Do we all aspire to a better spec bike?

[Herbie]

Just wondered about what is the general concensus regarding aspirations and working up to the dream bike.

My scenario is about 6 years ago I purchased a Giant Hardtail to get fit £200 ish..It did the trick and 3 years later I noticed my road riding was more a love and went for a Scott Hybrid £600 ish but got a good part ex on the first bike.
Then the scenario of Road bike envy kicked in..Now have a GT roadie £800 ish and sold the hybrid to fund it.

The question is when do we all stop...In 2 years time I know i've always wanted a nice spec carbon frame bike,I also know my wife will moan and call me mad for trading up..but for a long term hobby I yearn for that better bike..anyone else have a bike envy thing going on?

I'm very happy with my bike...I can admire other other ones but my one ticks all my boxes and I won't be upgrading

 

[VamP]

The thing is - unless you have been an elite athlete, there is probably a lot of room for improvement. You could offset most (if not all) of the decline due to ageing by workng at it. I know somebody in his 70s who still races, and does pretty well.

Obviously, if you live long enough, old age will eventually get to you. I will be happy if I can do what I am doing now when I am 85!

Exactly. We have the over 70s national TT champ in our club. He's faster than me

 

[ufkacbln]

I now tend to find that it a new use that drives my purchases most are then equipped to the same level.

 

[stevey]

Started cycling in march to loose weight and get fit and see if i would get on with road cycling (Love it as it happens ), so i purchased an entry level raleigh revenio 1 to get started like the bike but will definetly be looking to upgrade next year to what.... Not sure as yet.

 

[I like Skol]

Not read the full thread but my opinion for what it's worth.

I have ABSOLUTELY no interest in carbon. My aluminium hardtail MTB is XT equipped because I trust it with my life, if it breaks, I am at risk of serious injury and I feel I push it to it's limits. My aluminium road bike is 9spd Tiagra, if I ever had to replace it I would probably choose current Tiagra or if feeling flush might step up to 105 but definitely haven't any desire or need to do so. The bike I do probably 70-80% of my mileage on is an aluminium hybrid. Started life with mostly Deore (M590?) components but I have upgraded wheels and disc brakes to XT as the rims/spokes of the original wheels were problematic and the Tektro brakes were utter pants.

All these bike perform brilliantly and are completely 'fit for purpose'.

 

[400bhp]

If I want a bike I will buy it.

I'm very lucky that I'm in a position that I can do that.

Experience tells me that I am only as good as fast as my legs can pedal so I'd currently find it hard to justify (in my head) to aspiring to a better bike.

I'm tight git (well, in so much as I'd rather spend money on family than myself) and will just upgrade stuff as I go along.

A TT bike might be nice, but if I buy one I need to do TT's

 

[mustang1]

I bought basic bike thinking I'd use it for a year, two max, and then swap it for an S-Works bike. 7 years later, I'm still on the same bike. I've got other bikes now but the original bike is still my favourite and most widely used. I like the cheap components that I dont need to maintain too much, instead, I just buy new, cheap, components and replace the worn out items.

It's a cheap alloy road bike so I dont care if it gets scratched, if fits fine, I'm accustomed to it. I also have an expensive (for me) bike, a super six, which still sits there with just 11 miles (delivery mileage) on the clock and is exactly one year old this month. When I last rode it, I recall it being a great riding bike, and if I use it more, I'll learn to love it. But right now, my heart calls for my oldest bike.

 

[Bryony]

I'm of the mind set of, if i buy it, I'll use it 'til it doesn't work any more... hopefully I'll still be riding my trusty old P7 when i've retired

plus, i live in a flat... I've only got room for one... then again, a Brommy might fit

Me and my partner live in a 1 bed flat and we keep 4 bikes and 2 bike frames in it!! We always manage to find the room for anything bike related!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I only wish to replace my road bike (Triban 3). I'm wearing it out too quickly. There are very few original parts left after 15 months. nothing was replaced unless wrong sized for a woman (bars were too wide) or have been worn out. The only original parts left are the frame, forks, seat post, headset, brake callipers (soon to be replaced) and STI levers: everything else has been replaced inside 15 months of use. It was a very basic entry model bike at £299 because we didn't know if my dodgy left wrist would manage drop bars again. If I was to replace it, I would replace it with something designed to last much longer and see much more use. Otherwise my mountain bike (Spech Rockhopper purchased 2nd hand for less than the road bike) and my expedition bike (Thorn Nomad mk II) are great for what I use them for and I have no desire to replace them.

