Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

feature

6 road bike upgrades you don't actually need

From ceramic bearings to disc brakes, here are 6 upgrades you don't need to enjoy a bike ride

We’ve all bought things that we don’t need but following some rather dubious purchases, we thought we’d take a look at 6 of the best ways to waste money on your bike. Whilst we agreed on most of the selections, upgrade number 6 had the road.cc office split, so make sure you let us know on which side of the fence you sit.

Oversized Pulley Wheel Systems

2022 Ceramic Speed Denmark OSPW - 1

First up is oversize pulley wheel systems, whenever we review one the comments section is soon filled with anger and hate and we have to say that quite often this is justified. 

The thing that really annoys us is cost. Normally you're looking at the best part of £500 and they offer very very marginal gains.

> CeramicSpeed OSPW Aero officially launches with a €739 price tag

The manufacturers would have you believe that if you fit one of these, the very next thing you’ll be doing is winning the Tour. The truth is that yes, watts can be saved but it acts on a place where the chain isn’t under tension so any saving really is minimal.

The one way in which they can save watts is by reducing chain tension, that’s fine during a smooth time trial but can lead to an increased chance of dropping a chain when used on bumpy roads.

2021 Absolute Black Hollowcage Testing rig.jpg

> Review: Absolute Black Hollowcage Carbon Ceramic Oversized Derailleur Pulley Cage

And that’s probably why very few pro teams are using them for road stages. Sram, Shimano and Campagnolo have done a decent job with their standard derailleur cages, so save your money and stick to them.

Integrated Cockpits

2021 Vitus ZX1 EVO CRS - integrated stem.jpg

It pains us to say it because we do love the clean looks of a race bike with no cables showing. But do you need all of the cables hidden away? No, not at all. On a pure race bike then maybe it’s worth going for but on everything else, it’s more hassle than it’s worth. 

Integrated cockpits are a pain if you ever want to take your bike somewhere in a box. The cables and hoses going through the bars don't allow very much movement so if they need turning sideways then you could be in trouble. If you’re already too late and have purchased an integrated bike then take a look at the bike box Alan triathlon aero EasyFit, which we found to be an absolute lifesaver. 

Top-end groupsets

2022 Dauphine Jumbo Shimano Dura-Ace 12-speed Di2 - 1

Moving on to our third bike upgrade that you don’t need and as lovely as it is, it’s Dura-Ace and Red eTap AXS. Campagnolo is forgiven here as the only way to get the electronic EPS system is to buy the top-end stuff. 

Sram and Shimano's top-of-the-range groupsets are an upgrade that we just don’t think is justifiable, not when they cost a huge amount more and save only a tiny bit of weight over the second-tier Force and Ultegra.

> Review: Shimano Ultegra R8170 Di2 Disc Groupset

When you realise that both are available as electronic systems with shifting performance which is just as good, well, the maths just doesn’t add up.

Review:  SRAM Force eTap AXS Wide groupset

To put it into perspective, the 278g you'd save going for Dura-Ace over Ultegra is about half of a bottle of water. And while yes, on climbs every little helps, we don’t think that this will make a feasible difference to your Sunday cafe ride or even in a Nat B road race.

Tubeless

2022 TdF Ineos shimano continental GP5000TR tubeless mucoff

Time for some controversial-ness with our next one, it’s tubeless. This one certainly divided opinion with some thinking that tubeless on the road is pointless despite using it for gravel and mountain biking.

For others, it has saved them a few times from having to stop and put a tube in and that’s good enough in their eyes. Admittedly, there are some aspects that could still do with some work but it’s getting better, sealants are now designed for higher pressures and tyres are reluctantly getting easier to fit.

> Should you get tubeless tyres? Are they your best option?

There are some combinations that just don’t work, however. They’re either impossible to get on, or impossible to blow up and then you get a puncture, cover everything in sealant and ruin your fingers at the side of the road…while getting cold.

We do also begrudge having to pay extra for tubeless tyres versus their tube-type clincher counterparts.

