Whats the cut off point before throwing money at an old bike isnt worth it and better to throw that money (and some more) at a new bike?
I have never thrown a bike away .I keep them all. I have sold the odd one I didn`t like but they were second hand to me anyway
what could it possibly need that's THAT expensive ?
It depends how much will get you the new bike that ticks your boxes.
Cheap bike? - fairly quickly. If, when working as a mechanic, I had a £ for every time I heard a customer say "I'm not spending that to repair my bike, it only cost £100", I'd be a rich man.
If you have a specific question then specifics please! A decent bike shouldn't get to this stage unless it's been run into the ground.
My frame has gone a few times and I just buy another one and franken bike. Some of the parts on my Heckler are from 2000 I have toyed with a new bike now and then but I quite like my triggers broom.
needs whole new drive train really, cables, calipers, £300+ and bike isnt worth that much as its my commuter and 10+ years old. Thinking I would rather spend that money on something new.
Sorry to my LBS if you read this, just trying to decide what to do and dont want to throw money away on a bike i dont really like anymore....
A decent bike shouldn't get to this stage unless it's been run into the ground.
it was (decent once), and it has. (thoroughly buried)
If it's your commuter and over ten years old, why spend £300+ on repairing it? Just buy some 2nd hand parts
OP, what kind of new bike would you get for £300? It might be something half decent and lower maintenance - discs etc? Just don't but another shed and expect it to last without maintenance (if that's what you did)
Also think of the £300 in terms of how little you've spent on maintaining it all those years - may seem better value.
600 quid buys you a not bad entry level Ribble
My first proper mountain bike orange p7 is now my daily commuter it is on it's third or 4th drive train 3 rd bottom bracket and coming up to it's second respray I've no doubt spent three times it's original value in parts but that is a bargain given it is in daily use and has been for 15 years.
an entire drive train (rings/chain/cassette) - £30
cables - £4
set of brakes (if thet's what you meant by "calipers") - £20
give me £200 and I'll do it for you 😉
Sorry to my LBS if you read this, just trying to decide what to do and dont want to throw money away on a bike i dont really like anymore....
No other discussion is needed. You've made your mind up you don't like it... bin it or flog any bits worth anything.
Depends on what the alternative to fixing it up is. If you'd end up spending the extra on something new that would basically be a shinier version of what you'd have if you fixed the current one up, then I'd say fix it up.
That said, if I was looking at more than half of what it would cost me for a brand new one I'd be thinking about a new one. What the original cost of the bike was is irrelevant I reckon. But if you've been thinking about something different then maybe now is the time to jump!
As it happens my tatty-but-more-or-less-functional 2006 XTC needs probably £200-£300 spending on it, and as I've been thinking lately about something a bit less racy I do find myself wondering if it's worth it- especially as I promised myself a new bike when I finish my PhD, which should be very soon 🙂
i wasnt planning on getting a new bike for £300, but putting that £300 towards a new bike, prob £1-1.5k, so blowing the £300 now doesnt seem like a good idea?
what size XTC? and how much would you want for the frame? and maybe seatpost and wheels?
Use 2nd hand parts - a 2nd hand drivetrain etc shouldn't cost you much more than £100. A commuter should never be too nice anyway - it might stop you using it when the weathers crap, and it makes it more nickable.
Mine is my 1st MTB - a 1999 Dawes Tekarra, been resprayed, 2 sets of wheels, 2 drivetrains, lots of chains and cassettes. The only original parts are the frame and seatpost - I guess that I have spent £900 over the past 11 years on my £300 bike. Still, it's a known quantity, and it is quite a good spec (now).
The end decision has to be down to what you want the bike to be. A good bike never needs to die!
what size XTC? and how much would you want for the frame? and maybe seatpost and wheels?
It's a M, but if I got a new one I'd probably keep the XTC and downgrade it to a hack/commuter rather than sell it on.
Ok, thanks anyway 🙂
its a bit like Triggers brush on fools & horses,its all original he says,its only had 14 shafts & 7 heads !!!,lol
Most years I put all my Summer bike drive train bits on to the Winter/commuter bikes ,then buy new for the Summer bikes.
The only new bits I buy for the older bikes tend to be cables and brake pads ( or if something snaps).
Works for me.
Same position here 🙄
Got an 6yr old Kona Dawg and a holiday in the Alps coming up 😆
Do I?
Buy new forks(140 bolt through) for which I would then need new wheels?
I need new brakes with 180/200 mm discs
Rear shock needs an overhaul....
Starts to mount up ❗
I could just go out and buy something like a Spesh Pitch if I could find one for near enough the same money with all new bits or some other 2010/11 sale bike 🙄
Got till July to make final decision, suspect I will keep the auld Dawg till I retire in a couple of years and treat myself then(if redundancy doesn't come first! )
Well that turned into quite a different question op!
Spend the £300 on a used bike.
You can swap and change a few parts to get either bike to where you want and then sell one of them for say £150?
My road riding is very limited but I bought a (don't laugh) Decathlon bike off here for £160 that had genuinely only been ridden twice. It came with 10 speed Campag! It needed new brake blocks as the rubber had perrish whilst it was in storage so I bought some new Campag brakes for £40 so for £200 I have a fairly good bike that will last me for a few years.
Anyone want some basic road bike brakes let me know.