Upgrade. Politely

24K

My parents recently bought me my first full size bike,
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_762369_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

Yes I know....stop sniggering...

I know it needs upgrading, but without being impolite, which would be the most important upgrade, "not frame",

AndyOgy

Without spending huge amounts of money, there's really not a lot you can do with a bike like that.

If you really must upgrade something, then upgrade to some rigid forks.

Or there's Plan B: A rubbish lock and a great insurance policy.

I don't mean to be rude but I wish people would realise that you don't get suspension and disc brakes on a new £180 bike, not if you expect things to work.

On a positive note, ride hard on a bike like that and you can really hone your skills. Save the cash that you would have spent on upgrades and put those skills to use on a better bike sometime in the future. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

Anonymous

24K wrote:

Yes I know....stop sniggering...

Dude, we all had to start somewhere.
I wouldn't bother upgrading, ride it as it is until something gives, then replace, and keep repeating.

Pudseyp

Agree with the above...ride it and enjoy it, save some pennies and if you want to take up XC mountain biking or alike get a nice second hand one..

supersonic

If I was going to do anything, just new tyres.

d3matt

I would look at the saddle and grips. You feel the difference all the time. Then pedals. All cheap upgrades and you can move them on to your next bike.

Si1988

I'd concur with the two posts above me. Just consider yourself lucky the money was spent on a hard tail, it couldve been much worse, a full suspension setup for that price wouldve been nigh unrideable off road.

Buy stuff that'll be transferable later, I'd start with pedals, I really wouldnt trust the resin pedals that come equipped for too long.

And it's quite likely that stuff will break/ need tweaking, invest some time in learning how to repair this bike, it'll prove invaluable later on.

ollie51

Get some proper pedals and change the grips and saddle if you feel necessary. Tyres are probably a good idea. Then ride it like you stole it.

jon1993

depending on what your planning on using it for maybe just a quick fue tweeks of riding position might give you the most advantage like dropping bars by a fue spacers, raising seat and i was in exactly your position 2 years ago when i was 16 my mum and dad paid to a bike and some of my money and was not much better than this only got a new one 2 weeks ago covering 11,000 miles got me to edinburgh from hull did the coast to coast and went and did 100 mile rides on weekends lets face it theres alot of people with amazing kit but dont know how to use it just because you havent spent 1000s on a bike doesnt mean your any less of a rider than them as i found out the hard way so what i did was use what i had dropped the bars down a fue spacers got the seat hight in the perfect position then the next change was the tyres some 1.25 semi slicks for onroad and bridalway riding and get your self a cheep speedo aswell there selling them in asda of all places atm for £4 i found nothing better than seeing my averages over the same journeys improve over time and clock up the miles other than that keep it standard dont change a thing save up and ride it till it falls appart enjoy it for what it is and dont let people put you down its still a decent bike

angry_bird

jon1993 wrote:

depending on what your planning on using it for maybe just a quick fue tweeks of riding position might give you the most advantage like dropping bars by a fue spacers, raising seat and i was in exactly your position 2 years ago when i was 16 my mum and dad paid to a bike and some of my money and was not much better than this only got a new one 2 weeks ago covering 11,000 miles got me to edinburgh from hull did the coast to coast and went and did 100 mile rides on weekends lets face it theres alot of people with amazing kit but dont know how to use it just because you havent spent 1000s on a bike doesnt mean your any less of a rider than them as i found out the hard way so what i did was use what i had dropped the bars down a fue spacers got the seat hight in the perfect position then the next change was the tyres some 1.25 semi slicks for onroad and bridalway riding and get your self a cheep speedo aswell there selling them in asda of all places atm for £4 i found nothing better than seeing my averages over the same journeys improve over time and clock up the miles other than that keep it standard dont change a thing save up and ride it till it falls appart enjoy it for what it is and dont let people put you down its still a decent bike

:shock: Ever heard of punctuation (or paragraphs)? Kids today :roll:

Maybe get some decent pedals, invest in some new tyres, you could lose a bit of weight potentially and end up getting a lot better grip. Other than that ride it until it breaks and save your money either towards your next bike, or invest in any kit you feel you need.

moster

Holy crap you'd get a shorter sentence than that for murder

As said...maybe look at tyres/contact points and ride it till stuff dies. Enjoy!