40
votes
New to bicycle riding. Questions about adjustments and upgrades
Leave your current bike alone, save your money for the replacement bike.
To make a significant difference to the current bike you'll probably have to spend a significant fraction of the original ...
- 75.9k
29
votes
Accepted
What to throw money at when trying to level up your biking from an older, generic bicycle?
Very rarely do upgrades make enough difference to a bike to justify the cost or doing them. For this reason, I am a strong believer that while you should maintain a bike, you are almost always better ...
- 52.3k
28
votes
When is it not okay to cheap out on bike parts?
There are potentially a lot of ins and outs to this question, as one could ask what discipline you're talking about, how aggressive of a rider you are, skill level, etc, as it all has an impact on how ...
- 87k
20
votes
New to bicycle riding. Questions about adjustments and upgrades
All the above answers are valid and good. In addition to that, I would strongly advise focusing on what is sometimes called "rider fit". It is the position of your seat, seat post, handlebars etc. The ...
- 452
17
votes
New to bicycle riding. Questions about adjustments and upgrades
There is plenty of joy your new bike will give you. Wait a bit before upgrading. You need to build up experience and knowledge, and your current new bike is fine for that purpose.
This is only a ...
- 441
17
votes
Should I update my Bontrager Litespeed mountain bike?
I'm not sure why you think you need disc brakes on a hybrid, but if you want a hybrid with disc brakes it might be cheaper to buy a newer hybrid with that comes with them (for same quality brakes). ...
- 976
14
votes
Disk brakes swap on a new road bike with rim brakes
Can I put disk brakes on it?
No. You cannot effectively convert a rim brake frame or forks to disc brakes.
(Alternative answer:
do I need to replace parts?
Yes, the frame and forks.)
Seriously ...
- 75.9k
13
votes
Narrow or comfort saddle?
You should ride whatever you find comfortable. If the old saddle was good, swap it to the new bike.
If you intend on riding both bikes, keep eyes open for a second saddle of the same brand/model. ...
- 129k
12
votes
Accepted
Is it cost-effective to upgrade an old-ish Giant Escape R3 commuter bike with entry-level branded parts (wheels, drivetrain)?
Cable replacements, chain, tubes, all those are "consumables" Even spoke replacement is not an uncommon problem to have periodically. A bike isn't a cellphone to be discarded when its a bit tired - ...
- 129k
12
votes
39-53t chainring on full suspension bike
The Giant Reign is a long travel 'enduro' bike that is designed to be ridden down steep technical trails, not pedalled down road/fire trail.
It's most likely that changing to a 39-53 will not work as ...
- 18.4k
12
votes
Upgrading gears from microshift to Shimano
Even cheap components should shift okay-ish, unless they are badly worn.
Shifting problems are usually caused by any combination of:
Bad adjustment: Incorrectly set cable tension or limit screws.
...
- 28.7k
12
votes
What to throw money at when trying to level up your biking from an older, generic bicycle?
Judging by the current bike and the mileage, a new bike will be put to good use. Look for a lighter bike with better quality components, that fits similarly. Don't expect it to cost you less to ...
- 2,696
10
votes
What to throw money at when trying to level up your biking from an older, generic bicycle?
The overall goal is to improve general fitness, maybe go faster or longer.
For these goals it's very unlikely a new bike is required. Fitness is derived from a blend of time spent riding, intensity, ...
- 18.4k
9
votes
Will I need a new derailleur when changing to a higher ranged cassette?
There are two aspects to the derailer that come into play here. One is total capacity, which is the total amount of variance in chain slack the derailer can accommodate while keeping the chain taut. ...
- 87k
9
votes
New to bicycle riding. Questions about adjustments and upgrades
There is really precious little difference between new bikes in terms of efficiency. Most of it is illusory. All ball bearings have low friction. All chain drives are >90% efficient. All bikes weigh ...
- 1,068
9
votes
When is it not okay to cheap out on bike parts?
Taking into account your flying like Superman one day part in your question, I would like to nuance the last paragraph of Grigory Rechistov's answer.
In my urban cycling experience it's the parts in ...
- 2,321
9
votes
Can I convert rim brake to disc brake on road bike?
To do this "properly" you need to replace all these parts:
a new frame with disk caliper mounts
a new fork with disk caliper mounts
all the brake system parts, being calipers and rotors, hose etc.
...
- 129k
9
votes
Cannondale Topstone Tiagra Upgrades - Musts, Must Nots, and MustArd
We can't tell you what upgrades you should make, because we are not you. We don't know what your preferences or priorities are, what kind of rider you are or what riding you want to do (apart from ...
- 75.9k
9
votes
Should I upgrade my entry-level bike?
Shopping advice of off topic, so I am not making a recommendation on make/brand/model.
If you are unhappy with your current bike, first thing is work out why - is it the quality of the bike, or the ...
- 52.3k
9
votes
Accepted
Budget Chainring Upgrade
I looks like an 8-speed 11-40T cassette would likely have pretty big jumps (which is what you intuited): e.g. 11-13-16-20-24-28-32-40T or 11-13-15-18-22-28-34-40. Those jumps range from approximately ...
- 5,452
8
votes
Accepted
How to test bike after upgrades?
Revised to make a more standalone answer, rather than rely on the context given by @FalseIdentity's question, and to incorporate some of the commentary.
As with all testing, we want to find problems, ...
- 17.3k
8
votes
New to bicycle riding. Questions about adjustments and upgrades
I would take it into a Local Bike Shop for servicing.
Unfortunately many high street companies will sell you what we call a Bike Shaped Object. These at best are barely functional assortment of parts....
- 360
8
votes
When is it not okay to cheap out on bike parts?
In bicycling componentry what applies is "cheap, light, reliable — choose two". To explain this, a cheap component may be reliable enough, but it will be heavy. Light top-tier parts will cost you a ...
- 14.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Upgrade drivetrain to allow faster top speed
Your math and the reasoning are correct.
The main issue in your problem is to find a compatible crankset. The points to consider: the bottom bracket width, the kind of bottom bracket that you have and ...
- 22.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Best derailleur compatible with 1.7 pull ratio?
Welcome to Bicycle Stack Exchange.
Regarding your derailleur upgrade question. Prior to mountain bike 10 speed systems, all Shimano rear derailleurs, whether marketed for road or mountain bikes, had ...
- 11.1k
7
votes
Upgrading tires on my road bike
Well, 26 will feel a whole lot better than your current 23. You can get away with lower air pressure because of the larger volume supporting your weight. Lower pressure means smoother ride. Of course ...
- 1,895
7
votes
Accepted
Sealant in inner tubes: what's the difference?
Putting sealant in your tube does nothing to prevent pinch flats. (The long gashes caused by pinch flats would normally be too big for the sealant to handle, at least reliably.)
Putting sealant in a ...
- 87k
7
votes
Accepted
Can I convert rim brake to disc brake on road bike?
Rim and disc brakes have completely different mounts. The front disc would be mounted at the bottom of the left fork leg, and the rear would be mounted where the seat and chain stay intersect.
It’s ...
- 35.2k
7
votes
Accepted
Changing from rigid to suspension fork
The type of fork you choose will tend to be based on your riding style, budget and what will work on your bike.
It might be good to consider ebike suspension forks
Whilst E-bike forks remain largely ...
- 22.9k
7
votes
Don't you think all of these rules and reputation crap is just a bit much? Are you people nuts or what?
The reason that buying a road bike is better than adapting a hybrid bike to be a road bike is very much related to economic factors. Therefore the complaint that "not everyone can afford one"...
- 12.9k
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