Modify or replace an inappropriate bike?

I used to live in Edinburgh and ride Inners DH, Glentress Black etc, and spent odd weekends in the Lakes and Dales, and go to Alps occasionally. I bought a Bionicon Ironwood – 8″ travel, 36lb etc. Loved it.

Then I moved to Cambridgeshire. The big bike hadn’t been ridden since July when we roadtripped up to Golspie. Yesterday, I wheeled my SS out of the shed to go to Brandon/Thetford to find the back brake not working, so I decided, rather than go out on road bike, I’d take the big bike to Thetford. Hee hee. 😀

And it was hard work. But it was quite fun, which has left me in a dilemma:

Do I put the big bike on a diet (mostly in the wheel department) and try to make it a bit easier to ride? It’s got fat AM/FR rims on, so dropping some weight here should be easy.

Or do I (attempt to) sell it and get something suitable to replace it with? Trouble is, it’s a bit niche as a bike, so unlikely to be sold quickly, or at a good price. And I don’t want to sell it, cause I’d miss it. But I hate having it and not using it… See my problem?

Any advice? (keeping it AND buying another bike is not an option)

Sell it all, and buy something else.
OR
Don’t sell it, and buy something else
😀

Flog it. No joy in a bike gathering dust.

sell before it’s not worth enough

sell it. It may be heartbreaking at first but no doubt you will fall in love again with your new bike and forget all about the big girl.

I am in a similar dilemma at the moment, need some funds to buy bike stuff and the only stuff i have to sell are a couple of pieces of beloved rock memorabilia. been with me for almost 20 yrs.

Sell it. I’ve had bikes that didn’t get ridden because of a move or because another bike was ridden more. No matter how much I put it off, I ended up selling them eventually. So, stop fannying about, sell it and get a more middling bike that suits where you are now.

Well – thanks all! Seems pretty consistent advice…

…any ideas how best to sell such a niche bike?

Move back to Edinburgh. 🙂

Move back to Edinburgh.

Wish I could!

Sell it in bits, and keep those bits that you can/will use.

I was just going to post something similar to the OP. My move was from Bristol to Cambridgeshire. I haven’t given Thetford a proper go yet (only a couple of sections on the CX bike) but I can’t imagine a Zesty is going to be the ideal bike for there. I’ll probably just use it a handful of time per year for trips away which is a waste but then it might not get that much and I may miss it when I did go away…

I already have a 29er hardtail which should be just the ticket for Theford. The sale of the Zesty would go toward a new / replacement road bike.

Militant – where in Cambridgeshire are you? I’m in Ely if you fancy car sharing for any away days.

If you can afford to put it on a diet, you can afford another bike…..
🙂

Well, I’ve made moves to sell the Ironwood, and replace it with a Bionicon Reed 140. 🙂

Cheers_drive – I’m in Waterbeach. Car sharing & away days sound good, though opportunities tend to be few and far between at present! What sort of riding do you do? The people I tend to ride at Thetford/Brandon with are proper racers and leave me for dead!

vinnyeh – slight difference between buying a new set of wheels etc and a whole new bike…! Annoyingly, I have the cash to buy a new bike, but can’t justify it without selling the big bike.

I do not race. I like riding fast but generally that has been limited by fitness, faster than average rider slower than racers. Used to ride mostly at Welsh trail centres and Mendips as well as Bristol. Fairly technical although no good at jumps. Thinking of heading over to Thetford this Sunday if you’re about?