After finishing the Madison Marathon I got interested in other endurance sports and decided to pick up cycling. I found a deal on my first road bike - a Serotta Fierte - on Craigslist. This bike allowed me to build up the skill and learn what I wanted in my next bike, which is the topic of this post.
A Questionable Trade? 🔗
I sold my Serotta and bought a Crux all within 24 hours - with only a $50 price difference between the two! Basically trading a rare American steel bike with high-end components for a mass-produced alloy bike isn’t what most bike enthusiasts would consider a great deal, but I really wanted some modern features that the Serotta was lacking.
As it sits in this picture, the Serotta had an Ultegra triple groupset and I had jammed 28c road tires on with very little clearance. Overall, it was a great bike to get started on, it was light, sturdy, and had plenty of gearing to make it up climbs as well as speed down descents.
I had my eye on anything with aggressive geometry and disc brakes on Facebook Marketplace. I wasn’t super familiar with the Crux, but I had a fresh stack of Benjamins in my pocket, ready to buy another bike.
When I bought it, it looked like it hadn’t been ridden much. The bar tape was a little beat up and there were some scratches below the bottom bracket, but other than that it was perfect. It came with the original components - Sora shifters and derailleurs, FSA 46/36 crankset with a 7-speed sunrace cassette. The brakes were TRP Spyre mechanical disc and the rest was Specialized.
I didn’t care so much about the components, but more the potential of the frame, Importantly, the Crux has disc brakes, wide tire clearance, and internal cable routing.
Shimano 105 R7000 🔗
I was looking to upgrade to a larger cassette and keep the 2-by giving myself a wider range while being able to keep smooth cadence for the flat roads in Chicago. Facebook Marketplace came through again when I found a new-takeoff Shimano 105 groupset.
Replacing a drivetrain was a much bigger job than I assumed. I had found parts on Specialized’s website to adapt my bottom bracket and rear wheel to accomodate the specifications for the new groupset. However, those parts were no longer in stock or even being manufactured.
I was able to find an aftermarket part to adapt my bottom bracket from Wheels MFG. The old crankset had an adapter for the FSA crank and here is what the before and after looked like.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a way to make my rear wheel work with the new cassette. I ended up picking up a pair of Hunt 4 Season Gravel wheels on sale. Overall, I’m happy to upgrade the wheels for a lighter spec, slightly more aero, and a hub that alerts pedestrians that a cool cyclist is coming ;). This is what the dry fit looked like with the new groupset and wheel mounted.
I was very happy with how it all came together and opted for some more cool factor with the white bar tape (it didn’t last long, but it looked good while it lasted).
Training and Power 🔗
After spending a considerable amount of time on Zwift and joining some more serious group rides, I wanted to be able to start seeing the numbers for my rides. The Garmin Rally pedals caught my eye and I was watching for a used set to come up on Marketplace when I found out that Favero had recently released their SPD pedals. I went with the single-sided power meter and have loved being able to train more efficiently on my outdoor rides.
Was it Worth it? 🔗
Before I had decided on a used bike, I had considered buying a new bike on sale or building up a Chinese carbon frame with mid-tier components. Those options would have cost me around $2-3K by my estimate, which seemed expensive to me.
Looking back on the cost of this project, I had spent $800 on the bike, $350 on the groupset, $400 on the wheels, $150 on stem and bars, $500 on pedals, for a total of $2100. I also had to buy special tools and some miscellaneous parts like adapters, cables, etc. so the total including all of that might be closer to $2500.
I think I could have bought a better bike for cheaper than I built on the used market. If I had spent less on the Crux when I bought it off Marketplace this build might have made more sense financially, but there were other benefits to going this route.
I now know how an entire bike works. I know how to route cables, wrap bars, replace a drivetrain, adjust derailleurs and mechanical disc brakes. I also have a bike that I can say I built, which I’m proud of.
More Photos 🔗
Coming Soon… 🔗
I found hydraulic 105 levers and calipers, so I will be upgrading the mechanical discs soon! Unfortunately, I only have bleeding equipment for SRAM, so it is yet more tools I need to buy…