Steel road bike advice

i have a steel KHS aero, a '96 i believe.

i got it quite cheap for £100. it s got a rigida dp18 wheelset and a shimano 8spd rx100 sti groupset.

nice feeling bike but it's super heavy. feels heavier than my old lugged ten speed even. i use it to commute on at the moment but i usually do some of the summer road races here in NZ which range from 100 to 160km.

is it worth upgrading some of the bits, like finding some threadless 1" carbon forks or a set of old 8spd Hed clinchers with the aim to make it lighter/ stiffer?

it also feels like there's loads of flex at the stem/ bars.

don't care if it looks fugly/ period correct or any of that shit.

my knowledge of up-to-date roady stuff is dire so any advice greatly appreciated.

cheers!

Any idea on the tubing of the frame?

I have no idea on the weight of the rims, but I did notice that a normal (and lighte) rims such as the DT Swiss 1.1 make a difference.

the tubing is AVR ('made in the USA'), probably quite cheap.
tbh i wouldnt bother building up another alu wheelset so save a few grams.

stick a 650 up front and convert it to fixed

you whore!

Them KHS's are quite basic bikes made of basic tubing. I think putting any fancier parts on it would be excessive. Hed wheels would be waaay OTT. Less deep rims & lightweight folding tyres will make a significant difference. It may be worth sticking a carbon fork on too if you find one going cheap. I would however think it more logical to sell the whole thing and start again instead of wasting time and money getting something only marginally better.

Your headtube is small, your stem high and your using big STI hoods - this will contribute to the flexy feeling at the front end.

cheers for that. maybe invest in something a bit newer next year then.

cheers for that. maybe invest in something a bit newer next year then.

Doesnt necessarily have to be newer. The weight of steel frames varies enormously, good ones being lighter than most aluminium frames and potentially more comfortable to ride.

i fucking love these KHS frames, the wiggly seat tube allowed them to bring the back wheel right under the rider giving it a scary short wheel base- hence it has a frighteningly tight turning circle and IME the front wheel likes to come off the ground when you accelerate.

got some money? strap it up with a modern 10sp groupo, fulcrum wheels, carbon fork (will be a pain to source but they are out there- i can check my suppliers see if i can find one), decent o/s bar+stem combo.

if you don't like it that much then it probably isn't worth it, personally i love the harsh no compromises handling of these bikes. :)

i think the geometry might come from the US tradition of crits.

while it handles well, it still weighs a fucking tonne.
i took the wheels off yesterday to see what the weight was like without them and it still weighed a lot.

cheers for the fork offer but i live in NZ now so i ll just be on the look out here. rare as hen's teeth i m told.

might just stop moaning until i have the money for lighter bike. keen to try a modern one just to see what the flex difference would be when climbing.