Switching to a Road bike

Alienfish360 said:
That is not too bad.

Most bikes will require you to change the saddle unless you are lucky with your arse shape. Derailleurs shouldn't really need to be changed though can wear out. Chain, chainrings and rear cassette are consumables and will wear out, as are wheels.

How long was you riding it that they needed to be changed?
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Actually, the front derailleur may be the stock one, now that I think about it.

At stock the TDF has an aluminium fork and a full double chainset rather than a compact, so the previous owner replaced those fairly early on. I bought it off him about two years into his owning it, so he'd done the more expensive jobs, and I've now had it another two years and have done a whole lot more to it. I nuked the rear mech fairly early on when it managed to snag in the rear wheel, so had to replace that, the cassette wore out and got replaced along with the chain, I replaced the wheels about 18 months ago, and I replaced the saddle and shifters a couple of weeks ago. It's barely the same bike!!
 
Majority of that sounds like wear & tear which you'd get with most bikes... That's kindof what I was hinting at above - buying a cheaper ride may increase servicing costs and the parts may need to be replaced sooner. But providing you replace with better parts further down the line you've 'spread the cost' rather than buying them outright from day 1. So frame/forks on a cheap bike are very important if you're intending to replace the cheaper bits over a long term (but you could always buy a different frame in future, further spreading the cost!) ;)
 
At least 3 years from a set of wheels on a road bike is pretty good going in my opinion.

Even higher end bikes come with cheaper components so it's worth looking at it as a whole, rather than just paying more money.
 
I'd be unhappy with anything less. 3 years is not long for a set of wheels if you maintain them, respoke if needed, have them retried etc. You might need to replace the hub but not the whole wheel.
 
platypus said:
I'd be unhappy with anything less. 3 years is not long for a set of wheels if you maintain them, respoke if needed, have them retried etc. You might need to replace the hub but not the whole wheel.
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True but even bikes up to £1000 don't come with a fantastic wheelset. I'd recommend swapping them out on most pre-built bikes to be honest.
 
Roady said:
Majority of that sounds like wear & tear which you'd get with most bikes... That's kindof what I was hinting at above - buying a cheaper ride may increase servicing costs and the parts may need to be replaced sooner. But providing you replace with better parts further down the line you've 'spread the cost' rather than buying them outright from day 1. So frame/forks on a cheap bike are very important if you're intending to replace the cheaper bits over a long term (but you could always buy a different frame in future, further spreading the cost!) ;)
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Nah, a lot of it has been replaced because the stock parts are just awful. With the exception of the cassette, chain and saddle everything I've taken off was perfectly serviceable when I removed it, it was just rubbish.
 
I'm in no rush, with winter coming and the country lanes and hills I use I probably wont be commuting to work much longer which means just weekend treks so I think I'll be holding back till the 2015's are released to hopefully get a 2014 bargain as a few of you guys have suggested.

As much as a Carrerra road bike is tempting due to the cheap starting point, I can't be dealing with Halfords again they just messed me around far too much with not having things ready when promised, no phone call to let me know and no hint of an apology.
 
Roady said:
5k to kill wheels?! Is that a record for you grudas? ;)
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Less than 2k miles is my best ;) not the rim tho.. The hub and spokes..

platypus said:
I've braked more in the last four months then I would in a year. My climbing wheels are 3 years old and the rims are still in great condition, and have done close to 20,000 miles..
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I guess riding during the winter does the most damage to the breaking surface! Water, sand, dirt etc..
 
FrenchTart said:
You mean a long distance record, right?
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Just because you do 5k a week ;)

Itchytrigg said:
As much as a Carrerra road bike is tempting due to the cheap starting point, I can't be dealing with Halfords again they just messed me around far too much with not having things ready when promised, no phone call to let me know and no hint of an apology.
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They are useless ain't they!? My local one you can't even book your bike in for anything - you have to 'turn up and see' then they either do it then (while you wait) or it takes 3+ days because they 'forget' the one and only guy who does their servicing isn't working that weekend... And then they try to sell you a 'care' package (which I've actually got on mine & the mrs bikes, but won't be renew/extending it). :rolleyes:

grudas said:
Less than 2k miles is my best ;) not the rim tho.. The hub and spokes..
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hub AND spokes?! :eek:
 
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