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New Bike or upgrade old one?


JW
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I currently ride to work and back everyday and go for rides on the weekend (1-2 hour duration)

I like road and trails equally.

I might be using the bike in cold weather (possibly in winter)

I don't have any immediate plans on changing this usage.

 

 

Here's my dilemma.....

 

1. I don't want to spend a lot of money right now, so If I bought new it would be a lower end around $250

2. My current bike is an older model Norco MTB. A bit heavy but very durable.

3. Is putting money into an old bike just putting good into bad?

Does it make sense to upgrade components each year as I can afford them?

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No it doesn't make sense to keep upgrading a bike but you also won't get a very good bike under $700-800. If anything you may get away with simply getting road tires for your mountain bike for now. It'll smoothen up your ride and you can switch them out for the winter...a very cheap upgrade that will give you over 1mph if you have knobby tires now.

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You might consider getting a 2nd bike and using both. Keep the norco for trail riding, maybe put some good rolling XC tires on there (like Panaracer Fire XC or Maxxis high rollers).

Then use the other bike for road riding - I bet you could pick up a decent used road/hybrid bike for your price range. You could put some slick (ish) road type tires on there, if it didn't have them already.

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thanks guys

 

now I have some interesting options to ponder

 

 

I took the Norco into the shop to get the gears tuned.

I like the idea of keeping the Norco for trails.

 

Now I have to investigate road bike options. (probably would look at purchasing in the fall to maximize my purchasing power)

 

How much would a decent set of road tires go for?

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thanks guys

 

How much would a decent set of road tires go for?

 

It depends on what kind of bike and what you'd need. I just turned my wife's old mt bike into a commuter bike and put some road-friendly mt bike tires on there - I think they were $15 a piece. They have a little tread (no knobs) in case it rains, and they have very low rolling resistance. They make a HUGE difference in how fast the bike rolls.

 

We bought her a mt bike last year that she uses just for off-road. It was a used demo at our LBS (local bike shop) and cost about $200, fully tuned up.

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Thanks Finn

 

my tires are knobby but a bit worn also.

I might check out some options re: road friendly xc tires as I will be using the bike for both trails and road.

 

Sooooo much to learn...........

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Well, I have decided to replace my worn tires with some nice v-treads

 

You know, it might be better to keep the Norco as a commuter rather than a trail bike.

It is a durable beast but has no shocks.

What do you guys think?

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Nothings wrong with that. Pro mountain bikers dealt without shocks for a very very long time...the same way pro road cyclists road steel frames(some still chose to do so when they aren't racing).

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Nothings wrong with that. Pro mountain bikers dealt without shocks for a very very long time...the same way pro road cyclists road steel frames(some still chose to do so when they aren't racing).

 

you are causing me much confusion mr. veganpotter

 

what do you think the best course of action would be?

 

use my Norco for trails and buy a road bike?

 

use the norco as a commuter/road bike and buy a mtn bike for trails?

 

 

I have to admit... part of me has this crazy desire to keep improving this bike by replacing components over time. (not the most cost effective thing to do though)

 

 

Life was so much easier when I played soccer once a week and drank slurpees all day.

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I'd probably just upgrade your bike once and leave it at that if your not going to buy a new road bike. If your gonna buy a new road bike just buy it and ride your other bike as is(only changing things as needed). Chances are your gonna buy a road bike anyway(its obvious) so you should just buy one now while your still young enough to legally ride a bike

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I actually started riding in Sept of 05. But I focused purely on losing weight to race for the first year...I wasn't really training to race like I am now. I only did 2 college races my first year but since I can only wait to get chances to get to a track since there aren't many around. But in Portland I'll be able to race twice a week if I chose to. I got into it because I was riding a fixed gear bike to get a little faster in the feet for throwing the hammer throw. Then I dislocated my shoulder for the final time(it was my last year to legally compete in college) since there was no time to rehab. I needed to keep doing something so I said I'm gonna race bikes. I just wanted to do it for fun but after I realized I could keep up with people once I got to 240lbs I knew I would be competative if I chose to...so I did.

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hmmm ..... to lose weight .... This sounds familiar to me

 

How did it work for you? Any advice ?

I'm wondering if my workout intensity is too high for optimum weight loss.

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I actually wouldn't mind being heavy if it fit cycling...as for how I did it I dropped my food intake to 1500 calories for a year with only one meal every other week of eating what I wanted. What helped the most was not eating for two hours after I rode...it makes your body eat itself. Your intensity may be too high but to race you need that low intensity training anyhow...the high intensity stuff comes closer to the season. If you always hammer it you'll never build a base for longer races but its fun to do it every now and then during the season.

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so for the next 6 weeks (duration of the contest )

Low intensity for long periods?

 

I like the no eating for 2 hours thing.

 

Did you ever have periods where you actually gained weight due to building of muscle?

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Yup...low intensity for a longer duration will do the trick. You can ride a bike for an hour with your HR at 170bpm and burn maybe 1300 calories or you can ride at 130 for as many hours as you like and burn over 900 each hour...your butt will get tired before your muscles do so long as your not pushing big gears.

As for gaining weight that only happens when I rest more than 2 days. I tear by body up so much that when it gets to recover it grows much more than I'd like it to. Cycling itself should only gain muscle if your pushing big gears and taking regular breaks which would kill your knees and make you a lousy cyclist.

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gotcha!

 

I probably need to get another longer ride in.

Problems is that my commutes are only 20-25 minutes.

My runs are usually 25-30 minutes.

I've been thinking about riding over my lunch hour too.

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That would do the trick...mixed in with maybe on long ride during the week after work and nice long easy rides on the weekend.

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Actually my coach is deaf and during our ride he actually received a text message and replied to it on his bike while keeping pace...I can barely talk on the phone while riding unless I really slow down.

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