Expensive components on cheap bike

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Levo-Lon

Guru
I'll just leave this here..:smile:

Rrp £1000..is it better than a cheap drive train..yes it is, faultless gear changes ,the hunt wheels are rather good too.
Bling ? Well yes, necessary? No ,does it make me happy Yes it does.


507140
 
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BigMeatball

BigMeatball

Senior Member
I'm actually now moving towards an Ultegra groupset.

Reasoning as follows:
- my bike retails for £750 and is equipped with Shimano Sora with mechanical disc brakes
- upgrading to a Shimano 105 with hydraulic disc brakes would cost £650 (£550 components + £100 labour)
- the very next upgraded model of my bike already comes equipped with 105 and hydraulic discs and retails for £1000

So, why would I want to put £650 worth of components on a £750 bike to make it exactly like a bike that currently retails for £1000?

I might as well just go with Ultegra, pay a few more bucks (which at this point I don't mind spending) but end up with something superior.


EDIT: just checked and higher-end model retails now for £1100. Price going up? Interesting
 
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wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
I'm actually now moving towards an Ultegra groupset.

Reasoning as follows:
- my bike retails for £750 and is equipped with Shimano Sora with mechanical disc brakes
- upgrading to a Shimano 105 with hydraulic disc brakes would cost £650 (£550 components + £100 labour)
- the very next upgraded model of my bike already comes equipped with 105 and hydraulic discs and retails for £1000

So, why would I want to put £650 worth of components on a £750 bike to make it exactly like a bike that currently retails for £1000?

I might as well just go with Ultegra, pay a few more bucks (which at this point I don't mind spending) but end up with something superior.
... or you could just buy yourself the new, higher-end model and flog your existing one / keep it as a winter hack. Sounds like the more financially-sound route.
 
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BigMeatball

BigMeatball

Senior Member
... or you could just buy yourself the new, higher-end model and flog your existing one / keep it as a winter hack. Sounds like the more financially-sound route.

I have considered that. I also did a test ride on it since the frame geometry of the higher-end model is pretty much the same as the model I've got.

I just can't get myself to buying a bike that only comes in bright orange :laugh:

(FYI, I have a Boardman adv 8.8, which comes in a nice a subtle grey and blue. The adv 8.9 is the orange beast that I don't dig much)
 

Threevok

Growing old disgracefully
Location
South Wales
No original parts left on my Inbred - except the brake adapters and rotors

and even they were an upgrade on the original MTB frame
 

Shearwater Missile

Über Member
My wife has never once read a shiny magazine, yet she has at times paid between £1000 and £2000 for bikes. A grand is not much money for many nowadays, but it is for some.
It is to me.
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
Call me mad,:wacko: but I did this a while back I bought a Raleigh MTB it was a Y-frame in alloy just loved it but the components were crap to say the least, firstly the chainwheel buckled on the second day out and the shop would not replace it as they said I had damaged it.
The second thing the wheels would never stay true, I tried rebuilding the front one but still no good, so after month or so I started to uprate every thing XT hubs on Marvic rims, full XT chainset, and brakes, carbon seatpost and handlebars next the suspension Pace front forks and Strata rear.
I love the bike now it rides like a bike should be very smooth OK it is still a Raleigh and always will be, but I love ir even if it did cost an arm and a leg

Reminds me of Only Fools and Horses - Trigger's broom ...............
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
He must be on medication or have very strict wife or gf.
This n+1 thing isn't universal. I have 3 bikes and haven't ridden one of them for 4 years. I'd get rid of it if I could be arsed. It's just a waste of space. Then there's the Brompton which is a nice thing but since I changed jobs 3 years ago I hardly ever ride it. But it's small so it's not a problem. And it paid for itself in the time it was in use.

Then there's my Spa, which is the only bike I really want. One bike does me fine.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
Maybe it's aluminium that's the problem ?

That's my own conclusion. My personal experience of riding aluminium frames is very limited, but I do know I didn't enjoy the experiences one little bit. Nothing could persuade me to buy one, the only thing I will ride is steel. I have never ridden any bike of any genre that has proved more comfortable than an appropriately sized 531 frame with well-chosen geometry. Some gas pipe jobs have come close, but to me the benchmark frame is, and always will be, butted 531.
 
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