Does anyone else just buy a complete bike and ride it without changing the spec?

I can’t help but notice on the Cannondale Trigger thread that lots of people are buying the bike and planning to swap out the forks, tires, brake rotors etc immediately.

Am I alone in just buying a bike and riding it until something wears out then I swap it?

Am I alone in just buying a bike and riding it until something wears out then I swap it?

Yes.

Good. I’m being weird then.

Mods. This thread is done.

Perhaps its nor the ideal bike for them and just a bargain

It all depends but I usually ride it as I bought it though I may adjust stem length bars and grips

My bike is only half put together but I have already changed the bars…

The only thing I changed on my Trigger was the rotors. And then only for the colour.

I usually change the tyres if they are crappy ones, then maybe the saddle if i dont get on with it. After that just replace / upgrade as things wear out.

I don’t often buy whole bikes but when I do, often I’ve got stuff I like already so I’ll take parts off unused to sell, rather than riding them and hitting the value. Drivetrain, bars, brakes, stuff like that.

I try not to change much. But it’s so hard to resist.
I’ve just bought a Trek Stache 9. And so far I’ve only changed the grips and saddle to different models of Bontrager stuff so it looks standard spec to the untrained eye….!
The thing is that there really isn’t much else it’s possible to change on this bike, I’ve pretty much bought a fully loaded bike. 🙂
How many 29+ forks are there on the market, for instance?

My road bike and mtb are both almost as they came from the shop (tyres changed). I’ve been happy with both and would only upgrade when I break stuff.

Both bikes can do way more than my limited ability and fitness needs.

The last full, off the shelf bike I bought, way back in 2006, stayed as was for about a week. I HAD to change the saddle, it was akin to a razor blade. Still has the same saddle. But the only other original parts are the frame and forks. 🙄

I’ve got fussier as I’ve got older and I like certain things, grips, saddles, pedals, etc. so they would be changed before the first ride. Other parts are just preference. I wouldn’t spec SRAM for instance.

Never bought a complete bike…..

I have a tinker, I’ve bought the Trigger Carbon and straight out of the box I know I need tyres.
Eventually I’ll get it 1×10 set up as I’m finding the cockpit a little cluttered with brakes, 2 shifters, dropper lever and shock lever.

Oh, and grips, I swear by ESI grips

I have one of those triggers in the post- already plan to change cranks, drivetrain, tyres… But with stuff that is on what was meant to be by beater winter hardtail that acquired 11 speed xt, e13 cranks etc. So the XT. Off the trigger 2 will go on the hardtail, 11 speed pimpstuff on the trigger..

Didn’t change the winter road bike cos, well, it’s just gonna get a kicking, so no point blinging it out, it’s basic but functional.
Haven’t changed anything on the newmad either, but then I ticked every upgrade option so no point changing anything…
The mtb I custom specced to start with has had more changes than my other off the peg mtbs put together…

On the 27.5 FS, I’ve changed everything except the frame, forks (pike), seatpost (reverb), chain and headset.

On the 29er I’ve changed everything except the frame and headset.

Brooms trigger innit.

my blue voodoo from halfords is still stock with the exception of one tyre (bald last one) and the front brake that died, and replacement wheels that came from Matts giant when my rear hub died. I don’t bother upgrading mine because

a) I’m tight
b) whats the point
c) it’s not going to make me a better rider

however if I was building from scratch I would be choosy about what I have

Ed. I agree with your points a, b, & c 100%

I guess it depends on why you bought a bike?

With my new cannondale super six evo I found the cheapest model (105) to get my hands on the frame set. Had looked at aftermarket framesets but nothing available of that quality (just over 900 gm) and reputation at a good price.

Whole bike was £1080 on sale.

Already had 6800 ultegra groupset, pair of 1500gm DT Swiss wheels, Vittoria corsa tires, toupe pro saddle and zipp service course finishing kit.

Fully rebuilt out the box. 7kg all in. Feels incredible to ride.

Tyres and contact points are usualy on the change list pretty quickly depending on how i get on with them. Everything else stays till it breaks.

To be fair bikes are specced pretty well these days
My process came with 760mm bars, 35mm stem, sticky front tyre, comfy saddle
Nice grips,
Non compatibility issues with tapered/15mm/142/650b standards also meant I didn’t have much I could swap over!

I swapped out the brakes after a ride though

But I kept the drivetrains till oit wore out etc

I tend to be a bit fussy and like what I like. The day I started building bikes from the frame up and buying exactly the bits I wanted was the day I began to save a lot of money – it’s a great antidote to upgraditis…

Yeah usually, I’ve upgraded parts after a few rides if I don’t get on with them, but I don’t recall swapping things before I try them.

I don’t often trust ‘conventional thinking’ it usually doesn’t match my own taste / experience.

Shouldn’t it be

Cannondale Trigger(s broom)?.

