The Daily Grind
By Rob Manning

Bust it and upgrade it.

Here at MoutainBikeTales we get a lot of questions about upgrading parts on bikes. “What (insert part here) should I get” is a very common question that we find ourselves mulling over. Sometimes we get lucky, and the asker gives us a choice between two different items, and we can recommend one over the other. Of course, this is not always the case, and open ended questions can be nearly impossible to answer.

Sometimes, we’re able to recommend products based upon what the scant bits of information a rider gives us about their personal riding style, their bike build and their body type. Often, we’re able to recommend things based only upon our previous experiences with products in what we can guess are similar situations, and they can be hit or miss. One sure answer that is never repeated enough is the following: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Think about it. You have a perfectly good bike that functions perfectly well, but somewhere along the line you decided that you wanted some shiny new parts to impress your friends, upgrade your cheaper stuff or change the look of your bike. Most of the time, it’s very difficult to just look at your bike and say “I know what needs upgrading.” The easy way to decide what needs upgrading is to keep saving money, and then replace things as they break. For example, if you’ve got some nice SRAM X.7 shifters that you happen to smash into pieces in a crash, take the opportunity, lay out a few dollars more and jump up to X.9. If you taco a wheel, look into having a good strong wheel built by a bike shop (once you get out of the hospital, that is.) There’s no guesswork in replacing broken parts with newer, better stuff; the decision has been made for you. All you need to do is to pull the trigger.

Something else to think about while perusing catalogs looking for upgrade parts is how you broke the previous parts and what didn’t you like about them. If you wrecked a pair of shifters, pick something with more durable parts, like aluminum paddles and parts. If you didn’t like the way the shifters worked, consider moving to a different kind of shifter. If you busted a brake lever, and hated the curvature of the lever, find something different to replace it. New parts may not always be the answer either. Sure, you can “keep up with the Jones’s” by purchasing the latest and greatest parts, but why bother? Killer deals can be found on last year’s closeouts and on slightly used parts. Parts coming off demo models, last years parts, previous generation parts (if a new generation of some part is now available) and new old stock parts are goldmines. They’ll perform well and keep your wallet pleasingly plump.

Example:
I’ve recently become annoyed with my Mavic Crossmax XL wheels. The freehub sucks (sorry Mavic, but it does) and the proprietary spokes are stupidly expensive and much harder to find than regular J bend spokes. After having to true the wheel a couple of times, rebuild the freehub a couple of times, constantly tighten the bearings on the trail, and having to replace the cartridge bearings more than once, I chose to look for something different. I wanted a set of wheels with standard spokes, a good reliable freehub and reasonable weight. I ended up with a set of XTR 965/Mavic 823 tubeless wheels. With loose bearings, a good freehub and excellent reliability, I’m happy. I’m even happier that the price didn’t break the bank, and even though these wheels aren’t the newest and coolest thing on the market, they’ll serve me for years to come.

So think the next time you see something on the market that makes you just drool. Ask yourself if you really need that part because it’ll make your riding that much better. If you can wait until something breaks, you’ll feel better knowing you didn’t waste a perfectly good part, and you’ll have more money in your pocket for post ride beer. And you never know, something even better might become available in that intervening period.

Questions? Comments? Love letters? Send 'em to Techeditor@mountainbiketales.com.