Advice for road build

First post, been casually cycling and commuting for years on the same bike and now looking to get a bit more serious and invest in my bike.

What I have right now is a 22" 2004 trek 1500 SLR frame. I've never been big on the paint job but it looks like most common 5200 colorway so thats a slight plus. Im sentimental about the frame now having it so many years so would more like to buff and paint it rather than get rid of it.

Still using the pretty crap and bust up wheels I got with it, a mavic aksium rear and an Alex ALX280 front wheel. I'm looking to get new wheels first thing but need some advice on where to go in this situation. If I had about £200 to invest in a good lightly used set what do you think I could get?

The groupset right now is Shimano 105, and for as far as its come I've been impressed. It isnt what it used to be but I really liked the 105 so should I get a newer 105 groupset or where elsewhere should I look?

Realistically green as grass when it comes to all of this, try not to be too pissed about my naivety!

Looking for any advice possible so I can get a few more miles in and really sink in to it.
Cheers

You can't really go wrong with a new 105 5800 11sp group and RS11 wheels to match, and that's fifteen pounds and tuppence change from £400 all in

Then save up for carbon

Hello,

I've been going through a similar journey (albeit I bought a new frame rather than kept an old one), so thought I'd throw in a a summary of my research.

Wheels

Campagnolo Zonda or Fulcrum Racing 3 are highly regarded and can be had new from around £250 (last I checked Ribble had the best price). Second hand, they've been going for £180-220 in good condition, so they may suit you.
Note: Zondas and FR3 are essentially the same wheel, branded differently so that Campagnolo could sell wheels to Shimano users back when Campag-branded wheels could only be fitted with Campag cassettes. This is no longer the case, but the brand lives on

Alternatively, you can find Mavic Ksyriums for sub-£200, typically the Equipes are cheaper, and the standard Ksyriums too. I was hoping to stretch to Ksyrium Elites but they were much dearer.

The Shimano RS11 are budget friendly and get decent reviews. Can't go wrong there, though they're a little on the heavy side (~1,850g). With a budget of £200 you can get to the 1,500g (second hand) to 1,700g (new) range. Have a look at Shimano's Ultegra wheelset for solid wheels that come in at 1,640g.

If you can stretch a little more, then all kinds of options open up. Sub-£300 you can get some nice Hunt wheels (what I went for in the end), or look at handbuilt wheels - that's a whole different rabbit hole, so just be aware and ask around if you're thinking of it!

Groupset

You can't go wrong with 105 - I keep wondering if I should have just bought this group new from the beginning. At £285 for the 11 speed set, it's fantastic value. Ultegra is more like £450, so I reckon you're winning at the 105.

If you go second hand (what I did), you can get fantastic components for a song - second generation stuff goes on here and eBay for a fraction of what they'd cost new, and often a bit of cleaning and a touch of lubricant/grease cleans up any blemishes or mechanical roughness in a jiffy. I've put together a Campagnolo Record 10 speed set (mid 2000s) for about £350. My suggestion if you try this: set your mind on which group you want (second tier, certain vintage kit, or last generation groups have massive discounts) and then be patient :)

Hope that helps.. happy to share more thoughts if you like - just hoping to save you a few (or many) hours of repeatedly reading endless reviews and checking prices!

hey guys, thaks very much for the advice and for coming so quickly with it! I've found these on here which seem to be the only zondas available atm, https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/269557/#comment12336911
would they fit my 105 groupset?

I also found this cosmic front wheel on an irish website for €50, what do you reckon, should I go for it? Surely must be better than the alx im using at the moment!

In regards to the groupset, I dont think I have the money to go out and buy a totally new groupset, but can i tick over by getting new piece by piece at a time and using them with my old 105? what do you guys reckon is the parts that I should get first?

You're brilliant for getting back to me already, thanks guys!

The groupset right now is Shimano 105, and for as far as its come I've been impressed. It isnt what it used to bebut I really liked the 105 so should I get a newer 105 groupset or where elsewhere should I look?

If you've not changed anything on the bike from new, all it probably needs is a good service. Re-cabling the bike will make the groupset feel like new, and you may need to change the headset and bottom bracket if worn. You could probably get away with new bearings and a true on the wheels, but I'd probably plump for Shimano RS10/11s if 11spd or R501s if 10spd.

THis guy is selling a 105 11 speed + wheels and maybe everything else the other guy is not buying for £200

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/290336/#comment13120491