Ceramic Bearings

ceramicspeed bearings5.jpg

One thing that we agree on far more is the fact that ceramic bearings at our level are just a bit unnecessary. 

We’re lucky enough to test all sorts of equipment from wheels, bottom brackets, jockey wheels and so on. Many of these come with the latest and greatest ceramic bearings. Does this mean they’re the best products out there? Quite often no, it just means there's a significant price hike compared to their steel bearing baby brothers.

There are all sorts of studies on ceramic bearings that you can go and read online but the general gist is that good ones are good and bad ones are worse than some good quality steel bearings. Sadly, however fast we pedal, the rotational speeds of bearings on bikes are fairly minuscule when compared to applications where ceramic bearings make a lot more sense, aerospace and motors for example.

> Should you buy ceramic bearings? Expert opinions polled

So when you’re summing up where best to drop a few hundred quid on road bike upgrades then we recommend you seriously consider where those 10 or so watts can be found elsewhere, maybe a few months with a coach, a more aerodynamic position or just keeping your current bearings maintained.

Disc Brakes

2022 Dauphine ineos pinarello 160mm front brake rotor

Before everyone gets angry in the comments, we'd just like to point out that many of us here do actually both ride on disc brakes and they certainly have their benefits. Do you need them though? No.

When looking for a new bike there is now quite a price discrepancy between disc brake and rim brake bikes with many people completely discounting rim brake bikes with little to no consideration. Let’s just get this straight, there is nothing wrong with rim brakes, it was a perfectly good solution for absolutely decades and using them will still allow you to have a great bike ride.

> 8 reasons not to get disc brakes — find out the hassles before you switch

So if you do find a good deal on a rim brake bike, then please just consider it at least, especially if you mainly ride in the dry. We’ve already said that they can be cheaper but did you know that they’re generally lighter as well, that's why we used to see Tour de France favourites switching back to a rim brake bike on particularly gruelling mountain stages.

If you think we’ve missed any road bike upgrades that you don’t need then let us know in the comments below, otherwise we hope that we’ve managed to save you a few quid.

Add new comment

36 comments

Avatar
Griff500 | 1 year ago
3 likes

This year I upgraded from a mechanical Ultegra rim braked, alloy wheeled bike to an all singing all dancing 2022 superbike on which I have now done around 3000km, so I have a view on some of the comments. 

I have the luxury of 300 days per year of sunshine, and when I am not climbing Cols, I am descending Cols, so I understand brakes. That said, the first thing I would dearly love to see the back of is my disc brakes. For around 40,000km my old Ultegra rim brakes on alloy rims stopped me quickly, efficiently, and quietly every time. My new, top flight discs stop me, equally efficiently, sometimes silently, sometimes waking every cat for miles around, or more often somewhwere in between. Each time I pull the brakes, I wait to see which sound, if any, I get this time. I have friends riding a range of Shimano and SRAM setups, and they all seem to have problems at some point. So for me, discs have a net disadvantage and are a solution to a problem I never had. 

Power meter on the other hand is great. I smiled at the comment above where a poster said "I know what effort feels like". We certainly know what torque feels like, and we know what cadence feels like, but I'm not sure our bodies are very accurate at multiplying torque by cadence and giving a reliable answer.  It is not in my case about winning races as I don't race, it is about getting to the top of an hour plus long climb with the optimum time/fatigue balance. Nobody needs a power meter, but using one daily, understanding the effect a different gear and cadence have on power,  improves that understanding.

Internal cables -and integrated headsets, look great, but a real faff. Just wait until you get a cable rattling over every bump in that hollow carbon frame.

I'd add to the list wireless groupsets. When you get your bike home from the shop with SRAM AXS, it will immediately tell you to individually upgrade firmware in RD, FD, and each shifter, where a simple wire would make only one firmware load necessary. Then you have the state of 4 batteries to track. Not sure I see any advantages in wireless except making intial bike build easier. 

