# Felt F95 2009 - Upgrade or sell/buy



## difficult (Aug 28, 2008)

I own a pretty much stock Felt F95 2009. When. First bought this bike I absolutely loved it. Since then I have ridden it a lot and come to decide that I want to change some things. 

Specifically, I want to get rid of the shifters. These are the old Sora style with a thumb shifter. As this is also a 8-speed, upgrading the shifters means upgrading other components. I also want to upgrade the crank as my current one is bent. 

Current drivetrain:
Shifter: sora
FD: sora
RD: tiagra
Crankset: FSA tempo
Cassette and chain: 8 speed

Now I'm thinking about getting he following:
105: shifters, cassette, chain, crankset and bottom bracket. 

My LBS quoted me 650-700 for just the drivetrain (with install) and insisted that I would need a new RD. 

Online I could get all of the parts I want for less than $500. But would have to attempt to install myself. 

The guy at the LBS also said that I would probably be better off buying a new bike. 

Part of the justification for upgrqding over new is that with my job I get a $500 a year Health and Wellness benefit. Which to me is $500 a year in bike parts. Where as, I don't see myself getting a lot of money if I sold the bike and I don't have the cash to buy a new one. 

Any thoughts?


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## PitbullRescuer (Aug 5, 2013)

I'm very much a novice when it comes to this so please take my advice with a grain of salt. 

Generally speaking, I've always been a fan of upgrading/repairing vs. replacing. The components you're considering are nice. You said yourself you like the bike and I'm guessing it fits you well. And, sounds like your budget would prefer the upgrade rather than replacing it. 

To put it in perspective, I am in my mid 40's, make a very decent living and live well with-in (below even) my means. I'm a big car and motorcycle guy. But I have an '01 BMW with 147K on it and a '98 4Runner with 239K on it. Why? Because they're mine. I don't owe anyone any money on them. I'd rather spend a few bucks here and there maintaining/repairing them instead of spending money every month on a car payment. At the end of the day, either one gets me to the exact same place as any new car would.


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## uberculture (Feb 26, 2013)

For reference, I bought a used Felt F-90 upgraded to 10 speed 105 for 500. A season old Felt F95 in a bike shop was 750 this spring (no thumb shifter). The bent crank complicates things, but you could probably sell your bike for a few hundred and buy new (or a closeout model) and come out pretty even with the cost of your upgrade parts. Consider the wear and tear you've put on your bottom bracket and headset, and a 2012 bike starts to look like a pretty good deal (in this newby's opinion).


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## Randy99CL (Mar 27, 2013)

A new F95 retails for $850, so yes, it wouldn't make sense to spend $500+ to upgrade an old one.

If you could do the work yourself and get the parts for dirt cheap it might be different but at this point you'll be a lot better off to save that money toward a better bike.


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

difficult said:


> Part of the justification for upgrqding over new is that with my job *I get a $500 a year Health and Wellness benefit. Which to me is $500 a year in bike parts. *Where as, I don't see myself getting a lot of money if I sold the bike and I don't have the cash to buy a new one.
> 
> Any thoughts?


Seems to me you've answered your own question. Given your set of circumstances, you can (essentially) upgrade your bike with $150-$200 of your own money. The rest is given to you to do so. 

This might not be the best option for everyone, but you like your bike (which to me is mostly the frameset), so do the upgrade, get one or two (or more) years out of it, _then_ (when you're better able to afford to) look for that 'next' bike.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

Since you're overrunning your budget, consider Tiagra, and consider the second cheapest SRAM 10-speed cassette (1050?) and cheapest SRAM chain. They're cross-compatible and may save you a bundle; I think they're pretty low-yield places to spend extra money.

You should be fine to stick with your derailleurs as long as they're not worn out and you're not adding a chain ring.


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## Nubster (Jul 8, 2009)

difficult said:


> Online I could get all of the parts I want for less than $500. But would have to attempt to install myself.


