Well, as usual, winter has me dreaming again. To start off, I currently have a pre-b stay c40 that is in mint condition; barely a scratch on it. It is set up with a centaur grouppo and proton wheels. Over the past few months, I have been debating what new bike to buy, but keep questioning why I don't just sink the money into some record components and new wheels for my c40. I've narrowed the choice down to a Calfee Tetra-Pro with record. However, this would come in way over what I should spend, although with bikes I'll cross the line. Do you guys think I'm crazy for going with a new ride since I already have a beautiful bike as it is? Would you just put that money into a new grouppo and some really nice wheels? I want this "new" bike to last me for quite some time, so is the c40 going to last 5-10 more years since its already 5 years old (its been ridden lightly so far though)? Thanks, Andy

Onto my Star question. Like many of us, I rely on a roof rack to haul my machine around; there's just no other way for me... Since the Star fork doesn't have safety tabs, I find myself clamping the fork down harder than I normally would (I'd rather crush my fork than lose my bike). Do Star forks have carbon dropouts with aluminum over the top, or is it all aluminum? How hard would I have to clamp them down to actually damage them, and would I see any signs of damage or would they just fail? I'm sure this has been talked about, but searches lead to so many non-related discussions. Again, thanks.

The pre-BStay C40 is a fine ride. Centaur is a decent group but you might want to upgrade the BB to Chorus first if you haven't done so already. Next, I would upgrade to Chorus for the rear derailleur and maybe the ergo levers. Proton wheels are fine. I have Neutrons and they're not significantly lighter than the Proton's. That's probably all I would do unless you have money to burn in which case I'd go Chorus or Record on the components and Neutron or Euru's on the wheels.

Star fork drop outs for the C40 are aluminum. No need to get crazy with the tightness but you're not going to hurt the drop outs regardless.