My jury is out on carbon wheels. Round my area we don't wear out wheels due to rim brakes, but we do fatigue spoke holes in alloy wheels with fast descents. My new carbon wheels come with a lifetime guarantee against fatigue, so let's just wait and see!  

Avatar
maviczap | 1 year ago
3 likes

Best close the Road.cc website down then because you won't have anything to review

Avatar
mdavidford replied to maviczap | 1 year ago
3 likes

Late to the party there - someone already had that idea last night / this morning.

Avatar
Kieran0885 | 1 year ago
0 likes

Wholeheartedly agree with this list. You don't need any of the upgrades on this list as a recreational rider. Sure disc brakes are better in the wet and allow for nice fancy wheels. But you don't need them. Yes, a power meter is great if you're regularly training or participating in racing. But you don't need one.

Don't get me started on OSPW. Biggest con to part a fool with their money. Same with ceramic bearings.  
Top end group sets should really be for professional riders as you stated the huge cost isn't worth the very minimal weight savings but if you've got the money, good on you.

One other thing I think you should have on the list is carbon wheels. Sure the look very nice and can be more aero but you don't need them.

Im on the fence with tubeless tyres. They have their merits on any surface other than smooth tarmac. 
Integrated bar/stem cables are only there for looks. Certainly don't seem to be worth the faff and issues they cause. 

Avatar
PRSboy | 1 year ago
2 likes

On holiday this year I used a basic rim-braked MTB that was stored in the garage of the house we rented and had some great fun rides on it, including the ascent of a local col.

I had no helmet, rode in trainers, a T shirt and shorts.  

Made me wonder the extent to which we think we need all sorts of fancy-pants fandangled gear, but really do not.

Avatar
Velophaart_95 | 1 year ago
2 likes

If you ride on rubbish roads, full of potholes and gravel strewn, then wider tyres are the way to go. And that means disc brakes and tubeless tyres.....

I doubt there are many rim braked bikes that can fit 32mm+......

Avatar
andystow replied to Velophaart_95 | 1 year ago
1 like

Velophaart_95 wrote:

If you ride on rubbish roads, full of potholes and gravel strewn, then wider tyres are the way to go. And that means disc brakes and tubeless tyres.....

I doubt there are many rim braked bikes that can fit 32mm+......

How about 55 mm?

https://www.renehersecycles.com/too-much-tire-a-road-test/

Avatar
mdavidford | 1 year ago
3 likes

Quote:

here are 6 upgrades you don't need to enjoy a bike ride

A road bike

*runs and hides*

Avatar
Secret_squirrel replied to mdavidford | 1 year ago
0 likes

I think thats a fair comment.  I certainly have as much fun with my daughter pootling down to the pump track as I do on a "proper" bike ride.  I pretty much grab the first bike out of the shed when riding with her.

Avatar
IanMSpencer replied to Secret_squirrel | 1 year ago
2 likes

When first (re-)started riding, I used a mountain bike with a couple of hundredweight of Marathon Plus and thought it was good enough (and was a bit sniffy about road bikes). As I started riding longer rides, I found that road bikes really did make a difference. As I regularly ride 80+ miles, a road bike is essential. However, for just enjoying riding around, anything that goes, quite right. Horses for courses. Similarly, I would certainly argue that full suspension mountain bikes are really only for a narrow specialisation and most people are entirely unaware of the servicing requirements and costs of full suspension. However, if you are into serious downhill, there is stuff you wouldn't get down without such a bike, even though I've done Cannock Chase on a ropey Giant hardtail with spring Suntour front fork in my time.

Avatar
Dogless | 1 year ago
3 likes

The main advantage of discs for me is the ability to ride nice rims all year round without fear of grinding the brake tracks to bits with road gunk/salt/mud/sand. With a good set of sealed hubs, it means that a decent set of wheels will last (in theory) a lifetime with no wear other than cheap consumable bits like rotors and bearings.

