Noob Advice – new bike, gradual build?

Hello,

a bit of noob advice required here. I have recently started to commute to work by bike and public transport. It’s actually a short enough run to the train station that I can just about make the 20/30 minute ride either side of the train journey on my BMX… but to be sensible I have been using my wifes 9 year old 100 quid generic leisure /’mountain’ bike that her parents once bought her for xmas.
My plan being to upgrade the bits and pieces as I go along and finally upgrade the frame to have a bike that I can manage the 16 or so miles to work comfortably and bin off the train.
1) is this the right way around to do it.. or should it be frame first then ‘bits’
2) I’d ‘ideally’ like the bike to be a bit of a hybrid so I can swap out the wheels and to some off-roading… again, am I just dreaming?
I’d like some advice on parts… I am on a tight budget here and where to start… Wheels? Drive Chain? Forks?

Hoping you guys can start me off in the right direction… cheers

ffarg

It sounds like a logical way to do it, but what sort of time frame are you looking at for the entire ‘renovation’. Becuase if you are thinking months, you may well find bits are worn out before you get the new frame.

On that premise, and the fact that this bike is pretty much junk to you, I’d ride the drivetrain into the ground and not change that until you are set to get the new frame.

Forks, wheels and brakes will all last ages, so just upgrade in the area that you find most pressing tbh.. you may well find those three in particular are linked, so it’s probably worth doing the wheels first and getting the right hubs (disc ready, 20mm if you want Maxle etc..)

If anyone challenges above advice, discount it all immediately. I’m just a noob really tbh… :P

where is it to be stored? If you storing it at any point where you can’t see it or leave it for long periods – is there any point, as some thiefing tyke will probably have it or the good bits away.
With a 9 years old bike you might be running into issues with it not being adjusted to suit ‘suspension’ forks (not the end of the world).

Personnally I’d look at making it a decent commuter (solid reliable bit – not necessarily light) but at the same time making it as unattrative as possible (if stored ready for a theif) and buy something to use off-road seperately…
As if you do use it for off-roading and break something critical, you might be stuffed for work the next day.

Otherwise buy stuff as it wears out – if the bike was only £100 to start with, this won’t take long….

oh yes – it’s already wearing out fast. I think my missises dad kept it going (Sunday afternoon rides) but after a few months it’s already cracking up. It will be stored outside at work, but it’s not really anywhere anyone passes, has CCTV and 24 hr security. And of course it will be locked up! I do take the point about coming a cropper on a Sunday aft round the forest then not making the commute on Monday… (never considered that I’d break anything… hopefully not me :) )

any recomends on parts/stuff, esp wheels (they can be so expensive) would be great!

Cheers guys – I’ll keep ya’ll posted!

I’d look for a complete bike, say a singlespeeded MTB. I sold mine a while ago for about £100, much less than a build-up. Check here, maybe even Retrobikes. Or ride the one you use to the ground and then buy something better.

I’d agree with HairyChested – ride the curent one into the ground and buy something better – or ride the curent one while building something up for the non-commute rides…

On a different note ride the BMX into work and trick off everything you can. :lol:

Honest advice…if funds are tight, & we’ve all been there mate, join your local yahoo freecycle group & place a wanted ad for an old road bike. You’ll be surprised what people will throw away if someone is willing to come & collect, & probably more so if your going to get some use from it.

Failing that, Ebay / Loot / Bargain Pages etc.

16 miles would be a heck of a lot easier on a skinny tyre’d road bike than a hybrid / mtb.

Yep buying a complete bike is probably the cheapest option, though upgrading can be helpful in getting to know more about how the thing goes together. If you do go down the route of upgrading IMO it’s not worth, say, trying to go from 7 to 9-speed – as the cost of the upgrade isn’t worthwhile – compared to the benefit. On the other hand decent tyres (eg Conti sport contacts) and brakes might well be worthwhile. Oh and get a decent lock as well.