My only problem is I really need a tricross bike and I would love an audax bike - I know which one, but sadly what I buy for me, has to be bought twice, one for me and one for my OH because he cycles rather a lot as well.... but given storing 6 bikes is already proving to be a major headache, I can't see any likelihood of me getting an n+1 unless I have murdered my road bike completely...

 

[Christopher]

Sats, if the Triban frame is okay then why replace the whole bike? It looks like you will need new wheels and the entire transmission but surely that will all be much less than the cost of a new bike. Unless you need mudguards and a rack and the Triban 3 can't take them?

 

[jowwy]

Sats, if the Triban frame is okay then why replace the whole bike? It looks like you will need new wheels and the entire transmission but surely that will all be much less than the cost of a new bike. Unless you need mudguards and a rack and the Triban 3 can't take them?

i suppose its all according what sats is looking to buy really - transmission in its entirety can be expensive or relatively cheap and so can whole bikes

 

[PhilDawson8270]

I aspire to a better bike, but not for performance, simply because I love engineering, I love to have mechanical products that demonstrate exceptional engineering ability.

I have some set criteria that I wish to meet, including mileage, hours ridden, events participated in etc, to make sure that I am cycling for the long term, if that is the case, then I will probably buy a Pinarello, probably something like this http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinarello/fp-uno-carbon-tiagra-2013-road-bike-ec052217 though when I plan to buy, which is this time next year, I'll probably look at 2014 models as the 2015 ones are released.

It won't make me faster, it won't be any easier to ride I guess, the sole reason for wanting it is that I love the engineering of it, I love the design of the frame and the forks, and think they're fantastic looking bikes, and I can afford one.

I in no way aspire to a better bike for performance, only aspire for a better bike, because I like it, and I don't think people should need any more justification to buy something other than, they want to.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Sats, if the Triban frame is okay then why replace the whole bike? It looks like you will need new wheels and the entire transmission but surely that will all be much less than the cost of a new bike. Unless you need mudguards and a rack and the Triban 3 can't take them?

It already has had new wheels (fulcrum racing 7 CXs) and entire new transmission, bottom bracket, several new chains, new pedals twice, mudguards and pannier rack, brake blocks, all new cabling and outers... I'm sure there are other parts that have also been replaced (stem, bar tape twice...) but it is now easier to list the original parts than replaced parts. I just don't think they were designed to do the mileage I do on it and I am literally wearing it out!

 

[MikeW-71]

Just wondered about what is the general concensus regarding aspirations and working up to the dream bike.

My scenario is about 6 years ago I purchased a Giant Hardtail to get fit £200 ish..It did the trick and 3 years later I noticed my road riding was more a love and went for a Scott Hybrid £600 ish but got a good part ex on the first bike.
Then the scenario of Road bike envy kicked in..Now have a GT roadie £800 ish and sold the hybrid to fund it.

The question is when do we all stop...In 2 years time I know i've always wanted a nice spec carbon frame bike,I also know my wife will moan and call me mad for trading up..but for a long term hobby I yearn for that better bike..anyone else have a bike envy thing going on?

It would be so easy to buy a new bike every year.

I did aspire to a better spec, but what I buy has to have value and if it's more expensive then it has to be worth the extra. When you're brand new to the sport/hobby you don't really know where that point is or what you really want from it.

What I've found from having 2 road bikes and an MTB is that there really is no need for most of us to spend megabucks. I could not afford to do so anyway. On the road bikes Tiagra and 105 both work great, 105 being nicer (the lever throw to get the shift is shorter) and I don't think I would get any benefit at all from Ultegra. The aluminium Defy rides great, the carbon Defy Advanced rides even better, and its lighter wheelset climbs better. Was it worth twice the cash over the Defy? I think so, yes. I also think that it's all the bike I will ever need.

The MTB is a similar story, I don't do as much off-road as on-road, so I didn't break the bank on it. Except for saddle/grips there's not much I would change really. I can't see me riding hard enough to justify a full suspension bike, so I'll probably just upgrade the fork in this one and leave it at that.

Of course if you do have megabucks and want to start with a £4k bike, go for it You'd get a great bike for sure.

 

[derrick]

I'am happy with what i got, might do the odd upgrade or replace when worn out.