Avatar
Grahamd replied to Dogless | 1 year ago
1 like

Dogless wrote:

The main advantage of discs for me is the ability to ride nice rims all year round without fear of grinding the brake tracks to bits with road gunk/salt/mud/sand. With a good set of sealed hubs, it means that a decent set of wheels will last (in theory) a lifetime with no wear other than cheap consumable bits like rotors and bearings.

Agree with you, a friend had to replace his wheels for the reasons stated, however my smugness at not needing to replace my disc wheels  didn't last long as my rear hub wore out. 
The wheels had done all manner of poor sutfaces and had minimal maintenance in over 10 years though.

Avatar
Steve K replied to Dogless | 1 year ago
3 likes

It was the main reason I wanted to move to discs.  Commuting every day (pre-covid) all year round meant I was needing new wheels every 18 months at best.

Avatar
Kieran0885 replied to Dogless | 1 year ago
0 likes

Not wanting to start an argument but that doesn't necessarily mean you need disc brakes. Just that they have an advantage over rim brakes. 

Avatar
IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
1 like

I guess in terms of spend, the stuff I see that people have that they don't need is the performance monitoring upgrades, power meters for cranks being the most extreme, when you are not racing or time trialling seriously.

There was a point where having cadence and heart rate had some use as I learned to ride long distances, but I junked them some the ago once I learnt how effort felt, and trained myself to ride at a more effective cadence. Which in turn means on the bike computer I want tracking and navigation, but I really don't want any performance monitoring over the simple stats that Strava can produce for general interest.

Avatar
Secret_squirrel replied to IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
0 likes

If you want to seriously and scientifically improve your power and endurance on a bike a power meter is second only to smart turbo trainer IMO.  Turbo first because power trianing in controlled conditions is much easier and you get a lot more bang for your buck for a £500 smart trainer than a £300 single sided power meter.

Avatar
cmedred replied to Secret_squirrel | 1 year ago
1 like

Easier? A half hour on the turbo trainer leaves my ass in more discomfort than a nice 100K ride on the road with some big hills and pain-avils thrown in for training.

 

Avatar
IanMSpencer replied to Secret_squirrel | 1 year ago
1 like

How many people want to seriously and scientifically improve their power? I'd suggest it is a narrow segment of riders - fewer than actually buy the kit. I'd guess in the amateur world, the owners of such kit are similar to those who ride Dura-Ace - a high proportion of all the gear and no idea.  3

I guess my point is that you get fit by accident when you ride a bike, and although there are benefits to some gadgetry, and they are essential for those competing at a high level, the majority of riders are not going to get their money's worth out of measuring gadgets.

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
2 likes

Tubeless and disc brakes don't belong on this list as although they're not "needed", they do provide significant benefits to justify their price.

One thing that often gets forgotten about with disc brakes is that they enable wheel designers to optimise the rim for strength/lightness/aerodynamics as they don't need the brake track.

Avatar
IanMSpencer replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
0 likes

I wonder how many serious injuries are caused by rim failure due to wear on rim brakes?

It seemed that almost every new member to our club who had a used bike has to be warned to change their wheels due to wear. This was usually met with disbelief until they Googled for themselves. Of course, the great and the good of the club all have their rim failure war stories.

I also haven't seen as many rim failures around the spoke recently. I wonder if the requirements for stress under braking with discs, which casual riders will probably not induce, has led to stronger spoke/rim design?

Avatar
TheBillder replied to IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
0 likes
IanMSpencer wrote:

.

I also haven't seen as many rim failures around the spoke recently. I wonder if the requirements for stress under braking with discs, which casual riders will probably not induce, has led to stronger spoke/rim design?

I've actually seen a couple of these recently (rim cracking around the spoke holes) and there was a forum post about it. I wonder if it's to do with people buying online focusing on weight (easy to think about) rather than strength.

Avatar
Kieran0885 replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
0 likes

You literally just said they're not needed. That was the whole tone of the article so I'd say they do belong on the list. 

