Bike Upgrade Costs - Advice

[Conrad SPR]

Looking to upgrade from a 26er hard tail. Current bike is costing me a fortune in insulation tape (see pics) and I'd like to move forward with something more economical. I've heard the best thing is to get parts that are strong and light and cheap but I'm struggling to get all three of those boxes checked as I shop around the Hub. I see the very light things are inevitably also very pricey. Thinking of getting past this by offering sellers on the Hub a price worked out on a per KG basis rather than per item. I'd be interested to know what the experts think of this strategy.

[BuffsVintageBikes]

LOL... good luck with that 🤙

[dirtypot]

Strong

Light

Cheap

 

You can only pick two.  

If its strong and light, it won't be cheap.

If its light and cheap, it won't be strong.

If its strong and cheap, it won't be light.  

[RobertWhitehead]

Underneath all the insulation tape it appears to me like you've got a 2012 GT . But then again, I am seldom right when it comes to guessing the year . 

My questions: 

1) What do you want to spend 

2) What do you want to do with the bike, it is not worth investing in a bike that does not fit your riding purpose. 

3) What size? 

[Shebeen]

8 hours ago, Conrad SPR said:

Looking to upgrade from a 26er hard tail. Current bike is costing me a fortune in insulation tape (see pics) and I'd like to move forward with something more economical. I've heard the best thing is to get parts that are strong and light and cheap but I'm struggling to get all three of those boxes checked as I shop around the Hub. I see the very light things are inevitably also very pricey. Thinking of getting past this by offering sellers on the Hub a price worked out on a per KG basis rather than per item. I'd be interested to know what the experts think of this strategy.

is this the current pics or the 2014 ones that got lost in the dogbowl?

 

 

[Conrad SPR]

1 hour ago, RobertWhitehead said:

Underneath all the insulation tape it appears to me like you've got a 2012 GT . But then again, I am seldom right when it comes to guessing the year . 

My questions: 

1) What do you want to spend 

2) What do you want to do with the bike, it is not worth investing in a bike that does not fit your riding purpose. 

3) What size? 

2 hours ago, dirtypot said:

Strong

Light

Cheap

 

You can only pick two.  

If its strong and light, it won't be cheap.

If its light and cheap, it won't be strong.

If its strong and cheap, it won't be light.  

16 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

is this the current pics or the 2014 ones that got lost in the dogbowl?

 

 

 

[IceCreamMan]

Friday came early. 

[Conrad SPR]

"Underneath all the insulation tape it appears to me like you've got a 2012 GT" - That is news to me. It's supposed to be a Zaskar but I've never been sure. To me it's just 'Old Christine' because she was second hand and F.O.S from the get go (the name came naturally). Anyways she's off to the knackers (broken dropout and other stressed bits from two car collisions. Cannot be sold at any price per KG. Speaking of having a conscience it's about time for me to be clear that this was meant as a bit of comic relief in tough times.

[Conrad SPR]

8 hours ago, BuffsVintageBikes said:

LOL... good luck with that 🤙

hehe, hope you had a good laugh, was relieved to see the first replier understood it was just a fun post.

[Conrad SPR]

10 minutes ago, IceCreamMan said:

Friday came early. 

your'e on the right track, a new bike does strange things to one's mind

[BaGearA]

21 minutes ago, Conrad SPR said:

"Underneath all the insulation tape it appears to me like you've got a 2012 GT" - That is news to me. It's supposed to be a Zaskar but I've never been sure. To me it's just 'Old Christine' because she was second hand and F.O.S from the get go (the name came naturally). Anyways she's off to the knackers (broken dropout and other stressed bits from two car collisions. Cannot be sold at any price per KG. Speaking of having a conscience it's about time for me to be clear that this was meant as a bit of comic relief in tough times.

Zaskar is a model in the GT line

[Conrad SPR]

48 minutes ago, BaGearA said:

Zaskar is a model in the GT line

I was told it was a Zaskar when I bought it. Before that had a GT Avalanche 1.0 which felt much more  sparky. So always had my doubts.

[Conrad SPR]

The upgrade is basically complete. All parts except for saddle and tyres sourced on hub. Weight 11.7 kg and cost around R13k or R1100 per KG 🤣   I did do some carbon work on BB shell and stripped most of the old paint off the frame myself which I guess would have cost another 3k-5k if one is not up to that sort of stuff. The transition from the GT is like going from an old Mazda bakkie to a Maserati.

Have to mention that the response to this post is very encouraging for real noobs: Clearly you can ask the most ludicrous questions and there will be knowledgeable people out there with the patience to try and set you on the right path. In retrospect I regret making jokes in a sub-forum where the golden rule is that you don't get laughed at and apologize to those who replied in earnest.     

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Conrad SPR

[Darko]

Bike looks great man. Congrats.