Upgrade an older bike or buy new???

Plantpowered89

Hey everyone. I recently picked up road cycling as cross training to running. Hoping to do a triathlon next year. Well I’ve fallen in love with cycling. It’s kinda all I want to do now. LOL. Anyway. I bought an old used Cannondale Synapse 6 off the local swap and have been riding the heck out of it. Literally rode the tires off. However, it’s old. Ten years old. Being so new to the sport I’m not ready to spend 5k on a bike yet. I did look at a Specialized roubaix in a bike shops yesterday and and kinda fell in love with it. Before I spend 2k on a new bike should I spend a little money on my old bike and keep riding it until I figure out exactly what I want? Is the frame even safe to still be riding? I literally have no idea. It shifts pretty good. I bought a book and was able to make some adjustments but it definitely makes some noises and has some quirks. Just looking for some opinions and tips to help a newish rider out. For reference I’m riding 20 to 70 Miles 3 to 4 times a week. Thanks

H-Giant

Hi mate, I was in the same boat as you. Bought a boardman from Ebay, was a really great bike, rode it for a month but it never felt like my bike. So purchased a Giant Propel. I would go for the shiny new bike but shop around. You can find some good deals. Also a shiny new bike will make you go out even more. You can buy good spec bikes from around 1K

keef66

If the Synapse fits you well and it's all still working I'd just ride it for another year while you decide what kind of bike you want to buy. 10 years isn't that old; my alu winter bike is 11 this year and I'm still happy blatting down hill on it.

If you want to spruce it up a bit, treat it to new cables and bar tape, and maybe some new tyres?

And yes, regardless of the sometimes stupid prices of the bikes reviewed in the cycling mags, you can still get a pretty good bike for £1k, especially if you shop in the sales. My son just bought a 2017 carbon Cube with Ultegra for a grand.

fenix

I'd say stay with what you have for a bit.
Learn to check the bike over - you'd have to do it for a new bike anyway.

Are the tyres OK ? Not perished ? Right pressure ? No massive cuts. Sidewalls looking OK too ?
Are the brake pads hitting the right spot on the rim ? Are they worn ? Make sure they dont hit the tyre.
Is the chain OK - if you ride with a stretched chain you can accelerate wear on the chainset and sprockets.

Other than that - just make sure nothing is loose. Pump tyres. Clean and lube chain. Clean the bike - you can't see problems if they're under dirt.

If you want to do triathlons you'd want tribars or a proper tri bike which is very different to a road bike.

Plantpowered89

Thanks for the input guys. I actually have new tires, tubes, and bar tape being delivered today. It was a must or I wouldn’t be able to ride anymore. Going to try to spend some time this weekend going over it really good. I’d like to wait a little bit. I want to spend some money on fun stuff. Like a few New Jersey’s and shorts. I need a new multi sport watch. Mine only does running. Etc.... I don’t want to get stuck spending not fun money. Old broken bike parts every week. I’ll keep an eye out for a great deal for sure. Even used. Everyone around here needs the latest and greatest. As soon as fall gets here there will be a few 2018’s popping up for sale.

timothyw

Yeah, my experience buying second hand is that you often need to spend quite a lot on the bike over the first few months to replace the nearly worn out components, once you get over that hump the bike will usually run fine for a good while.

If you've got the bug (and it sounds like you do) I'm sure soon enough a nice shiny new bike will be coming your way!

southdownswolf

My first road bike was an ebay buy, which I then did up over the course of a few months. The second bike was brand new.
I'm glad that I spent time doing up the first bike as it meant that I learnt how to strip down and put back together a bike.
I'm now at the stage that my second bike needed a bit of TLC, so I have given it a new change of clothes (paintjob) and am now in the process of upgrading the group set as and when I find deals.
A new bike is great and can give even more enthusiasm to riding , but if you have a frame that you are happy with, then do you really need to change (except for n+1 rule) ?