Upgradeitis… why…why…why?

I’ve got a reasonable selection of bikes – Pitch Pro, 853 Inbred, SS DN6 Inbred, Cotic Roadrat.

It the 853 I’m most concerned about. It’s my main bike, the one I ride the most, and also the oldest.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with it (OK, a few worn components, but that’s not the point)
It’s kitted out with decent, but generally unflashy components which work very well.
It’s a limited edition frame that I made unique to me courtesy of a snapped chainstay repair/modification and a top quality respray, which 100% cured it’s only vice – Rampant chainsuck.
It suits my riding perfectly.
It fits me perfectly.
It rides perfectly.
It looks great.

So WHY THE HELL DO I WANT TO CHANGE IT?
Eh?

Why do I keep looking at a Maxlight Decade?

Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why????????????

I give up.

Get it resprayed in decade green?

After chucking £120 on the orange paint alone less than a year ago? Are you MAD??

😉

It’d be cheaper than a maxlight decade

True. Can’t argue with that.
😉

Because, like the vast majority of people living in the comfort of the developed world, your natural instincts as a human – those of survival – have been rendered redundant by our so-called society, and in order to feel a little more alive your brain is looking for ways to distract itself by focussing your attentions towards a hobby, and the constant chase for the perfection thereof.

And I ask you, who is the real sick man?

Is it the man who innocently wastes all his hard earned cash on unneccessary bike components to combat his general feeling of impotence by unsatisfactorily replacing the animal instincts that have been key to the survival of his race thus far but are now a complete irrelevance?

Or is it the businessman, in his suit and tie?

Can’t be worth that much so its not like you’ve got too much money tied up in it, as it were, so strip it down, get the Maxlight and build it up, stick the 853 frame in the loft, and when you’re ready to ride the 853 again you’ll know…thats what I do with my 853 and thats why its also the oldest bike I have and also why I doubt I’ll sell it!

EDIT stick the 853 frame in the loft To be fair, whilst I do do this I doubt its satyed in the loft for more than 4 weeks before its back down again and re-built with the ‘spares’ which are then upgrade to the ‘good stuff’.

Can’t be many 853’s left in existence now. Might be worth keeping them safe to sell on a german ebay site in 20 years time.

But it’s lovely. Look:

I’d feel bad not riding it, and even worse selling it. It’s like some sort of bizzare marriage. I can look, but I mussssssn’t touch…. gnnnnnn….must….not….cheat….on….bike….

That’s waht it is, isn’t it? The attractive newer model. Rats. Arse. Fek.

Jackthedog – wow man, you just changed the whole way I think about myself!

Seriously, I read Peter’s original post and thought, yep, I can empathise with that; I have exactly the same problem. Then I read your comment and it actually makes a heck of a lot of sense.

I do however think you rather eloquent soliloquy could be boiled down to just three words:

Because you’re bored!

Or is it the businessman, in his suit and tie?

You forgot to add in a bit about drinking bat’s milk. 🙂

I though the answer to Why, why, why?

was Delilah

And I ask you, who is the real sick man?

Is it the man who innocently wastes all his hard earned cash on unneccessary bike components to combat his general feeling of impotence by unsatisfactorily replacing the animal instincts that have been key to the survival of his race thus far but are now a complete irrelevance?

Or is it the businessman, in his suit and tie?

what if you’re both? 😯

You forgot to add in a bit about drinking bat’s milk.

😉

And we’ve been through the wars together, too….

how did you do the dropout in the first pic?

PeterPoddy – you managed to rescue it after both those accidents? Bleedin’ ‘ell. That would have sent it way past it’s bin-time for me. Respect.

STU -I can’t believe you still like the Spice Girls. You should follow someone new. Everyone likes Cleopatra now.

RICH -No, I will always love the Spice Girls, no matter what atrocities they commit.

STU -What do you mean?

RICH -I’ve been following them ever since they began their careers…They don’t know it’s me who has been following them.

STU -You are sick, Rich.

RICH -Or who it is who has been sending them the drawings.

STU -You are sick, sick!

RICH -They are very tasteful drawings, Stu, and I’d ask you this question: Who is the real sick man in this so-called society?

Is it the ordinary, normal man who gets some harmless pleasure from stalking five innocent young women, and then possibly sending them drawings – that he’s done himself…

STU -You are sick!

RICH -…of his winkie.

STU -You ARE sick!

RICH -Wait! Judge not lest ye be judged!

STU -What are you doing saying that?

