Hello,

I’m looking to upgrade my entry level gears and was hoping that somebody might be able to offer me some advice as to what I should look for and possibly some suggested items. I’d be looking to replace the whole lot although I don’t have a massive budget, probably only around £100.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

what do you mean by “gears”…could mean anything from deraileurs only to shifters and/or transmission.

And why?

To be honest, I’m a bit of a novice and I’m not sure what’s best to upgrade first. I’d like a new set of shifters as I’ve smashed one of mine but I’d also like to get a new set of front and rear derailleurs.

My current gears are pretty low level and seem to require constant readjustment which never lasts very long so I’m hoping that some better ones might do the job more consistently.

For 100 quid, I’d look at getting second hand stuff off here. Anything SLX(LX) and upward is good gear. Cassette wise the main difference is, get new ones from CRC or wiggle.

My current gears are pretty low level and seem to require constant readjustment which never lasts very long so I’m hoping that some better ones might do the job more consistently.

This is cable stretch or need to change the cables not quality of the shifters / mech. I wouldn’t bother changing the mechs until they need it – they ware out / get crapped up which they do. Shifters tend to last unless you land on them

So am I right in thinking that I would be better off just getting a new set of shifters and some new cables?

it’s a good start. The indexing is done in the shifters, so that’s where the biggest improvements are.

Depends, some cheap mechs are crap, but if you have a bike with them on, may be wasting money to upgrade it – ditto shifters.

Sounds like you want to spend some money on your bike, but don’t know what on.

pics of your bike? Gears shouldn’t go out of adjustment, even cheap ones.

I think you’ve summed up my position quite well! I’d like to improve it in someway but I’m not sure what to spend it on. I can sort a picture tomorrow but in the meantime it’s a Scott Aspect 55 with all of the original parts on.

It looks OK IMO.You might enjoy buying new shifters or a mech or something but mostly it won’t make a huge difference riding – I don’t think you can get significantly better 8s shifters for instance.

I’d buy decent pedals/shoes etc and save for a better bike – buying individual parts is the WORST value way to upgrade a bike. Better sell it in 1-2 years and save so you can then afford something better.

Thanks for that, a great help. I’ll maybe buy some cheap small parts but will save any bigger overhauls for a later date.