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  • Please help me get back into riding…
  • Helios
    Free Member

    Through a confluence of events, life stuff, work and whatever else, I haven’t really been riding for ages… I went out the other day for the first time in a long time and took my single speed out to give the dog his first ever run with the bike. He loved it, I loved it, and now I want to get going again properly.

    My problem is that I haven’t really done anything with either of my bikes for a long time. One doesn’t fit me too well, and the other is only suited to a limited type of riding.

    My “good” bike is a 9 year old Marin hardtail, I spent a fair bit on it over the years putting decent forks and brakes and wheelset on it – much of which is still in pretty good nick despite being old. But the frame never fitted me very well and I was just too dumb to notice.

    I also have an inbred – set up as fully rigid SS and with v-brakes. It is cheap as chips, but I love riding it, and the frame fits me great. It is however a little limited in what it lets me ride.

    Now – my big question(s) and why I need your collectively wise help. Should I:

    1. Break the Marin for bits, and put them on the Inbred, get down to one bike, but probably ride it more

    2. Buy a new frame, swap the good bits off the Marin and stick them on the new frame

    3. Buy a new bike altogether, selling the Marin to support this, but making a huge loss because even the decent bits on it are getting old and aren’t worth much to anyone

    4. Anything else?

    I don’t really have a budget at the moment – and it depends on what i decide to do (and whether I can convince MrsH that we don’t need new windows this year)

    robinlaidlaw
    Free Member

    Option 1 and see how you get on would be my vote.

    slackalice
    Free Member

    Option 1 would appear to be the best of all worlds, especially as there are new bits for the house to consider.

    You could always look to treat your Inbred with something new at the same time, brakes? Transmission? Bars? Maybe some bling wheels? At the very least, tyres and grips. Rubber compounds have come along way in the last few years.

    johnellison
    Free Member

    I know you said the the Marin frame doesn’t fit, but why? Too small/big/short/long?

    Is it anything that a change of stem/bars/seatpost would cure?

    Just thinking it might be the cheapest/faff-reduced option to get you rolling again and when SWMBO sees how much fun you’re having then she can’t really object to an upgrade. Well, she can and she will, but with less justification…

    Option 1. Make one bike out of two. At least you’ve got a bike you enjoy riding while you think about longer term options and expense.

    Are the steerer tubes the same length and everything else compatible ?

    Helios
    Free Member

    I know you said the the Marin frame doesn’t fit, but why? Too small/big/short/long?

    Too short in the toptube I think. I’ve never been totally comfy on it, and have tried messing about with the cockpit to fix it to no avail. Possibly I just need someone who understands bike geometry better than me to help. I find myself arching my back despite having a pretty long stem on and the sadle set back a way already.

    Are the steerer tubes the same length and everything else compatible ?

    I *think* so. I’m pretty sure that the headtube on the Marin is a fraction longer than the Inbred – so the fork steerer should be long enough and just need an extra spacer.

    My concerns with Option 1 may seem a bit ridiculous: that I’d be chucking decent things on a bike which I bought complete for £350. As if somehow the frame is “too cheap” to put proper components on…

    Also, I’d be losing a bike – which is totally daft as I can clearly only ride one at a time, and in any case I’ve not been riding either for ages…

    annebr
    Free Member

    Buy another Inbred frame and swap the good bits off the Marin onto it.

    n+1 not n-1 🙂

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