New Bike... first upgrades

Biggus86

When you get a new ride, what are the first changes you make to it? Because unless you build a bike from scratch, it will most likely not have components that your happy with.

I bought a bike the other month, and its great for the budget i was on, but me being like my dad, i wanna faff around with things and make them better or maybe just faff around with the bike but yeah anyways...

I want new drive and wheels, seatpost & bar/stem.

What would you make the first priority?

I'm thinking wheels first, as there good for trails, but not so strong when throwing the bike around. My other bike has D521 and a Ditch Which which on Hope hubs which are as strong as!

What do you think or have done first?

nicklouse

nothing untill it wears out breaks.

if you are looking at new wheels seat post and stem already it would have been beter and most cost effective to have bought a better bike.

Hope hubs are no stronger than any other.
in fact i have seen more broken hope hubs on these forums than any other hub.

nferrar

Currently on my latest bike (Zesty 314) I've just changed the saddle (to a Spoon) and the tyres. Will soon be changing the seatpost as the current one is a tad too short. No immediate other upgrades planned but will prob get the 2010 Revs so I can use my 20mm front wheels again (currently running them converted to QR). After that it will just be replacing stuff that wears out or I break

projectsome

the first thing i upgraded were the tyres.

KnightofCydonia

all i want to change on mine is the pedals, the rest is accessories like camelbak, good asus lock etc. I'm only changing the pedals cos the generic basic ones hurt my feet cos they're quite narrow. As nicklouse says, there's not much point in changing too much on a new bike, you buy it as it is because it mostly feels/looks right

ExeterSimon

All I did was get some pedals (Crank Bros Mallets) for my Whyte 905. And I had to get some as the bike didn't come with any so not a true upgrade.

If I got a new bike and ended up upgrading straight away I'd start wondering if I had bought the right bike. Although that doesn't include pedals, grips, saddle, tyres etc as they are personal choice.

spongtastic

grips ones alrready fitted are usually too small for my big monkey hands.
pedals because I'm used to shimano spds and the tyres because they're usually heavy wire bead jobies with naff tread.
then after a few rides the saddle if I don't like it.

dunker

pedals on day one as it arrived without any. the first real replacement was grips.

Northwind

Pedals for me, and maybe grips, tyres and saddle depending on how I feel about the new ones- though I tend to have these bits to hand anyway, if I'm buying a new bike it's because I've retired an old one. I suppose maybe bars, if it's a nice bike with bars I don't get on with. But buying a new bike with major plans to change it is generally nuts of course!

supersonic

If you have just bought a bike and want to change half of it already thenm you have bought the wrong bike! Sure, change contact points and tyres, maybe a couple of parts - but then leave it until things break.

hase

supersonic wrote:

If you have just bought a bike and want to change half of it already thenm you have bought the wrong bike!

I'd disagree. Especially if you are new to the type of riding. You have to start somewhere, right? My LBS won't let me try a bike for a month before I know exactly what I want and need in a frame/components.

In that same vein, I think you'll know what you need to replace when you need it. Uncomfortable saddle, too much spinning weight, too much static weight, too aggressive a seating position, etc. I've replaced parts just to replace parts before and wound up spending tons of money for parts that either didn't work as well for me personally or made no difference at all. (Though, I must admit, it looked a hell-of-a-lot cooler! )

ads4

Well I am hooked on modifying Audis so my mtb is in for the same treatment

Pedals were done on day one, then tyres. Stem was shortened to make the bike feel better and next will be some white DT Swiss wheels....bling 8)

supersonic

hase wrote:

supersonic wrote:

If you have just bought a bike and want to change half of it already thenm you have bought the wrong bike!

I'd disagree. Especially if you are new to the type of riding. You have to start somewhere, right? My LBS won't let me try a bike for a month before I know exactly what I want and need in a frame/components.

In that same vein, I think you'll know what you need to replace when you need it. Uncomfortable saddle, too much spinning weight, too much static weight, too aggressive a seating position, etc. I've replaced parts just to replace parts before and wound up spending tons of money for parts that either didn't work as well for me personally or made no difference at all. (Though, I must admit, it looked a hell-of-a-lot cooler! )

I don't rate the bike shops where you are! Spending 500 on a bike, then 500 upgrading it is just folly - migth as well spend 1000 to start and get a much better bike. Unless you really know what you are doing.

dunker

i think the most wasteful on mine was going through 5 saddles before sticking with one long enough to reasile it's perfect for me, oh and the inline seatpost which was just wrong for me, and the bike. all in prolly about £200 down the drain. unnecessary purchase was the thomson stem but i wanted it

everything else i upgraded as it is lighter and better and the smaller arm chainset to suit my ol knees as my rides got longer and harder.

still have my original brakes on the bike wahey, work great and easy to bleed.

got my eye on a carbon rigid fork and err xt brakes hehe oh and, whisper, ti bolts.

Wacky Racer

I've got to agree with those on here who say don't change anything until it breaks.

We all have budgets, so I think it's best to go for the best frame and forks. Then change bits out for the better as they wear out. The first things I changed out were the grips as my old ones gave me a numb left hand. Then the pedals went because the factory fitted ones were terrible. The crankset is going soon as the current one is pretty much knackered, but through abuse and miles.

k2rider

dunker wrote:

everything else i upgraded as it is lighter and better and the smaller arm chainset to suit my ol knees as my rides got longer and harder.

thats the wrong logic as longer crank arms mean your using less power to turn them therefore its easier on knees.

im with anyone else that says changing a lot of parts just after buying means youve bought the wrong bike.

dunker

you know my knees? strange :P

k2rider

nope just physics.

dunker

i think it's more to do with the distance the knee is going up and down is'nt it? up and down stuff joint stuff is physics?

k2rider

nope, a good example of how much extra force smaller cranks take to push (exaggerated by x??) is to push a door open near the hinges, then push on the outside. i know its exaggerated but even a small amount more effort per rev is multiplied by 10000+??? per ride. a lot of older roadies that i know use 180mm+ cranks for that reason.

dunker

well since using 5mm smaller cranks i've had no knee pain, i guess my knees are just ilogical, captain

Northwind

Knee pain isn't just about the force expended, with longer cranks you're moving through a larger circle which obviously requires more leg movement, which can exagerrate underlying problems. So yes, it can be bad for the knees to have a too long (or too short) crank.

MrChuck

Wacky Racer wrote:

I've got to agree with those on here who say don't change anything until it breaks.

We all have budgets, so I think it's best to go for the best frame and forks. Then change bits out for the better as they wear out. The first things I changed out were the grips as my old ones gave me a numb left hand. Then the pedals went because the factory fitted ones were terrible. The crankset is going soon as the current one is pretty much knackered, but through abuse and miles.

+1. If you've bought something halfway decent then everything on it is going to work just fine until it wears out or breaks, unless you really have bought the wrong bike! If you're upgrading major parts upwards significantly then you should have bought something else, if you're making small steps upwards or across (say, swapping comparable Avid and Hope brakes) then you shouldn't bother IMHO, these things just aren't going to matter.