Last three bikes built from frame only, but, if I bought a bike it’d have its saddle changed then just ridden til stuff wears out.

My last complete bike (that was semi-custom specced when I bought it) had tyres and grips changed before the first ride, saddle and brake pads after the first ride, seat post, bars, BB and stem within 5 rides. Basically, anything I’d not chosen myself got changed anyway.

I’m about to pull the trigger in swapping out my colorway.

Grrrrrr.

That aside, the closest I’ve come to this was my Diverge. Only change when I bought it was the saddle. Fitted pedals and cages, but it didn’t come with any so that doesn’t count.

Have since changed tape and tyres.

Fit, it’s the first thing I feel on a bike. Set that up for the first couple of months then I’ll know what needs changing.
Tyres usually the first to go, I have my favourites see.
Bars normally stay until I want to reduce in width once settled 42/44 are too wide for me but I’ll suffer until convinced. I’ll certainly change seats, but again that’s because I have favourite brand and ass positioning.
The rest? Well I’ll ride it for a while before changing, possibly, the other bits.

Fit n feel eh 🙄

I’m with the OP, I just ride it and replace stuff when it wears out. I can see how you might want a different saddle, but I must be lucky as I’ve never encountered a saddle I can’t get on with.
Stuff like grips and bars- really?
And going further to brakes etc. – surely you should’ve just bought something else?

New Trigger 4 here.
Swapped C’dale seatpost for Reverb which I had anyway.
C’dale seat collar for Hope – had.
C’dale lock on grips for RF Good n Evil grips – had.
Rotors – bigger F & R – had.
The tyres may go – depends on how they feel wet – by all accounts they aren’t great.
540 pedals off existing bike.
The bike was great at £1800 off RRP but a lot of changing is contact points which are very personal.
Seat looks nice but not sure it fits my arse so that may be swapped with either a BelAir or a Spoon/Knife.
Cheaper Deore chainset & f mech will be replaced when they break – mech might be sooner rather than later as it’s wobbly as **** already!

I’ve never bought a mountain bike where I thought ‘these wheels are really good’. Always look to change them – seems like you need to spend quite a lot on a full bike before the wheelset starts to get serious.

I like cannondales, owned several over the years, but they must be some of the most poorly spec’d bikes in the industry. At the prices Paul’s are knocking them out at you can’t complain, but CDale are not known for pushing the boat out on the componentry (IME).

Harry_the_Spider – Member

Am I alone in just buying a bike and riding it until something wears out then I swap it?

Nope. That is exactly what I have traditionally done, although I am starting to think in terms of separate parts now.

I was like that as a kid with things like Lego sets and G.I.Joe toys as well, though. I would buy the set, build it as it appeared on the box, and play with it until it was worn out. I am a bit conservative that way.

On my Canyon Nerve AL I changed the grips to Ergons, saddle to a Charge spoon and then fitted the same spec Reverb stealth that the higher spec bikes had.

The bike just works well.

On my old Kona, everything was changed apart from the frame shock and seat clamp, it just didn’t work so well.

The Whyte I’m riding has different tyres and has been converted to 1×10 but that’s it.

No. One bike has just the frame left. Another has the original frame & fork. One of the others has just had the cockpit changed, oh and the drivetrain set up. And finally the most recent bike the stem, bars, dropper post, narrow wide chainring, different pedals, converted to tubeless, rear mech will go soon & shifter will go soon. Works in progress…

On my Trigger I took the double chainrings, front mech and shifter off before I rode it. had a spare direct mount chainring in the garage, so there didn’t seem any point using the new bits. At some stage I am sure I will sell the chainrings, although not sure how much of a market there is for front mechs and LH shifters. The rest of it has been left as it was supplied.

Last full bike I bought was a Emmelle Cougar 12 in 1986. Only because my Dad made me.

I typically ride stuff I buy “out of the box” until something wears out or until I decide it really doesn’t work for me OR I’ve built it from the spares box (a bit of a hobby in itself for me).

I put decent pedals on my recent new bike straight away (resin with clips and straps isn’t really the way to go) and did the tubeless conversion on the wheels a few days later (blooming brambles).

Things I would change early on if I didn’t get on with them:
– saddles
– tyres (if totally inappropriate).
– stem or bars (for reach/comfort)

I think in part it depends on your attitude and how you go about it.

I know people who’ve bought a bike with the sole intention of only getting the frame out of the middle because their accumulated over the years kit is super bling and buying a frame only is poor value. With the right discounts I’ve seen one friend end up with a free frame (albeit including selling their “old” one). With ever changing standards I can see this being less easy.

Equally if you’re on a budget you could buy the base model and deal with some critical weak points straight away and flog off the shiny new unused OEM stuff and minimise your losses.

Yep, first MTB was standard Trek HT, rode it for over 7 years

Just bought camber evo – apart from reverb, it’s all standard.

Given that I often forget to switch the CTD, fannying about with different forks etc seems a total waste of time and money 😉