What are options for SRAM upgrade?

Just the 52t chainring bud

Just the 52t chain ring bud. Yes because SRAM is blue tooth and has no cables. That was my only logic :slight_smile:

I think buying 2nd hand might be my best option. I just thought SRAM was blue tooth so assumed it would be the easiest option. I’d be interested but I bet you’re from the US?

I’ve just found out how to multi quote so apologies for the individual replies ha. I’ve just had a look on eBay and although I don’t buy 2nd hand, I think it will be my best option. Tell a lie, my best option would be to get the new Giant Propel Advanced Pro 1 disc with SRAM but I’m viewing it as £5500 for SRAM upgrade and disc… I could be completely wrong. I appreciate all the comments, it’s giving me some thing to think about

Why are you writing a dissertation on rim vs. disc? The OP has a rim brake bike and has money burning a hole in his pocket today, not in the future. What he can buy today has nothing to do with what he can buy five years from now.

Can you retitle this thread, “I’m just looking for an excuse to spend money.”? :slight_smile:

Your best option is a new chain and cassette. Maybe a chainring or two and probably a set of cables. Way cheaper than a new bike!

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, used is almost always the way to go. I bought two bikes that were $8000-9000 builds for around $3500. Both were low miles and in mint condition. I built my last road bike around a used frame and came in at $5K with all new parts and wheels finding the best deals. The same bike would have been $10k from a dealer, maybe $8k doing all new mail order from Europe (was a Colnago). My all time best score was an all Campagnolo Parlee that I got for $1K on craigslist. It had maybe 1000 miles on it and looked new. Some rich guy was getting rid of it as he had stopped riding.

You can do extremely well this way.

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The new propel is such a good looking bike. Really well thought out as well with little things like how the cables are run and the water bottle cages blending nice aero wise with the frame.

If I was in your position I think I would go the route of selling your current bike and buying the new Propel rather than upgrading the current bike. The new propel is a nice frame and I think you’ll be happy with the extra comfort (and lower rolling resistance) of wider tires, the wireless electronic shifting, and the better braking on carbon rims that comes with discs.

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I have a 2020 propel advanced disk 1. My shifter broke and I couldn’t find a replacement shimano shifter but I could find a sram axs groupset. What i needed: a new groupset, a new crankset, a new bottom bracket, a new chain, and a new cassette and frame plugs (total cost around 2000 euro including work done by the bike shop)

It was a fantastic upgrade. After upgrading i realised that the propel frame never was meant for mechanical shifting: too many tight bends and thr cable tension necessary to run the cables through the handlebar and stem meant steering and shifting never could be good but with SRAM AXS it is

But cost wise, probably get the new bike and sell your old as your bike probably also has aluminium wheels

No they also have rim brakes (I know because I accidentally ordered the rim brake version first, see above for the story)

Because the groupset @NotYourAvgJoe wanted to put on his bike originally is not available in a rim brake version and he is thinking of upgrading to a new bike with disc brakes.

Pointing out that because rim brakes are being phased out, he might get a good deal on used rim brake carbon wheels is entirely relevant. You came in and posed the question “how the sales of rim brake bikes fare [sic]”.

I don’t think the used market is very good: the bike industry is still dealing with the bubble, i. e. oversupply of bikes and the like. Used prices should reflect that. Unless @NotYourAvgJoe really wants a new bike, period, I’d just replace the consumables and perhaps put on a new pair of wheels. Or stash the money away for the day he wants to get a new bike for sure.

Isn’t that half of all threads here? We love spending other people’s money :grin:

You’re right, I probably should retitle this thread lol

I’m also thinking about waiting until November when they release the new ones BUT I do love this red colour!! Do you guys think though that it should come with SRAMS next level group set though? Isn’t Rival entry level really?

