Upgrade? is it possible?

Azhar

Hello!

On my Claud Butler Elite bike, which i've had a while, i was contemplating upgrading the gears on the back wheel so i can tackle the bigger and longer climbs of my commute (currently there is 8) and where my pedals are i was thinking about getting something liek the one below

http://www.evanscycles.com/product_imag ... triple.jpg

nothing quite that expensive but you get the idea of the kinda thing at the front i'm looking for.

so are upgrading both things a possibility or does it mean investing in a new bike? is it a simple case of getting new gears at the back and front and then ride? is there a particualr make i have to stick to or can i combine it with a couple of different makes or do they all have to be same?

please note i aint gonna upgrade it myself i'm gonna take it to a bike shop and get them to do it. just wanna know if the upgrade is possible.

Wirral_paul

If you fit a triple then you may also need a new left shifter, front mech, rear mech, chain, you mention a new 8 speed cassette also. Add in the labour costs unless you buy all parts from the shop then it could all get quite expensive compared to the price of the bike. Might not look very cost effective really when you add it all up

Sorry

Azhar

Wirral_Paul wrote:

If you fit a triple then you may also need a new left shifter, front mech, rear mech, chain, you mention a new 8 speed cassette also. Add in the labour costs unless you buy all parts from the shop then it could all get quite expensive compared to the price of the bike. Might not look very cost effective really when you add it all up

Sorry

dammit! i had a feeling that might be the response. well..i'll have to stick with what i have until i come in to some money for a new bike.

Wirral_paul

You could always look at simply changing the cassette for a wider gear range. This would just need a new cassette and chain.

desweller

You won't need to change your cassette if you're going to install a triple. You'll get plenty of gears.

You can probably pick up a Sora or ST 2300 left shifter for a pretty good price in the classifieds or fleabay. I've picked up pairs of 105 shifters for ~£50 a couple of times but you need patience to wait for a good deal. Front triple derailleurs are pretty cheap new, but you can go 2nd hand if you want and there's not much point going for a really expensive one; they're pretty crude and there's not much to them. Chainset you will already have an idea of, and chain will be about £15. Add a tenner for cables.

New front derailleur £15
New left shifter £50 max but probably a lot cheaper if you have the patience
New chainset (as you realise) £50
New chain £15
Cables £10

So £140 for parts.

As for comparing the upgrade value to the value of the bike; well, it depends on your point of view. If you want to get hold of a triple-equipped bicycle that you already know fits you (assuming your Claud Butler is a good fit), then it might still be economically sound to upgrade your existing bike. However, I'd have no idea what the labour costs would be; I'd always do this sort of work myself.

slowondefy2

It's definitely possibly, but not necessarily a good idea. What's your current setup? We need to know how many teeth you've currently got on the chain rings and on the smallest and largest cogs. Simply moving to a triple may not be quite what you need.

Pross

It's not really an upgrade, you are just making your bike easier to ride. A lot depends on what your current set up is. You can probably make things easier by fitting a compact chainset (if your current one is standard) together with a cassette with larger sprockets. A new chain may or may not be necessary but always worth doing. Count the teeth on your chainrings and the largest sprocket on your cassette and let us know what they are (if you look you may see the number engraved).