RICH -I’m not saying I’m Jesus, Stu. That is for other people to say. Let me finish, Stu!

…of his winkie, depicted as a dragon. They’re very tasteful, like a Marillion sleeve.

STU -You are sick!

RICH -Is he the sick one in this society? Or… is it the businessman in his suit and tie – drawing up his expense account?

Yeah, think about it.

A truly joyous and deliciously off-topic post.

PeterPoddy – you managed to rescue it after both those accidents? Bleedin’ ‘ell. That would have sent it way past it’s bin-time for me. Respect.

Cheers!
🙂

It was 2-3 weeks old when a stick went through the back wheel at walking pace. It pulled the mech clockwise round the wheel to about the 1 O’clock position and into the wheel. So I moved half a wheel rotation to do that, and that was all the space it took me to react and stop…
This bent the dropout into the cassette, locking it solid, and opened it right out. It was a 4 mile walk to the car.

After being rather angry for a bit, and taking some advice, I bent it back using a combination of brute force, careful thinking, big levers, and a mech hanger alignment tool. Then I filed it smooth, painted it black and left it until it was resprayed.

There’s a few pics here

oh yeah!

😆

Upgradeitis?? What’s that then? looks nervously over shoulder . . .

Mine’s lovely too – looks the bomb, forks and shock are a perfect match, goes like a rocket . . . so why the hell do I have a new pair of Pikes coming tomorrow and I’m watching a couple of bog standard Vanilla rear shocks on the ‘bay (heck, they’re not even upgrades .

Good pics. Nice save 🙂

🙂

Flatboy – please tell me that I need to keep it and that a new pair of bigger tyres will solve all my (non-existent) problems.

i’m afraid i can’t do that, mama. i just can’t do that. 🙁

(but you should definitely keep it!)

🙂

Mr Poddy – keep the Inbred frame – it’s one of a kind but that won’t be reflected in whatever you can get for it. My lil red’bred is 3 years old soon 😯 (currently on the wall in my utility rom) and has probably been built up and ridden (in various incarnations) for just half that time – it’s staying though.

I don’t think I’ll be selling it. I just neeeeeeeeeeeed another frame for some odd reason. I shall go cold turkey.

😉

Go for it then – look at it as your service to the online biking community 😉 . Someone has to be able to reply to the “has anyone ever ridden a . . . frame” posts.

No. I won’t. I just needed to get this of my chest. I feel better for talking about it. Cured, almost….

😕

We’ll see . . .

What 12 step programme….?

This maybe isn’t going to help, but for me, “Need” is an irrelevance. I deal with “Wants”. Mountain biking is my hobby, I do it for fun, so if I want something for my bike, or I want to sell it and replace it with something different, then I just do.

You’re not alone, this is only a week old and I’m already thinking I should have put some Stans on even had thoughts of switching the frame to a P7 and some longer travel forks.

I love shiny new bike parts. They have aesthetic form but are also functional. It’s got to be more rational than other pastimes, eg: collecting porcelain figurines.

I’m thinking of buying an SRAM Red rear cassette (the one which is milled from a single cylinder of steel) purely as an ornament; I don’t have anything 10-speed it could go on.

Since October I’ve owned; A Crush, A Reign (keeping), A Trailstar, A Scott Aspect, A Prince Albert, and I’m just about to get a Blur. Chop and change, I still think I just long after the stiffee that got nicked! Ah well, learn a bit from each one!

Ride more. Riding in different places with different people and different challenges – usually a good cure for upgradeitis.

IME the people who constantly buy bikes and bits are the people who ride the least (not saying that about anyone on this thread – before anyone titty lips).

I bent it back using a combination of brute force, careful thinking, big levers, and a mech hanger alignment tool.

I love steel. Looks like a cracking frame. Why not cheer yourself up with some new brake and gear cables? Maybe a tub of new grease. Give those bearings a fresh start. That’ll make you feel better.

I recently lost my mojo and am curently curing it with a good dose of the upgrades. Gone is a perfectly good ’06 Enduro, nearly gone is a classic ’97 Lava Dome, here is a sofa covered in bike parts.

It started as £1800 on a carbon Enduro, then settled on an S-Works frame instead. Wheels were then going to be Mavic on XT, then Hope Hoops, now they are Roval traversee – slowly (actually quite rapidly) the bill has crept up to £2700

Spend your cash on a biking holiday or skills coaching instead, i’m pretty confident it will be more rewarding than a very slightly different frame.