worth to upgrade old bike or look at a new one

rootsboy

Hello all!
this winter i have dusted of my old 2001 Marin Bear Vally and have started getting back in to cycling road and of-road trails in Spain where i now live.
i have have was very happy when i first brought the bike all those years ago, an it is still in quite good shape due to me not using it for many years.
like most things of late, i am sure things have advanced loads with the way new bikes and components are made. and i was thinking about maybe upgrading some parts of the bike, mainly the forks and peddles to start.
the forks i will be quite limited due to the fact it has v-brakes. and from what i can understand, its possible to only fit something like Rockshox XC32 or Recon Silver to replace the Manitou Magnum the bike came with.
then i started to think if i should even go down this route at all, and with the extra cycling i plan to be doing as due to the fact i have now found some amazing trials here, maybe i should look at getting a new bike.
any thoughts please?

supersonic

Depends on your budget really! 150 Euros for the new fork will make a big difference. (though it will be heavier).

craker

Can you put disks on your wheels? FWIW I'm in the same boat with my 2000 Jamis except I've already done the forks wheels and brakes and I think my bike is on borrowed time (mainly as the 2002 bombers are like riding a pogo stick). I suppose you're looking at E500 or so for that lot. Is it worth the spend?

rootsboy

i weighed the bike today and it came in at 15 kilos, i think that could also be todo with the Specialized Armadillo tires i have on it. (i was getting a lot of punctures from thorns when i first moved here.)
this is also why i am in two minds to start upgrading this bike, or maybe think about getting a new one something like a cube acid or maybe go to town and get a cube ltd race... but then i started to think if i went this route then which type 26 or 29???
so this is why i maybe thinking, let just get more involved with what i have for now and enjoy it for a year or two and maybe make a decision on a new bike once i really know how i will be using it.
or just think " go mad and get a new bike now and be done with it!"

The Rookie

Second hand bike, get second hand forks, circa 2006-7 Manitous are very reliable and many come with V bosses, I have some Skarebs on my MTB (link in sig) that cost me £50 and would take V's and weigh in at just 1450g, that age RS are also pretty reliable.

mattwood

Well, I did up an old bike and ride that for my off-road exploits, and to be honest, you'd be better off spending the money on something else.

I stripped down my old bike to just the frame, repainted and decaled it and then replaced:

Handlebars (Exotic/Carbon Cycles)
Stem (Exotic/Carboncycles)
Forks (New - Suntour Epicon RLD)
BB (Came with chainset)
Chainset (Bought from a member on here)
Brakes (Bought from a Member on here)
Grips (New - £5 from Chain Reaction)

I am using the following form the original bike (most of which I will replace now I'm happy with the rest of the bike:

Rear Deraileur (Deore 8-speed)
Seatpost (400 mm one so kind of needed to keep it)
Saddle
Rear Shifter

And I removed the front shifter and mech as I went to a 1x8 setup.

Total build cost was about £270, including replacing the chain and cassette as service items and all the paint and primer for doing the frame.

While I'm very pleased with the bike (as I'd not have got better for £270), in some ways I wish I'd saved the money towards a new bike with similar gear.

rootsboy

thanks for the tips guys, i am thinking i may just tip towards getting a new bike, but not rush into it just yet, will get out a bit more on my current one and read through these forums a little more to get a better idea of what to go for.

while i am here i amy also be looking to buy my other half a new bike as the one she is riding is super old and way to big for her, it will be pretty much entry level as she wont be out riding much, more family oriented stuff, we do have a decathlon which had just opened up where we live, and i saw some comments on another thread mentioning some of there bikes, any suggestions for a cheep ladys MTB hard tail?

The Rookie

How cheap? But you'll struggle to beat Decathlon at most price points.

rootsboy

she would want be to spend as little as possible, but i am sure it would be better staying away from the bottom of the pile, so i think i could go to 300 quid more or less.
i had a quick look in our local decathlon at lunch, the womens dedicated bike did not look up to much, but the rock rider 5.2 and 5.3 looked like they were small enough for her.

rootsboy

After a 4 hour bike ride with my mate showing me some proper trails in the island where i live i have now decided to forget upgrading my bike and get a new one.
i rode on his bike for a while and a saw the difference good front suspension made and i think at my age my wrists deserve better.
after a bit of reading and speaking to some cyclists here. i have my heart set on a Cube LTD SL 29er which i will probably order online and get sent here to Spain. so i am not going to get to try before i buy which i know is probably against o lot of opinions here. the thing is, we do have a few bike shops here, maybe one or two are considered very good, but everything here is super expensive a possible 20 to 40% more in some cases. and my only other option would be to jump on a plane to go to the mainland for the weekend to try which suddenly become expensive in its own right.
anyway back to the point is the decision of which frame to go for as it seems from the calculators that i fall in the middle of getting a 17 or 19 inch frame.
i am 172cm hight and have a 82cm inside leg. my current bike (marin bear valley 2001) has a 18 inch frame and does feel small, but i can chuck it about.