It's easy. Really all you're doing is bolting parts to the frame. Simple. The trick part is tuning the bike, and that's not really all that hard. Just takes some time and patience. Lots of books and videos available to help guide you.


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## difficult (Aug 28, 2008)

Thanks for all of the feedback!

After taking time to read your responses and thinking I've decided to keep this frame, buy the upgrades online and install myself. Make it my end of season project this fall/winter. 

I've come to realize that in the back of my mind I was imagining that I would upgrade this bike slowly, and one day in the future I might buy a new frame, swap over the parts and hang this one up on the wall of my office. It's my first road bike and I've become attached to it enough that I actually felt a little offended when the LBS guy recommended selling it off. 

I do have one final question. If I buy these parts online and install myself, how much of a jerk would I be if in the end I took it to the LBS for a "tune up" (that is, unless I do a perfect install and don't need one)?


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## SkiRacer55 (Apr 29, 2005)

You can do whatever you want, but just realize that you're throwing parts on a run-of-the-mill alu frame. I'm not saying it's a bad bike, it's a decent bike. But I don't see the point in spending $$$ to upgrade from Sora to Tiagra (in the first place) and hanging them off your current ride. If you get a chance, demo (or ride on a friend's) carbon bike in the $2000 range or so...you'll quickly find that it ain't just the parts you will want to upgrade...


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

Tuning is really not that hard and every roadie who rides more than a twenty minute walk from home should understand his drivetrain. IMHO. Now is as good a time as any.


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

difficult said:


> I do have one final question. If I buy these parts online and install myself, how much of a jerk would I be if in the end I took it to the LBS for a "tune up" (that is, unless I do a perfect install and don't need one)?


Even if you do a perfect install (unlikely if it's your first), you'll still need to tune the drivetrain. 

Personally, I don't think you'd be a jerk at all for giving this a shot and having to tap your LBS for some final touches. Just keep in mind that a drivetrain can only be tuned and perform well if the install is done correctly. 

You have some advantage in that as you disassemble, you are familiarizing yourself with how things work, but don't be surprised if there are some minor glitches along the way.

BTW, I think you're making a sound decision all the way around....


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## cyclintruckin (Feb 10, 2012)

Upgrading is costly I did a full rebuild and I will show you the best I could find upgrading from a Sora/Tiagra to almost full 105, Shifters St-5510 $125.00 used, Front derailleur 105 NOS $30.00, Rear derailleur NOS $45.00, Cassette 11-28 new $35.00, Chain KMC new $25.00, Crank FSA Tempo NOS $45.00, 105 brakes (pair) NOS $65.00, Bontrager Inform RXL saddle NOS $40.00, Deda bars and stem NOS $100.00, Vuelta wheelset new $169.00, Other misc parts cables, bar tape & gel pads, etc...$100.00. I s it worth upgrading ? depends on how much you love the frame and how far you are willing to go for that love. Could you find a new bike that you like just as well ? Sure you could, but the cool thing about upgrading/rebuilding is you get to pick your unique color/component combination together like no other bike out there so is it worth it ? Only you can decide. I have around $1100.00 invested in my bike and rebuild, That is $300.00 for the 2008 Masi Alare and another $800ish in the new everything. It looks nothing like anything else on the roads I love it ! I seriously hope my experience/insight helps you in what ever you decide, just enjoy the ride.


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## bwbishop (Sep 17, 2011)

Buy Zinn Art of Bike Maintenance and do it yourself. It's actually a lot easier than you'd think once you buy the right tools.


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## Nubster (Jul 8, 2009)

As far as tools, not much is needed really. A good set of allen wrenches. That will get your bike about 90% built. You'll need a cassette lockring tool, a chain whip is really useful, and you may or may not need a crank puller and a bottom bracket tool. That's about all you need as far as bike specific tools. A couple screw drivers and maybe some pliers and you're in business. Any carbon parts and a torque wrench is really something you should use, it's not a bad idea to use one anyways. I've built several mountain bikes and the only thing I didn't do myself was press in the headsets.


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