Avatar
AlsoSomniloquism replied to Kieran0885 | 1 year ago
0 likes

Disc brakes are a weird one as essentially you would need a whole new bike in most cases to fit them, where all the others could be an upgrade to an existing bike. 

Avatar
cmedred | 1 year ago
3 likes

Liam: I would have agreed with you on disc brakes until I built up a gravel bike with Campy's new Ekar group. The modulation and reliability of the brakes has changed the way I ride.

Probably doesn't matter if you live somewhere flat, but if you live where it is hilly or mountainous, the discs allow you to comfortably carry more speed into downhill corners. 

Now, you could probably add "gravel bike'' to the list of things "you don't really need.'' What is it after all? Little but a cross bike designed a little more toward comfort than racing with room for even bigger tires.

One could probably say the same about 13-speeds and one shifter. The 2 X 10 on my old cross bike and my weight weenie road bike worked fine and still does.

Then again, if i were honest, those two bikes could now possibly be added to the things "you don't really need" because I find myself inevitably hopping on the gravel bike for any sort of road riding even though it is several pounds heavier than my "road bike.''

And yes, it's got tubeless tires. But then I went tubeless on the mountain bikes before it became trendy (or as convenient as it is now) and all that experience makes the hassle of going tubeless a lot less hassling in the here and now.

But you just wrote this to cause a discussion, right? Because I'm sure most riders of road.cc have a house full of bicycle crap they "don't really need,'' as I do.

Avatar
TheBillder | 1 year ago
5 likes

Oversized pulley you say? Doesn't need to cost much - would £13.49 do?

Avatar
Peaches | 1 year ago
1 like

From a recreational rider standpoint I'd admit that my opinion probably doesn't add up to much. But there is one so with this time I'll add it:

Oversized pulley systems? I'll never buy one since what is stock or comes with a sensibly priced system works fine for me.

Integrated cockpit? never had one until purchase of newest ORBEA and Coefficient RR bars and while it's not needed I do like the appearance.

Top end groupset? My TIAGRA gruppo is fine but that ULTEGRA RD I have that was used to make the SS Sormchaser a 1X 11 and is capable of 11/28 will eventually go on the ORBEA which has an 11/34 wich is a MTB cassette. While I'm at it, might as throw on a ULTEGRA Crank for a bump up from stock 50/34 to max 53/39. 

Ceramic Bearings? $$$, NAH! not worth it in my riding world.

Disc Brakes? Suppose I would've purchased my last bike if it came in the right frame size and it had rim brakes. Riding in the flats of the desert doesn't need much more than a rim brake; usually dry and flat! Unfortunately as noted here it's a trend so they'll last since all stops are quick with no downhill stress. Rode for years with rims and they worked well whenever used and can't imagine much has changed since my Cannondale C600?

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to Peaches | 1 year ago
0 likes

Peaches wrote:

the ORBEA which has an 11/34 wich is a MTB cassette

Even DuraAce has 34 tooth rear capacity now and plenty of pros avail themselves of it on steep stages. The days of thinking you must be a wuss if you've got more than 28 on the back are long gone.

Avatar
Peaches replied to Rendel Harris | 1 year ago
0 likes

suppose it does but never looked into DA also to costly for my riding and the whole flat thing, 34 is much to low for where I'm at...

Avatar
Surreyrider replied to Peaches | 1 year ago
0 likes

Yeah, don't think 32 or even 34 put Chris Froome at a disadvantage back in the day. 

Avatar
MTB Refugee | 1 year ago
2 likes

Tubeless is definitely more hassle than tubes and requires some ongoing maintenance, but I've not had a single puncture in more that 8 years of MTB tubeless and 5 years of road tubeless. For me it is well worth the time spent in the garage and much preferable to fixing punctures at the side of the road. It also apparently reduces rolling resistance...

Likewise I wouldn't go back to rim brakes for any amount of money saving. The hydraulic disk brakes are practically zero maintenance, totally predictable in any weather and don't wear down your rims. I've never once thought "I wish I had rim brakes"

Pages

Latest Comments