lulubel
Über Member
After spending the last month or so whizzing around on my new road bike, the Olympic MTB events inspired me to get out on the MTB again yesterday, and I was amazed and delighted by how much I enjoyed it.
(I used it as my main bike for 4 months while I was without a road bike, and most of my riding was on road because I knew I was wrecking the cheap wheels and couldn't afford to replace them, so I kept off the rough stuff, with the result that it was really quite dull. Yesterday, I took it up the mountain behind town and on some new trails that I haven't explored before, and I loved every moment, and can hardly wait to get out on it again.)
The MTB is a BH Over-X hardtail, it's nearly 3 years old, and it's barely been used except March - June this year, when I managed to cover over 2,500km on it. It cost €260 when I bought it, so it's pretty low end. Maintenance has been the occasional clean, a bit of chain lube and adjusting cables when necessary.
I'm lucky in that I have (literally) hundreds of kms of natural trails practically on my doorstep, and I really want to take advantage of them. I've looked at quite a few bikes up to the €1,000 (about £800) price range, and there are some really lovely ones, but I've just built myself a road bike, and buying something "off the shelf" that I'd then probably want to tweak doesn't really appeal. Also, €1,000 is quite a lot to splash out in one go.
So, I'm wondering about spending the money on my cheap BH instead, by upgrading components over time, mostly as they wear out. I like the frame a lot. It's tiny - the smallest women specific frame - and easy to handle. I think anything bigger would be "too much bike" for me. I also weighed it this morning, and I was surprised to find it "only" weighs 13.6kg. At that price point, I did expect it to be heavier, to be honest, and my guess is replacing the wheels and forks would reduce that significantly.
I can't find my camera to take a photo, but this is the closest I could find online.
According to the description that was with the photo, this one has an 8-sp cassette (mine is 7-sp) and the forks have a lockout option (mine don't). But it looks like my bike, except that my frame is smaller, so that the top tube and seat stays almost make a straight line.
My ultimate goal would be to get some lightweight wheels that will roll well, good quality forks with remote lockout (Rock Shox Reba, maybe?), and a mostly XT groupset - I have an XT rear mech on my road bike, and it changes so smoothly, it's the closest I've ever been to being in love with a bike component. Plus a less naff looking stem, some wider, straighter bars that will suit my riding position better, and a more comfy saddle. So, basically, I'd be replacing everything except the frame.
Is that a really stupid thing to do with a bike that only cost €260? Or is it worth it to stick with a frame that I'm very attached to?
(I used it as my main bike for 4 months while I was without a road bike, and most of my riding was on road because I knew I was wrecking the cheap wheels and couldn't afford to replace them, so I kept off the rough stuff, with the result that it was really quite dull. Yesterday, I took it up the mountain behind town and on some new trails that I haven't explored before, and I loved every moment, and can hardly wait to get out on it again.)
The MTB is a BH Over-X hardtail, it's nearly 3 years old, and it's barely been used except March - June this year, when I managed to cover over 2,500km on it. It cost €260 when I bought it, so it's pretty low end. Maintenance has been the occasional clean, a bit of chain lube and adjusting cables when necessary.
I'm lucky in that I have (literally) hundreds of kms of natural trails practically on my doorstep, and I really want to take advantage of them. I've looked at quite a few bikes up to the €1,000 (about £800) price range, and there are some really lovely ones, but I've just built myself a road bike, and buying something "off the shelf" that I'd then probably want to tweak doesn't really appeal. Also, €1,000 is quite a lot to splash out in one go.
So, I'm wondering about spending the money on my cheap BH instead, by upgrading components over time, mostly as they wear out. I like the frame a lot. It's tiny - the smallest women specific frame - and easy to handle. I think anything bigger would be "too much bike" for me. I also weighed it this morning, and I was surprised to find it "only" weighs 13.6kg. At that price point, I did expect it to be heavier, to be honest, and my guess is replacing the wheels and forks would reduce that significantly.
I can't find my camera to take a photo, but this is the closest I could find online.
According to the description that was with the photo, this one has an 8-sp cassette (mine is 7-sp) and the forks have a lockout option (mine don't). But it looks like my bike, except that my frame is smaller, so that the top tube and seat stays almost make a straight line.
My ultimate goal would be to get some lightweight wheels that will roll well, good quality forks with remote lockout (Rock Shox Reba, maybe?), and a mostly XT groupset - I have an XT rear mech on my road bike, and it changes so smoothly, it's the closest I've ever been to being in love with a bike component. Plus a less naff looking stem, some wider, straighter bars that will suit my riding position better, and a more comfy saddle. So, basically, I'd be replacing everything except the frame.
Is that a really stupid thing to do with a bike that only cost €260? Or is it worth it to stick with a frame that I'm very attached to?