Road Bike Upgrades You DON’T Need

We’ve laid bare our reasons, but do you agree? Let us know in the comments 👇👇👇

Getting a power meter was the biggest upgrade of my cycling life. It is so much fun to see the progress and much better to train to power. And with the bunch of extra training I did, climbs that took 40 mins now take only around 25 mins. Total game changer!

Any upgrade that makes your bike look better makes you faster. That is a scientifically proven fact.

Invest in the rider. I spent nearly $300k on a quadruple bypass and cut 40 minutes off my century time. Performance enhancing surgery!

Hard Disagree on Tubeless. I no longer get pinch flats, which has removed So Much Stress from my life. I no longer need to use Cinturato Velo or Gatorskin Hardshell tires for my glass and pothole-infused roads; Gatorskin's are straight-up dangerous in the wet. And using regular tires, like the 5000GP All-Season TLR, actually has made me faster due to the lower weight and rolling resistance. All the maintenance required and cost associated is moot because it has literally paid for itself, no question.

On the other hand, if you have the money, you work hard, you only live once.

What a weird argument against tubeless-debris ridden roads are exactly why you would want tubeless! If you're losing sealant and having to top off because of punctures then you are literally avoiding roadside repairs

Agreed that if improving cycling performance isn't a goal of yours, then the power meter is a waste. But for me, improving performance and seeing gains is a wonderful part of my cycling journey, and the power meter has been an integral part of that. As a result, I'll probably dabble in racing this year.

Power meter is 50/50. It's good on climbs to manage power and not to blow up.

Tubeless is the best upgrade! No more flat tyre anxiety. Just be ready to plug if needed

Tubeless is a great upgrade. The feeling of not getting a flat every time you go out is extra motivation to go out and ride. I'm happy to maintain it at home rather than getting a flat on the road.

Funny, for me tubeless & a power meter are essential.

Tubeless was life changing. 3-4 goathead flats a week, down to using 1-3 plugs throughout the life of a tire. If tubeless tires miraculously got banned, I'd honestly probably quit cycling after experiencing how much better life is with them

As someone with a poor threshold and a decent sprint, my power meter allows me to see when I'm getting carried away on a climb or in the casual acceleration. It allows me to work on endurance with low fatigue sessions as I would otherwise perpetually traini too hard and burnout eventually. I bought it last summer and have been making good gains since then with less fatigue overall.

Good info for the young performance rider. I’m a bit the opposite, at over 70. My priorities are comfort and training feedback. For comfort, wider and/or tubeless tires are a priority. I was able to slightly increase the width of my tires and use a high thread count tire to increase comfort. A more comfotable saddle, at the expense of weight, is next. I bought a carbon handlebar and seatpost many years ago, and it did help a bit in damping. And last year, I downgraded to a 105 level derailleur so I could get a somewhat larger cassette to help spin faster in the local mountain passes. My knees are happy. As far as training, a heart rate monitor IS the ticket. VERY inexpensive and tells me when I’m working too hard or too little for a long ride. No need for a power meter. I’ll eventually have to spring for an electric assist bike to make it up the hills, so why waste money now on a slick endurance bike?

As someone who invested in a power meter this year, it’s been the best performance upgrade. It’s allowed me to measure my training effort and my FTP has gone up 10% in 4 months. However, if you are not like me and ride ‘casually’, you probably don’t ‘need’ one

I have used Chinese Aero Carbon handlebars for years, totaling something like 50,000km with them on all my different bikes. They usually cost less than Aluminum bars from big brands. Very good ones for like 50€

I agree, best up grade is our body❤❤❤ not the high end bike accessories.... Go to the gym, go jogging, loss weight 💪....

Though latex is so finicky and more maintenance that it is worse than tubeless. Also you can probably go two tiers down from top level groupsets honestly. 105 is amazing.

Between the ages 69 to 71 I have lost 20 lbs. body weight. Same 8 year old bike and an average 2kph speed increase . I eat more cheaply also .