# Out of curiosity - Bike or Bike upgrades



## thien (Feb 18, 2004)

With the economy being the way it is, are you finding yourself putting off a new bike purchase and upgrading your current one instead?


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

I ordered a new bike just two days ago - a Bike Friday. It breaks down small enough to fit in a suitcase, so no $150-each-way airline charges. Oh, and I bought a ticket to New Zealand to try it out.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

Under normal circumstances I don't buy complete bikes. I build them from the frame up.

With the economy the way it is and the fact that I've been unemployed since the beginning of the year, I'm about to dump a bunch of things on a popular auction site so the answer to your question is that I'm selling bike upgrades. If I have to sell bikes off to ensure that I have a roof over my head then I will sell them the way I bought them: in pieces.


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## sscooterguy (Jun 20, 2008)

I think this is the year of the upgrade, personally.

I didn't really upgrade perse, but I built up a frame I had sitting around with new parts as my bike project and purchase for the time being. Hopefully it'll hold me off from buying more this year....


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## Cruzer2424 (Feb 8, 2005)

new bike(s)!


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## grrrah (Jul 22, 2005)

Due to the economy, will be a new bike frame, with old parts. Upgrades next year.


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## wannabee (Sep 26, 2005)

Only upgrades I am working towards are heart, lungs and legs...takes more time and effort but no impact on the wallet.


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## RoadBikeVirgin (Nov 21, 2008)

Contrary to the general direction of the economy, I got a 41% pay raise last month. And if you're talking upgrades, that could easy cost more than a bike! My '08 Synapse was $1700, plus XYZ for upgrades. I'm building up a CAAD9 frameset right now. I just calculated expenses - so far I'm out $2690, and I still have the saddle, stem, handlebar tape, seatpost clamp, bottle cages, and skewers. I'll also be paying to have it put together, and buying a lifetime service place so when I'm all done...

Holy crap this can get expensive!! :lol:


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## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> With the economy being the way it is, are you finding yourself putting off a new bike purchase and upgrading your current one instead?


 With the economy being the way it is is why I cut my semi-retirement short and headed back to work. I confess that if I strip all the commuter stuff off my BMC road-racer, which I bought to commute on in February, it's pretty fun to ride. So, the economy is why I bought the BMC, if that makes any sense.  

And inspired by Twain's running Cervelo Diet reviews, I've been working on getting the weight of my Roubaix down, since I still use it for the longer, torturous climbs. I just replaced the stock seatpost with a Ritchey Carbon WCS two-bolt, and dumped the stock Specialized Pro set stem for a Ritchey WCS stem. Pretty impressive... dropped almost 100 grams, and if I swap the 7850-SL's for my C24-CL's for those events where I need all the help I can get to stay on ukbloke's tail, the Roubaix's approaching 16 lbs. I'll probably swap its fork, not necessarily for weight, but because it's way too rubbery for my current likings. That will probably put it at 16 lbs.

So nope, not putting off a new bike purchase, but yep, upgrading my current one too.


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## outofthesaddle (Aug 15, 2002)

I just bought a new bike. Because of the deals that are available right now, it seemed like a pretty good time to replace my old bike. I was kind of on the fence but and had started thinking about upgrading but I came across a good deal so I pulled the trigger.


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## twain (May 18, 2004)

Yep, it's all about upgrades this year, hence the series on getting the weight down on the cervelo r3.
Money's tight! It's also notable that, like cars, technology has really improved bikes in the past few years. Used frames can be a steal. Cervelos, Times, Scott Addicts can all be purchased for 50-60% of original. That rocks.

Dr John-glad you have been following the articles and have found the great bang for the buck that Ritchey offes. ! In terms of forks, I really can't say enough awesome things about the Ritchey WCS fork. Going into the review, I actually did NOT want to change out the fork b/c the stock Alpha Q Sub 3 was excellent. However, the Ritchey really did weigh less than 300 grams. But more importantly, the handling is absolutely phenomenal. And the ride quality is this amazing blend of feedback while not being jarring. I had no idea a fork could make such a difference in ride quality. 

It would be cool if folks listed out their favorite "upgrades". For me it has to be the fork and the sick light (but relatively cheap) KCNC QR skewers.


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## thien (Feb 18, 2004)

twain said:


> It would be cool if folks listed out their favorite "upgrades". For me it has to be the fork and the sick light (but relatively cheap) KCNC QR skewers.


I think the KCNC skewers will be next on my list. :thumbsup:


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## stumpy_steve (Nov 5, 2006)

*Upgrading, baby...*

I've been doing quite a bit of upgrades. Upgrades on my road bike (compact crank, tires, pedals, and soon enough wheels), main mountain bike (crankset, brakes, and soon enough joplin r), and built a hardtail up for muddy rainy crappy trail riding. I'm done with buying new bikes @ the LBS; too many deals to be had used or online, especially building a bike. And I got this burley dlite pretty much brand new for $250 for haulin the good stuff. Thank God for rich people in Livermore...

However, once the wheels and joplin are purchased, I think I'm done for awhile. I barely get time to ride any of the damn things anyway!


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## Gee3 (Jan 31, 2006)

I'm generally broke anyway so it's usually upgrade piece meal. And with the possibility of getting a house this year I may either hold off on the Rival gruppo. Or maybe I better get it before I get the house since I won't have any $$ after that for bike stuff. At least that's what my wife says! haha! 

But I'm an impulse buyer by nature so if I have the $$ I'll probably throw my $$ at it! Doh! In other words, being a federal employee is a good place to be, even if my boss sucks!


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## ukiahb (Jan 26, 2003)

maybe some minor upgrades, but basically I'm happy with my fleet and feel no need for a new bike...FWIW did succumb last year though, in a fit of patriotism blew my stimulus check on a Masi Soulville which has turned out to be an excellent commuter


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Dr_John said:


> Pretty impressive... dropped almost 100 grams, and if I swap the 7850-SL's for my C24-CL's for those events where I need all the help I can get to stay on ukbloke's tail, the Roubaix's approaching 16 lbs.


Ha, can't believe I missed that comment the first time around! I'll tell you what, I'll save you some time and effort. Just give me half your upgrade budget in dollars and I'll carry the weight saving in my jersey pocket!!  

Seriously, all discretionary spending is on hold. I'm glad I got the new bike last year before the shutters came down. Evidently the bike is my present for last year's xmas, this year's birthday and this year's xmas so no new toys on the horizon for me.


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## CoLiKe20 (Jan 30, 2006)

no more bikes for a while


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