Nope, carbon rims. I love them! I have 2 sets. 65r 45f on this one and a 65r with a wheel cover for the TT bike with a 65f too

are you happy with the shifting on your propel or the freedom of movement in the fork? If you are probably not much sense in upgrading, if you aren’t I found an sram force axs rim brake set for less than 900 euro (expect to spend another 400 euros on other parts) then upgrading to sram axs is an option worth considering

To be honest, yes. I went out yesterday and it was flawless after I serviced it last week. One thing I do genuinely want is the ability to just shift into a harder gear from the smaller ring on front and big ring on the back and eventually it automatically hop onto the big ring so I don’t have to manually do it. I’m sure its called some fancy term but do you know what I mean? Does Shimano and/or SRAM do this?

i don’t know about shimano but it’s an option you can set in the sram axs app called sequential shifting

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That’s it! That’s quite a nice feature that

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Oh, ok, I missed that. So you already have good wheels. I’d save up your money for a new bike then!

Yes, both do. There are different modes depending on your taste. E. g. with SRAM you have three modes:

  1. Manual: You have to do everything by hand.
  2. Compensating shift mode: You have to change chainrings manually, but the rear derailleur will shift up or down to compensate so that the gear ratio before the front shift is approximately the same as after the front shift.
  3. Sequential shift mode: This means you shift as if your bike had a 1x drivetrain. By default, the left paddle selects an easier gear, the right paddle a harder gear. Your drivetrain’s brain (i. e. your rear derailleur) will trigger front shifts as needed.

As I wrote, Shimano has the same modes on offer. You can tweak the settings, you can find details here.

IMHO SRAM has the ergonomics nailed, the ergonomics are the biggest reason I switched to SRAM on my road bike.

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Yeah I really like the idea of that, I’m always tucked over in the aero position with my hands on the hoods and its just one less thing to do. I’m so tempted to get this new propel. £500 more though gets me the 0 and not the 1, the 0 has Di2… I wonder if there’s any difference in frame stiffness with the 2023 Pro models 0 and 1. I can’t seem to find any information online saying otherwise

EDIT: And I love their chain!! That straight line is very nice ha

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Ultimately, I’d test ride a lot of other bikes. E. g. when I test rode something like Cannondale’s SuperSix, I found that very vanilla, bland. In contrast, the BMC Teammachine immediately felt special. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying those Giants are bad. But I’d get a bit more experience, which may help you to verbalize why you prefer one bike over the other.

Regarding different grades, the differences are so small and subtle, you really need to do AB testing. Even then it is hard to suss out differences. Keep in mind that those fancy wheels and carbon handlebars the more expensive model comes with probably has a greater impact on ride quality.

If you buy in a shop, make sure to customize your bike. If you prefer 165 mm cranks, a 10–36 cassette or different bar tape, you can get that very cheap. And that will have a much bigger impact on your riding than a lot of other stuff.

Personally, I’d prioritize a new nice pair of wheels over the fancier frame.

Lastly, now is a good time for deals.

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There aren’t many high end LBS around me, ones that are stock mainly Giant or other cheaper brands. The market is dead it seems and 2nd hand bike prices are up. Would be a good time to sell mine I think

I really like the look of the red frameset, wish they had that color option in the US. Rival is entry level in terms of electronic shifting, but the the thing about electronic shifting is that all of the levels are so good that it really only boils down to weight. In fact a few reviewers (James Huang as well as one whose names escapes me right now) have commented that Rival actually feels a little faster than Red and Force. A lot of people seem to like the Rival shifter shape better as well - SRAM updated the Force levers to have the shape/feel more like Rival (and rumor is the new Red will be moving that way as well).

In terms of weight, the biggest gaps are in the cassette and crankset. Those pieces might be worth paying more for or upgrading later down the line. On the 1x bike I built up I went Rival shifters/brakes and RD. Force cassette, chain (since it was basically the same price) and cranks. I previously had Ultegra 11s 2x Di2. Both groups have performed similarly for me which is to say they are both excellent