Marin Novato Upgrade Advice
MacRS4
Posts: 47
Hi Guys & Gals, long time no post. Everything appears to have changed - for the better I might add.
After some advice on upgrading my bike. I bought a Marin Novato early this year as part of my get fit program and it's been fantastic. I love the bike, so much better for my type of riding than my old Trek 6700.
Anyways, I now have some more money available to upgrade it or replace it. I've been through all the replacement scenarios and I always seem to come back to the Marin urban commuter range so I've come to the conclusion that upgrading is sensible, rather than replacement.
(As a side note I'll be buying one of the Marin Highway ones next summer for all the BHF rides).
Need some advice on upgrading :-) I've already had the following done:
:- Forks upgraded to the Carbon Fibre set from the Point Reyes
:- Brakes replaced from the cable discs to the hydro discs
:- Fitted clipless pedals
The bike weighs about 11Kg which is ok.
I was thinking of doing the following:-
:- Crank/BB replacement with either the Raceface Carbon Fibre cranks or maybe the shimano XTR set
:- Gearing upgrades to the XT(R) fron/back/changers. It's an 8 speed currently
:- Switch to a carbon fibre bar (not as wide as current)
:- Shorter throw stem.
:- Possibly replace the wheels
out of all of those I think the crank & the wheels would make the biggest difference to weight & performance - what do you guys think?
This bike mainly gets used for town commuting - and most of that is down river/canal paths so it still needs to be a little stronger than say the Marin Highway One.
I realise I'm upgrading for upgrading sake - but isn't that one of the things you can enjoy about being into your bikes 8)
Any advice much appreciated :?
After some advice on upgrading my bike. I bought a Marin Novato early this year as part of my get fit program and it's been fantastic. I love the bike, so much better for my type of riding than my old Trek 6700.
Anyways, I now have some more money available to upgrade it or replace it. I've been through all the replacement scenarios and I always seem to come back to the Marin urban commuter range so I've come to the conclusion that upgrading is sensible, rather than replacement.
(As a side note I'll be buying one of the Marin Highway ones next summer for all the BHF rides).
Need some advice on upgrading :-) I've already had the following done:
:- Forks upgraded to the Carbon Fibre set from the Point Reyes
:- Brakes replaced from the cable discs to the hydro discs
:- Fitted clipless pedals
The bike weighs about 11Kg which is ok.
I was thinking of doing the following:-
:- Crank/BB replacement with either the Raceface Carbon Fibre cranks or maybe the shimano XTR set
:- Gearing upgrades to the XT(R) fron/back/changers. It's an 8 speed currently
:- Switch to a carbon fibre bar (not as wide as current)
:- Shorter throw stem.
:- Possibly replace the wheels
out of all of those I think the crank & the wheels would make the biggest difference to weight & performance - what do you guys think?
This bike mainly gets used for town commuting - and most of that is down river/canal paths so it still needs to be a little stronger than say the Marin Highway One.
I realise I'm upgrading for upgrading sake - but isn't that one of the things you can enjoy about being into your bikes 8)
Any advice much appreciated :?
I like my bike.
0
Comments
-
pimpin' ain't easy
however I would suggest the blingiest upgrades will be carbon bars & cranks<a>road</a>0 -
- you just have to do it though right
I think the cranks would be a good move - saves a fair bit of weight and also I can sort the gearing out at the same time. The bars I want to replace anyway as they're a little too wide for my liking so seems an obvious one.
I was thinking though of maybe going for some lighter wheels? I thought maybe they'd make the biggest difference to the actual performance of the unit?
Thanks I like my bike.0 -
MacRS4 wrote:- you just have to do it though right
I think the cranks would be a good move - saves a fair bit of weight and also I can sort the gearing out at the same time. The bars I want to replace anyway as they're a little too wide for my liking so seems an obvious one.
I was thinking though of maybe going for some lighter wheels? I thought maybe they'd make the biggest difference to the actual performance of the unit?
Thanks
Yes in theory the wheels will make the biggest difference. though I don't know how noticable it would be on a hybrid.
Re the bars - you can just take a hacksaw to them if they are too wide. You might have to do this anyway with new bars, though I am not sure how best to do this with carbon bars.<a>road</a>0
