Find solution
What's fibre?

Whats Better Frame or Groupset?

  • Whats better: A Decent frame(carbon fibre) with a good Groupset. A Good frame(lighter carbon fibre) with a decent Groupset. A Crap frame(aluminum) with a great Groupset. A Great frame (super light carbon fibre) with a crap Groupset. Whats the best?

  • Answer:

    Personally, I'd go with the 'Good frame/Decent gruppo'. You can get a very solid carbon frame and decent gruppo and get nearly the same performance offered by setups three times as costly. Really, weight is the main difference as prices rise. Keep in mind too that it's much cheaper & easier to incrementally upgrade your gruppo as you go than it is to shell out an extra $1000-2000 to step up to a better frame. This years 105 gruppo performs better than last year's Dura Ace, this year's Force gruppo performs on par with Red... and Rival is only a small step down from there. The new Apex gruppo from SRAM is a fantastic entry level group as well. Either 105 or Force is a fair bit heavier than their more expensive brothers in the lineup but both offer performance that even Pro Tour riders couldn't get just 8-10 years ago. I ride a <16lb Pinarello with full Red but I can honestly say that my riding experience wouldn't suffer a bit if that was a 16.5lb Pinarello with full Force kit instead. Likewise, a good buddy of mine was looking at buying a DuraAce/Ultegra mixed build recently until the store owner told him he had some bike arriving soon with the new 105 and he should check 'em out... A week later, he bought a 105 equipped bike for about $1000 less than what he was originally planning on spending after riding it and being blown away by the performance.

Eddie at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

I would go with a cheaper frame with a great groupset because I do not race but I like steel and I ride centuries on an 80s steel frame.

Benny Roberts

Get at least a 105 group set and a good carbon frame.

Bob A

The difference between different component levels on a bike are approx 200g between 105<->Ultegra<->Dura Ace. The difference between a decent carbon frame and aluminum frame is probably 300-600g. The thing about upgrading a frame to carbon is that it has additional benefits in strength, stiffness, and overall comfort as compared to aluminum, so beyond weight there are a few reasons to go straight to a carbon frame. If you race and crash a lot, the durability of carbon should be questioned, however, as you will end up spending quite a bit of money replacing damaged frames. So what I'd suggest for the best Performance/$, go with a pretty good carbon frame, with a decent groupset, and spend some extra money on really nice wheels. You can always upgrade one component at a time, but changing out a whole frame is expensive and a pain to do.

Mick Ross

A great frame can always be upgraded, but it would be very rare to see a top level frame sold with really poor components. Frame and wheels are the top items determining bike performance, but those are often ignored by bike manufacturers because those 2 items add the most cost to a bike. To me the most cost effective way to build a good bike would be to have a great frame and wheels and a component group about 2 levels below that manufacturers top groupset.

Mtrlpqbiker

I doubt you can find the last one. But all things considered go for the better frame with decent group set. Some parts of the group set can easily be upgraded later ( like wheels for example ). I think this only applies to the high end. For example I would choose a lighter frame with Ultegra over a heavier frame with Dura-Ace. I would have special wheels for racing so the hubs, spokes, and rims I wouldn't pay any mind. Just my opinion.

Tex T

1: I would say it would greatly depend on what you want to do with your bike and if you would plan to upgrade in the future. 2. I would hesitate to call a frame a crap frame just because it is aluminum. There are some very nice aluminum frames out there.

Brian

Get the best frame you can afford, and a groupset to get you started. Because you can always upgrade other components as they break or you find a better deal.

cdaler

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.