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Saying Hello and asking for opinions! (upgrade Components or Upgrade Bike!)

2K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  clewttu 
#1 ·
Whats up Guys. I've been a member on here but never really posted, just looked around. I need some help. I have a 2010 Gary Fisher Wahoo (not the greatest bike but it does the job) deciding whether I should upgrade almost all components or get a whole new bike. I purchased this as a starter bike and really got into MTB and have pretty much decided either to upgrade the bike completely or upgrade the components and get a FS 26 later down the line. I was planning on pretty much only keeping the frame of this bike and ditching everything else and upgrading. Do you think it is worth upgrading the Components to have an awesome HT bike and later buying a FS or should I ditch HT all together and just go for the FS now (I do enjoy the benefits of the HT just an FYI). What are yalls reasons.

Thanks in advance,
Sas
 
#4 ·
tough call since you can get a pretty good FS bike for that...really boils downto whether you want a hardtail or a full suspension
you will probably spend a little less on the upgrades, but not much if you go for the latest and greatest...if you are ok with 9 spd stuff you can spend prob a grand or less on a whole new setup online, assuming you are handy with a wrench...you can also probably find a new hardtail with a much better spec than your current rig for close to what all the upgrades will cost
 
#6 ·
just depends, would you only be comfortable buying a new bike or upgrades through your bike shop, or are you fine with buying online and diy?

i do all my own wrenching and have built all my bikes from scratch by finding deals online, i saved about $1500 on my mtn bike (in its original build, have upgraded a lot since then) and around $2500 on my road bike compared to what theyd have cost me if i walked into my LBS
my friend for instance got a complete Focus hardtail with a full XT build and a Reba fork (forget what the wheels are) for about $800 bucks online...that bike would be about $1600+ in a bike shop

there are really too many variables here to give you the "best" answer...decide if a full suspension is what you want or not first...if yes, the next step is easy, if no, then it becomes a bit more work looking at build kits as well as complete bikes (as much as you may not believe it, sometimes the cheaper route is a new complete bike)
 
#7 ·
I think i would like to keep this hardtail i got right now. I work on my own stuff like bikes and cars i am comfortable with doing all the wrenching, the only thing that i will have to really be cautious with it the hydraulic breaks if i go that route. Your friend you speak of did he also buy the focus frame or he already had that and just upgraded everything else? I have also thought about just building a FS from ground up since I would get more bang for the buck that way. I guess my real issue here is if my current frame is worth building on or not.
 
#9 ·
Buy new or buy used. Either way, buy complete. Upgrading an entry level bike is like starting a drug habit. It can be fun, but each fix is only temporary. Soon your broke you've spent all your money and it still doesn't feel as good as it should.

If you know what your looking for and know how to put it together, you can piece together a nice bike from the online clearance pages and save some money, but generally it is hard to beat a bike company's volume discount on components. They can usually put together a nice component package and pass the saving to you for less than you could paying retail.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for all the info guys. I guess i might as well build me a bike and be happy with the final result instead of
Upgrading an entry level bike is like starting a drug habit. It can be fun, but each fix is only temporary. Soon your broke you've spent all your money and it still doesn't feel as good as it should
as notyal said. I guess this means new project time. Thanks for the help guys, just wanted to get a feel for what others thought.
 
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