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@J0nathan
This has been my commuter bike since Nov 2015 and I had it equipped with a rack and panniers. Since August 2017, while originally running the same set-up, it became a training bike too, as I started putting in pre-work miles. Since then I've been averaging 90-100miles a week on it, and only rarely ride my other bikes in the dry weather. As a result, I think it's worth investing in some upgrades to make it look and ride a bit faster.
I upgraded to TRP Spyres some time ago, from the frankly awful BB7s. I'm considering the hydro versions of these eventually, which have the cylinder at the caliper, but not for now. I'm also going to eventually upgrade from the Fulcrum Racing Sport wheels which are heavy af, but that will be after winter. In its current guise, it weighs around 12kg, although I'll be checking and recording the actual weight.
The first round of changes/upgrades over the next few weeks are:
Matching Deda seatpost to go with the Deda stem I'm running
New mudguard set - SKS Bluemels matt black. The Chromoplastics are mismatched and a bit knackered
SRAM Red 22 levers
SRAM Red GXP crankset 52/36
Trim steerer tube
Remove the (heavy) integrated lights - running Tracers I already have instead
Remove or cover frame and wheel decals/stickers
I'm still going to run the Rival 22 front and rear mechs for now, but might also upgrade those to Force 22 at some stage. The BB is starting to knock under load, so that will need replacing. I'm going to get the LBS to do a full service and replace chain and cables and install all the new equipment. It's something I'd love to do myself over a weekend, but that's just not going to happen at the moment. Plus the LBS is SBC, so I'm more than happy to have them take care of it.
I'm pretty happy with the 35mm Vittoria Hypers - would be cool if there was a tan wall version, though.
As for stealthing the frame and wheels - I need advice on how to do that. Nail varnish remover? In the next post, you'll see from one of the pictures that I tried to remove one of the wheel decals a long time ago and very lazily gave up on trying to remove the residue. I used solvent-based sticky-stuff remover and it wasn't shifting it in a hurry. I suspect doing it properly is just going to take a lot of elbow grease, but any advice on chemical assistance and other techniques is gratefully received.
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