New bike or upgrade the old one?

[willium38]

Unsure what to do i bought a basic sirrus in oct last year to test the water speak (commuting to work) did not want spend a lot only for it to sit in a shed collecting dust. Anyway in 5 months on i'm still enjoying (even in current weather) this is helped by a good NCN route and a canal path which negates the need to ride on the road for 75% of the 10 mile commute.
The bike is a basic sirrus 2013 with roughly 1500 miles on it everything on the bike is still in good condition to my untrained eyes.
With spring coming i planned to upgrade to a better model sticking with the sirrus family looked at the elite at £650 probably be able to sell mine for £200 so real cost £450.
I got to thinking is that £450 being spent wisely. The goal is a lightweight durable hybrid with good on and off road performance.

I've searched the forums about upgrades and most say its better to sell and buy a better model.
But looking at the specs (still new to this so maybe wrong) Apart from the frame and forks i can not see a lot of difference.
If its compatible Ribble sell carbon cx forks for around £100 that leave £350 for other stuff.
There is differences if wheels and gears but to me do not look much of a upgrade, well not something you automatically think of buying to replace worn out ones,Again maybe wrong.

The frame is made from a different alloy no idea the difference is it stronger/lighter? can not find the weight of frames anywhere which i odd.
The main question is which will achieve the better bike for my useage a new elite or my basic plus 450 thrown at it?

Any advise is welcome.
One day i think sod i will just buy the elite the next day i could looking for upgrades my bike.
At this rate i will still looking at options in july.

 

[jack smith]

to be honest the only difference will probably be the groupset and a few other tiny things, if you want a new groupset you could get a 105 or ultegra for a few hundred new, but if you really want a new bike sell your current one and buy a newer model, its 6 and two threes in my opinion

 

[Sharky]

If you are starting to get serious, the more bikes you have the better!

A bike for commuting, a bike for the winter, a lightweight for sportives, a TT bike for time trials, even a MTB for mud and snow. Each discipline has a slightly different demand so often good to have one for each occasion.

I have sometimes picked my bike up in the morning only to find it has a flat. If you had a spare bike ready, your commute would not be affected.

You just need storage space!

Keith

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I have the Sirrus Elite as my main commuter bike, mine has Tiagra group set and disc brakes. When I looked the Comp was £150 more and the only difference was the Comp was 105. The basic Sirrus I didn't look at as it has rim brakes and discs were a must for me.

If you can afford to, turn the one you have now into a winter bike and get the Elite for the nice weather

 

[Old Plodder]

I agree more or less, I would keep the one you have for commuting & get a nicer (as in lighter better quality frameset & wheels) for your inevitable pleasure riding.
Plenty of time to check out last years bikes at discounted prices.

 

[Easytigers]

Probably completely off here but I would keep the sirrus as a work horse and buy a road bike for a bit of extra speed eg btwin triban 3

 

[al-fresco]

Yep, time for N+1 - go on - you know you want to!

 

[e-rider]

To the OP,
judging by your post, if you start upgrading with the limited knowledge that you appear to have you'll end up with a Frankenstein bike money pit - I see this all the time! People end up spending an awful lot of money but end up with hideous creations.
Keep riding the bike you have, it will provide just the same enjoyment. Later down the line, buy a whole new bike.

 

[willium38]

Thanks for the replies/advice

The idea of two different bikes vs one slightly better one is appealing. i got it in my head i've only room for one, this is why i got fixed on the upgrade or sell route.
The advice about buying another bike with the money made me think about my storage methods.
At the moment the bike is stored on a wall mounted rack held by the frame. I could change this to simple wall mounted hooks and store the bike upright on the front wheel making space for two bikes with roughly the same footprint.

Looks like i will keep the Sirrus as it is. Continue saving the unspent petrol money and start looking for another bike.

Thanks Guys.

 

[jay clock]

agred, upgrading the bike is pointless. A bit like buying a basic Ford Focus and paying to have electric windows and aircon installed.

Parts are much pricier as add ons than as a complete package with a bike

 

[Cuchilo]

I did pretty much the same thing . Bought the defy to test the road bike waters and a few months later bought a nicer bike but kept the defy . I cant see the point in loosing a couple of hundred quid on something that isn't even six months old .

 

[Boon 51]

Keep the bike you have and get another bike if funds allow, its worth it in the end?

 

[Banjo]

Usually the best bang for buck upgrade is tyres. If you want to make your present sirrus go better while you save up for the N+1 try some upgraded tyres on it.

 

[e-rider]

Thanks for the replies/advice

The idea of two different bikes vs one slightly better one is appealing. i got it in my head i've only room for one, this is why i got fixed on the upgrade or sell route.
The advice about buying another bike with the money made me think about my storage methods.
At the moment the bike is stored on a wall mounted rack held by the frame. I could change this to simple wall mounted hooks and store the bike upright on the front wheel making space for two bikes with roughly the same footprint.

Looks like i will keep the Sirrus as it is. Continue saving the unspent petrol money and start looking for another bike.

Thanks Guys.

good plan

 

[e-rider]

Usually the best bang for buck upgrade is tyres. If you want to make your present sirrus go better while you save up for the N+1 try some upgraded tyres on it.

I totally agree with this - some high quality lightweight fast tyres can totally transform a bike. My favorite 'cheap' tyres are Continental GP4000S