uprading a heap to a sleek road bike

2wheelzgood

Hi there, I am posting to try to get some advice as to what few bits I should spend my cash on...hope it's the right section.

Basically I own a 4 year old Dawes 301 hybrid which I have used year round to commute the 5 miles each way. At the moment I'm running specialised crossroads tyres as I like the grip in winter, bumping up curbs and sometimes use an off road shortcut.
I love the 700c wheels, the range of gears compared to other road bikes and the comfort.. I'm not much of a dropped bar road bike fan.. hehe. I like the style and ability (?) of those "urban mountain bikes" flat bars, big wheels, gears and fast as road bikes.. almost.

Anyway as I've used it in winter a fair bit, I want to spruce it up and make it excellent fun to cane all the traffic with again.

I hate the creaky adjustable stem.. but a brief look at what's availlable shows me (remembering it's a MTB/hybrid headset) DH style mega short stems or flat out ones. I have the adjustable one set at quite a high rise.. what's out there? I'm unsure about a new handlebar- could be tempted by a light cheap one..
I'm thinkin I may have to get a riser bar anyway if i don't want an adjustable stem

I will want a new seat but I think that'll be no problem to get - loads of choice.. I have a Commencal mtb with a cool SDG bel air seat on so may get another one if poss with more comfort.

I'll be getting new chain, chain rings and cassette to replace the originals. I saw somewhere that they were urging people to stock up on 8 speed spares as they are hard to come by these days? I find that hard to believe.
My front and rear mechs aren't great and in fact the indexing is never quite right, recently the ront has stopped bring the chain onto the smallest ring everytime.. clogged mech or worn chain anc rungs I reckon.

I don't want to spend much, but have seen a few options from Shimano.. is it worth spending cash on say a £15 rather than the cheapest.
I'll need new cassette, but can i ge away without a new chain ring set?

hopefully the rest of the bike is fine.. I don't want to be spending loads- it's not worth much and pointless spending money on nice bits if I could easily get a decent bike to replace it for not much more.

ant tips on what's a good buy or who to ask would be ace- then i can get ready to enjoy riding to work again!

kev

bonk man

I would save some money up and buy a good road bike [put flat bars on it if you must] rather than pimping a Dawes hybrid to be honest.
Keep the hybrid for hacking about and light off road and feel the freedom of a proper road bike. A few hundred quid gets you a lot of bike these days and is certainly more cost effective than trying to do up an existing bike more often than not, I suspect you want to whiz about and I reckon the Dawes aint never gonna whiz even with Dura Ace.
So get your current bike serviced and start saving

2wheelzgood

Hi thanks yeah whizzin about through car jams past busses etc is spot on!

Fair point really about saving up and getting a "quick road bike" but I am not a road biker. when not going someplace (90% of the time it's work hmph) on my Dawes, I cycle on singletrack on my mountainbike.
And when I do ride my Dawes, the way to work can involve just raods, roads and curbs and pavements and especially now is's getting lighter, extented ways home via woods, or bumpy paths..
So the hybrid is ace as it lets me use bt fat tyres and is more comfy (I'd have to imagine) than a road bike?

so yeah I ought to save money and just stick to roads if I want a super sleek bike.. I guess you're right the Dawes ain't gonna be that bike. ever.

i think I'm gonna get a better mroe racery stem on the dawes and it needs a new chain and cassete anyway so when the salt gets washed away for the final time I'll get a cheap set.
Probs more value in having it run slick with a good service as you say. I already have thin road tyres if and when I want to make it that lil bit faster still.
Ta (why ae my ports always 20x longer than I intended grrr

acorn_user

Stem

There are some nice ones around. You have to look. I recommend Nitto stems heartily. They are super nice. If you wanted, you could drop a lot of weight with an alloy bar. My wife is using an Outland bar that is pretty good and was 10 pounds.

Seat

Brooks Failing that, you could try a WTB saddle. Saddles are so personal, it's really hard to say.

Drivetrain

This might be the pricey bit. If you shop wisely, you could do this without spending too much. Woolly Hat Shop on ebay will have many of the parts you desire. 8 speed is still in production btw. High end spares are drying up, but everything else is fine. A Stronglight Impact is your best bet for a chainset. Get a Sram chain, and a Shimano cassette, and you are set.

I would spend the money on your faithful companion. Those Horizon bikes were made to last.