Who else bought a mid-level bike solely to upgrade?

[frostorama]

I also went down a similar path. Purchased an Aethos Expert as I preferred that colour (black/red) and then swapped out the stock wheels for Alpinist CLX, Turbo Cottons, latex tubes. I also swapped out the bars/stem for the Alpinist SL cockpit. Also fitted a Fizik Antares 00 saddle, Tune seatpost clamp, Tune steerer top cap and a Sigeyi direct mount hanger. Running with a single Bontrager XXX bottle cage and Speedplay Aero pedals my bike is 6.6kg ready to ride in size 54cm.

I'm now thinking about swapping out the chainset to something lighter, but I am hesitant to give up the sweet gear changes that I have with the stock R8000 chainset.

[dcj10]

I'm now thinking about swapping out the chainset to something lighter, but I am hesitant to give up the sweet gear changes that I have with the stock R8000 chainset.

Love the colour of your frameset, incidentally.
No worries on either the superbly engineered Rotor chainset, or Bdop cassette affecting shift quality - which remains really good in my experience.

[dcj10]

With the benefit of one summer season, just a quick update: the Aethos in this configuration has turned out to be the fastest, most comfy and overall easily the most enjoyable bike I've ever ridden. The only other bike that came close was the Lightspeed Ghisallo from 2005, which I regret selling in 2012.

[spdntrxi]

I'm thinking of a 105 Madone if I can get the color I want from P1

[Knightyboy27]

I'm thinking of a 105 Madone if I can get the color I want from P1

Annoyingly, you can't do P1 for the 105 model which is a shame, because in the UK at least, the price difference to the Ultegra is stupid, and not worth the upgrade.

[spdntrxi]

I'm thinking of a 105 Madone if I can get the color I want from P1

Annoyingly, you can't do P1 for the 105 model which is a shame, because in the UK at least, the price difference to the Ultegra is stupid, and not worth the upgrade.

yeah I want Chroma, but does not seem to be available. There are a few others that ultegra kit might be worth but not sure. I might be lazy and just get black then 105 it is.

[FIJIGabe]

Yes, I did that with my Madone (see signature). It came with Ultegra 6800, which I immediately upgraded to DA9000 (which I had on my old bike). I bought the least expensive Madone 9 that had the integrated cockpit, and moved all my old parts over to the new bike. I eventually upgraded it to Di2.

[mike]

I have slice a few cables myself and it is an expensive mistake! Buying a mid grade bike is the way to go and use parts from the parts bin to upgrade

[dcj10]

As an adendum to my post update I wanted to mention the Bdop 11-30 cassette @ 116g.

Big chunk of weight off, and not expensive.
Wear after one season not major.
Shift quality not noticeably inferior to the standard Ultegra steel cassette.

[nickf]

As an adendum to my post update I wanted to mention the Bdop 11-30 cassette @ 116g.

Big chunk of weight off, and not expensive.
Wear after one season not major.
Shift quality not noticeably inferior to the standard Ultegra steel cassette.

Good to hear. Always wanted to try one of those cassettes but was always skeptical of it being all aluminum.