At the moment I am riding a nukeproof mega 275 which is approaching 4 years old. I love it and after demoing a bike at the weekend it reinforced that what I have is good. The paint work is looking tired so I’m thinking of getting it powder coated and some custom decals but also I’d like to upgrade parts such as get hope brakes and a better fork. The dilema is will I still want a new bike and is it more cost effective to get new parts as bikes are so much more expensive these days. Also any pics of upgraded bikes will be great to get some inspiration

If you still love riding it and what you demo doesn’t make you want another bike I would upgrade what you have.

Agree with the above poster – if you ride a newer bike and it didn’t do anything better then why not tart up your’s a bit with some bling bits. 2015 isn’t too long ago and it’ll still presumably have reasonably modern standards. Also if you get it painted then you’ll have something a bit unique to you.

What did you ride that you didn’t think was any better?

The main things that have probably changed are boost / metric shocks / bigger negative spring forks / longerer slackerer geometry since then.

Boost and metric aren’t a game changer imo – but the geo and better suspension units probably are incrementally better if it suits you. There is the danger that too long and slack actually can take some of the fun out of certain trails unless you really bomb down them.

I love my Hope brakes and they last forever thanks to being well made and fully serviceable – and you’re not going to get them included on any new bike bar a Hope or Geometron!

Regarding the fork, if you’re lighter than the average (male) rider for whom dampers are tuned (<80kg) then you may benefit hugely from a custom tube for both your fork and shock – the only exception is likely to be if you’re really quick and so run stiffer suspension like the pros do.

The main thing that’s changed with geometry is bikes getting a bit longer – which has benefited taller riders and most racers but if you’re shorter and/or like a more nimble bike you’re unlikely to see it as an improvement!

Im in a similar position to yourself, OP, but with a 3 year old bike. My plan is to sell my current steed and use that as the initial payment for the new bike, or at least part of it. I also want to make some upgrades to the new bike (the brakes) so i’ll save some funds for that and recoup some of the loses from selling what came stock.

If it works for you, there are some great finance options to spread the cost of a new bike. With buying on finance, Ive found that ive ridden more. I see £xxx coming out of my account every month and I want to get my value for money

I love my Hope brakes and they last forever thanks to being well made and fully serviceable – and you’re not going to get them included on any new bike bar a Hope or Geometron!

Or a Bird, or probably some of the smaller U.K. bike companies like Cotic etc

My tightwad version would be a fork service, a front brake, new wheel bearings and a damn good clean 🙂 paintwork is supposed to be chipped

Or a Bird, or probably some of the smaller U.K. bike companies like Cotic etc

Or an Orange.

But then you‘d have to have an Orange so…

“Or a Bird, or probably some of the smaller U.K. bike companies like Cotic etc”

Good point, forgot they were extra cost options on them. But my point was that you’re not going to get Hope stuff any cheaper by buying it as part of a full build.

Buy the new mega?! That ticks new bike itch, you know it’s going to what you want and it will have all new components!