Upgrading my bike on a budget

[Deleted member 20519]

I'm hoping to upgrade my non suspension mountain bike to a hybrid/commuter over the next 6-8 weeks and have it fully revamped by the end of the summer so I can cycle to school.

I've found that http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ always have good deals on and a lot of stuff is on sale. Of course, Ebay is also good and the Auctions section here is pretty good too. Being 14 (some of you may not know that), I can only spend £20ish a week. I'll have around £200 to spend, not all at once though!

There's things I would like to buy and I need some recommendations for them:

Pedals
Handlebars and Bar ends (http://bit.ly/KfKGGt - this kind, can you fit drop bars to a hybrid?)
Slick tyres (http://amzn.to/NfSTPd)
Saddle (http://bit.ly/pplpb7)
Brake levers
Gear shifters

Those are the main things that would make the bike better. If you have any recommendations on which products to buy, feel free to let me know

 

[Hawk]

Powder coating seems a great way to waste what little money you have.

Clipless pedals are fine but good shoes will cost you also. Cheap shoes will probably wear out and cost you in the long run anyway.... Clips work fine. Spending a quarter of your budget (at least) on a clipless set up wouldn't be a good use of money

 

[Deleted member 20519]

Powder coating seems a great way to waste what little money you have.

Clipless pedals are fine but good shoes will cost you also. Cheap shoes will probably wear out and cost you in the long run anyway.... Clips work fine. Spending a quarter of your budget (at least) on a clipless set up wouldn't be a good use of money

The bike's in pretty bad condition, got quite a few scratches on the frame but I don't see why getting it painted would be a bad idea.

 

[Hawk]

The bike's in pretty bad condition, got quite a few scratches on the frame but I don't see why getting it painted would be a bad idea.

Expensive cosmetic changes will quickly lose their appeal when you realise you could've put the money towards a better functional part, like shifters

 

[Deleted member 20519]

Expensive cosmetic changes will quickly lose their appeal when you realise you could've put the money towards a better functional part, like shifters

So what's a cheap way to make the bike look better then?

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

You're fourteen? If I were to read your post without knowing that, I would have guessed that it was written by someone twice your age...

 

[Deleted member 20519]

You're fourteen? If I were to read your post without knowing that, I would have guessed that it was written by someone twice your age...

Why thank you.

 

[Hawk]

So what's a cheap way to make the bike look better then?

Well, I barely worry about how my bike looks. It's not like I own a £5,000 roadbike and I certainly don't want to be like a 17 year old "boy racer" with a cheap banger of a car who obsesses over its paint job, puts new rims in, neon lights....

The worse my bike looks, the less likely it is to get stolen

You can powder if it if you really want, if the scratches are particularly noticeable. Could also put stickers on it to cover them up if they really annoyed you. But powdering sounds an expensive process and I don't know if it'd be worth it (unless you're desperate for your bike to LOOK outstanding). How it looks doesn't affect how fast you go though

 

[Deleted member 20519]

Well, I barely worry about how my bike looks. It's not like I own a £5,000 roadbike and I certainly don't want to be like a 17 year old "boy racer" with a cheap banger of a car who obsesses over its paint job, puts new rims in, neon lights....

The worse my bike looks, the less likely it is to get stolen

You can powder if it if you really want, if the scratches are particularly noticeable. Could also put stickers on it to cover them up if they really annoyed you. But powdering sounds an expensive process and I don't know if it'd be worth it (unless you're desperate for your bike to LOOK outstanding). How it looks doesn't affect how fast you go though

Fair enough. I suppose I could buy a touch up stick from Halfords. What do you think of the other parts, worth it?

 

[cyberknight]

I

Pedals
Handlebars and Bar ends (http://bit.ly/KfKGGt - this kind, can you fit drop bars to a hybrid?)
You need to make sure that the diameter of the bars is the same as your stem, TBH the ones you listed are oversized aero bars and i doubt they will fit,and it could be problematic getting the brake/shifters to fit .I would stick to a flat bar with bar ends.
Slick tyres (http://amzn.to/NfSTPd)
Saddle (http://bit.ly/pplpb7)
Brake levers . again you need to have the handlebar diameter , i do have a pair of these if they are any good to you in sliver ?

Gear shifters.
You will need to match it up to the number of gears you have front and rear , i assume your bike has shimano as different companies use different amounts of cable pull making them incompatible.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

You're fourteen? If I were to read your post without knowing that, I would have guessed that it was written by someone twice your age...

Agreed; great writing style!

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

If you have any recommendations on which products to buy, feel free to let me know

Obviously it depends on exactly what you have at the moment. But generally if I had £200 I am not sure if I would spend it on upgrading components - (re)building a bike from new components is far more expensive than a complete new bike.

I think I would get something like this, or various similar offerings. You do need to ensure you get the right size if you can't try before you buy from a local shop.

 

[cyberknight]

Obviously it depends on exactly what you have at the moment. But generally if I had £200 I am not sure if I would spend it on upgrading components - (re)building a bike from new components is far more expensive than a complete new bike.

I think I would get something like this, or various similar offerings. You do need to ensure you get the right size if you can't try before you buy from a local shop.

I agree with you , i think it depends if the OP can get the money for a new bike in one sum, maybe blag the parents and pay them back or does he want to do the bike up as a project ?

 

[jowwy]

i would keep the money until i got the full £200 and buy the carrera subway from halfords