's holiday bike upgrade time and practicality is not your concern. Besides, there are some aluminum bolts thrown into the above kit to bring the weight down (Al wins in the weight-weenie battle), and the bolts are of course anodized a beautiful deep red. Check out the above kit from
Specialty Racing Products and ask your spouse if eliminating the omnipresent threat of bolt failure isn't worth a paltry $150. Plus, you stand to lose
at least 5 grams in the process.
2. Nokon Cables
Anyone can run regular cables, but it takes an individual with true hatred of their money to run
Nokon Cables. Beyond being the undisputed 'patented cable system of the future,' Nokon cables offer the benefits of: resisting kinks, managing tighter corners, provide a compressionless housing, and most importantly, come in pretty colors. Also, they mention that the Aluminum housing won't rust, but as far as I know, the standard rubber housing on cables won't rust either, so... wait, never mind, that would be a practical consideration. And you can't lord practicality over your riding buddies every Saturday morning. For only approximately $99, you could upgrade your cables this holiday season. Think of how many more cups of Egg Nog you could have to compensate for the weight savings. It's at least 3. Maybe even 4.
1. Ceramic Bearings
Ceramic bearings are widely heralded as the choice of bearings for top-tier wheelsets. The argument lies in their diminished rolling resistance and heightened durability as compared to standard steel bearings. If my memory is correct, you could be losing
at least 5 watts if you're not on ceramic. And that's just the wheels. The general consensus is that if you're not on ceramic bearings, you shouldn't even bother riding. Upgrading to ceramics if often compared to providing a performance benefit comparable to moving from an uninflated to an inflated front tire, or, during a 40km TT, similar to moving from facing backwards to forwards while riding. Don't forget derailleur pulleys and bottom brackets need the upgrade too. If your spouse disputes the necessity of having every bearing be ceramic, tell him/her that to not upgrade the others would be unfair, and that's not the person he/she fell in love with. Regarding the price, well, the adage of 'if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it' may be in effect, but look to spend about $400 if you go for
these $90 derailleur pulleys from VCRC along with their
$150 ceramic bottom bracket and a
$150 set for your Mavic Wheels.
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You may have noticed an increasingly sarcastic tone within the above entry, but each upgrade is to some degree a legitimate suggestion. If your bike is fit properly, maintained flawlessly (as in, you're cleaning the drivetrain while reading this), and has top of the line components,
and you hate saving money, then any of these could be for you. There are of course better uses for your money, like a powermeter, computrainer, aero helmet, or Master's swim teach membership, but if you have those bases covered, then enjoy!
Sources:
1.
^ a b c Barksdale 1968, p. 738
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