Upgrading my bike

[Newbie1987]

Hi guys, hope everyone is well.

I am a very inexperienced rider but really getting the bug for it. However, I can already tell my bike is pretty terrible. Cheap and cheerful shall we say.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bronx-Metropolis-700c-56cm-Gents/dp/B00HQGRBBM

It's this bike here.

Anyway, now that I know I am into it and going to stick with it rather than it being a clothes horse, I am considering making some upgrades to it.

Looking for a bit of advice as to what the more experienced riders would do. Say I had £200 to spend, what would you recommend changing on it? I read that carbon handlebars are a lot better? New tyres?

Am I just as well getting a better bike or is it possible to upgrade it by just buying seperate parts? I've developed a wee connection to it as it's my first proper bike, so I'd like to keep it and make it better if possible!

These might be daft questions but I really have no idea! Thans.

 

[raleighnut]

 

[simon.r]

To be blunt, it's probably not worth spending any significant money on that bike. A cheap steel frame and fork is always going to bring down any upgrades elsewhere.

Honestly, if I had £200 to spend, I'd save another £200 and then look for a either a new £500+ bike reduced in a sale or a lightly used second hand bike.

 

[cyberknight]

Imho i would sell it and add that to your£200 and look at something like
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-se-road-bike-black-id_8306187.html
http://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-performance-road-pr7-bike-73113.html
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mekk-pinerolo-al-zr-2015/

 

[raleighnut]

Good winter 'hack' just keep it and start saving for N+1

 

[123456789]

Like you I started with a very cheap Road bike with unbranded components and Alu Fork. It lasted a year and was great or at least I thought it was great until I rode an entry level Specialised Secteur

Youcould upgrade and the obvious parts that could be upgraded are groupset, wheels and forks assuming that the following is compatable a quick google search shows that you could upgrade the following at roughly this cost

Tiagra 10 speed groupset - £250
Fulcrum 7 wheels £ 120-150
Deda Carbon forks - £ 83

But for that cost you would still have your frame and are knocking on entry level Specalised, Trek, Scott, Merida territory.

This is only my humble opinion but I would take a test ride on one of these entry level bikes and see how much of a connection you still have for your old one after that

Oh and I sold my cheap bike on e bay for about £54.

 

[voyager]

Hi And

Being honest and brutal . Ok its a cheap bike , but it is complete and ridable , like the rest . My advice is

Keep it as it is , ride it and care for it . What ever you spend on it . it will still be a cheap bike . Save your money and get something better , There are always bargains to be had from " last years" models to a good second hand road bike that someone has upgraded from .
You can always sell it when you are happy with the replacement

Most of all enjoy Cycling ,

 

[boydj]

Hi And

Being honest and brutal . Ok its a cheap bike , but it is complete and ridable , like the rest . My advice is

Keep it as it is , ride it and care for it . What ever you spend on it . it will still be a cheap bike . Save your money and get something better , There are always bargains to be had from " last years" models to a good second hand road bike that someone has upgraded from .
You can always sell it when you are happy with the replacement

Most of all enjoy Cycling ,

Totally agree.

No point upgrading on a cheap frame - except possibly some items that you can move over to your next bike, e.g. saddle, pedals, tyres. Ride it as it is to build up your experience and fitness and save hard for a better bike.

 

[mjr]

Keep it as it is , ride it and care for it . What ever you spend on it . it will still be a cheap bike . Save your money and get something better , There are always bargains to be had from " last years" models to a good second hand road bike that someone has upgraded from .

Especially if you want to do your own maintenance, I'd say it's worth keeping because if you make a huge mistake, you haven't just bent an expensive bike... and lots of the Bike Shaped Objects are a bit of a maintenance challenge, shall we say so you'll probably get some practice.

 

[mybike]

Looks a lot better than my current mount:

My steed

• mybike
• 14 Jan 2015

Which has at least got me cycling & fixing bike again. I'm told I'm getting boring as well.

Anyway, ride it, enjoy it, fix it. And save up for a new one which you'll enjoy all the more - which is precisely what I'm doing.

(I think I've a bent chain ring so now the gears are actually working it's my next job, or maybe it's the brakes)

 

[Sharky]

As above, keep as is unless something breaks or you have a good reason

Use the experience with this bike to fine tune your position and make sure of the frame size you need when you come to buy the next one. Experimenting with stem lengths or ones which pivot might be a useful exercise. If the saddle is uncomfortable, might be worth changing and can be moved to the next bike. For most bikes, pedals are an optional extra, so changing pedals would be a good upgrade (to clipless) and can also transfer to the new bike.

Apart from the bike, a bit spent on good clothing is well spent, especially proper cycling shoes etc.

Good luck
And if you are really serious, join a club

Keith

 

[Doyleyburger]

I would sell the bike and add the £200 or however much you can manage to get a new machine. Iv been riding about 18 months and already on my 3rd bike.
I'm now happy with what Iv got

 

[LSAF2011]

Hi and welcome

Keep for winter bike and maybe, presuming your employed, have a look into cycle to work scheme or one of its variants.
I started back on road biking on a Triban 3, awesome bike, then upgraded to a Planet X carbon via C2W, fantastic quality and such an improved ride.

 

[mjr]

I've been riding over thirty years and I'm on my fourth bike I think different bikes are better with different saddles and I think most riders would be better served by decent flat pedals

 

[Newbie1987]

Great advice here guys, thanks.

Think I will stick with it for another few months and save up for something better! I should have done that in the first place but I just wanted to get out and riding, I'm sure you all know the feeling!