Never-ending upgrade

[ricardinho]

Why is it I can never just be happy with what I have? I have posted before on the N+1...but for the 1...I feel like there is a constant need to upgrade.

In 1 year for my primary bike (I only have 2)...I went from Sram Red to Ultegra Di2 to etap all when sram red was perfectly fine. I am not faster, I don't enjoy it that much more.

Anyone else like this?

[mktng]

yep. i was in that boat.
then i bought a house and had 2 kids.

they helped me curb the spending :)

[zap]

Used too.

After a while (and many $$$$) you know what you like and what works so you stick with it.

Bicycle geo, frame that rides just so, not too fat road tires, saddle, assos bibs, sidi shoes, campy, campy wheels, hbar/stem with just right stiffness, etc., etc.

PS, SRAM Red was never perfectly fine.

[R3awak3n]

I always like having a project, or I get bored. So I will sell something, or buy something or upgrade something or tinker with something. This stuff is a hobby so it will be never ending but I am ok with it.

[dgauthier]

Even the most modest cycling equipment is much, much better than I am.

[Clean39T]

I always like having a project, or I get bored. So I will sell something, or buy something or upgrade something or tinker with something. This stuff is a hobby so it will be never ending but I am ok with it.Same. I don't try new stuff to get faster, just to have fun..

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Mzilliox]

some people are just into riding bikes and dont care at all about the bike itself. some of us know the bike to be what it is, a magnificent machine capable of wonders, and we love the machines themselves, and need to try different machines to get to know their personalities too.

i like riding bikes a lot, but at the end of the day, i really really like the bicycle too!

[berserk87]

Why is it I can never just be happy with what I have? I have posted before on the N+1...but for the 1...I feel like there is a constant need to upgrade.

In 1 year for my primary bike (I only have 2)...I went from Sram Red to Ultegra Di2 to etap all when sram red was perfectly fine. I am not faster, I don't enjoy it that much more.

Anyone else like this?

Dissatisfaction drives our economy. Look at it that way.

I'm one of those folks who has become "just into riding bikes", which makes it sound like a very minimalized segment of cycling. There is no magic in the bike but what you interject when riding it.

[Clean39T]

some people are just into riding bikes and dont care at all about the bike itself. some of us know the bike to be what it is, a magnificent machine capable of wonders, and we love the machines themselves, and need to try different machines to get to know their personalities too.



i like riding bikes a lot, but at the end of the day, i really really like the bicycle too![emoji481]

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[distanc3]

yep. i was in that boat.
then i bought a house and had 2 kids.

they helped me curb the spending :)

so true.

[El Chaba]

I have a pretty intense interest in the equipment, but I also have come to the conclusion that the development of the road bicycle reached its peak about 2005 give or take a few years. Since then most of the developments have been driven by the necessity for new far more than the interest in better. Along the way there have been huge losses in the areas of aesthetics, and serviceability....and to some extent durability.

[gdw]

QUOTE=berserk87;2555794]Dissatisfaction drives our economy. Look at it that way.

I'm one of those folks who has become "just into riding bikes", which makes it sound like a very minimalized segment of cycling. There is no magic in the bike but what you interject when riding it.[/QUOTE]

+1. The equipment side of cycling is of little interest to me. Modern components have worked great since Shimano introduced Hyperglide cassettes, pinned and ramped chainrings, and v brakes. I enjoy reading or hearing about other peoples adventures and seeing the pictures of the areas they explore but am not interested in the bicycles and components they used.

[Ken Robb]

Certainly SOME of the upgrading is done to engender positive comments at the coffee shop. :)

[Clean39T]

Certainly SOME of the upgrading is done to engender positive comments at the coffee shop. :)Or the Paceline Galleria... And/or Instagram

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[kppolich]

Why is it I can never just be happy with what I have? I have posted before on the N+1...but for the 1...I feel like there is a constant need to upgrade.

In 1 year for my primary bike (I only have 2)...I went from Sram Red to Ultegra Di2 to etap all when sram red was perfectly fine. I am not faster, I don't enjoy it that much more.

Anyone else like this?

I too have gone through this. I curbed it by building the bike maxed out the first time around and have been riding more knowing that it can't get any nicer for my taste within reason.

More time riding, less time upgrading. Eventually I'll get bored, sell something and start all over again. Over time I have noticed a pattern of where I eventually end up on all bikes. Now I just skip right to that step and build it that way the first time around. Less trips to the shop and more time riding.

[bigbill]

I've only bought a few frames new, and of those, the recent Coconinos, a Gunnar Crosshairs, and an Eddy Merckx are the only ones I still have. All the other bikes have been purchased used from this and the other forum classifieds. A ten year old Serotta is still better than most new frames. My mileage bike these days is a Lynskey with Ultegra 8000 that I got used from JeffN. I've been riding for 3+ decades, I know what I want and know the value I can get from the used market.

The recent Coconino MTB has the latest tech like boost, a great Fox fork, and nice wheels. Other than adding a dropper, it's all maxed out. Riding out in the desert on the rocky trails has made me think about a full squish, but if I get one it won't be new. Some other guy my size will get the upgrade bug and I'll buy his old one.

[shoota]

PS, SRAM Red was never perfectly fine.

Been perfectly fine for me

[Jeff N.]

I always like having a project, or I get bored. So I will sell something, or buy something or upgrade something or tinker with something. This stuff is a hobby so it will be never ending but I am ok with it.Yep!

[zmalwo]

Don't blame ya. Companies nowadays hires from visual artists to psychologist to try to maximize the advertisement effect on you rather than the old days of if you want to buy something u gotta bring your ass to the stores and once you leave the stores you go back to whatever you were doing. Nowadays you can sit in front of your computer and browse all day everyday making self control very hard.

[makoti]

Because parts are (usually) cheaper than an entire bike and can give the same thrill. Do you NEED the upgrade? Not likely. But not many NEED a bike, either.

[mhespenheide]

Yes, absolutely. As others have pointed out, it's a combination of enjoying the machines themselves, neuroses brought on by widespread advertising, and liking projects.

But I'm trying to focus more on the rides and less on the bikes. It's working, to some extent. But man, I had to talk myself down from that Seven Ondata on the Bend CL as I was driving through there the other day... :help:

[pinoymamba]

in the photography world we call it gear acquisition syndrome...

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/OrangeAdorableAsiaticgreaterfreshwaterclam-size_restricted.gif

[axel23]

C'mon already... So much fun to make one more little tweak, one more vague improvement, one more upgrade. And I've convinced myself I'm so much faster because of it!:banana:

[Andy sti]

You don't have to do it to make you faster. I do it because it's fun. I ride a fair amount and this is my main hobby. I enjoy tinkering with my bikes.

[weisan]

It's all within our control.

If you like it, do it. If you don't, don't do it.

You may like it now but after a while, if you find that it's getting old, then just stop, no pressure.

Give yourself the permission to do what you like. Biking is supposed to be fun and uplifting, not tired and demoralizing.

Everyone is different.

Know thyself.

[Gummee]

I always like having a project, or I get bored. So I will sell something, or buy something or upgrade something or tinker with something. This stuff is a hobby so it will be never ending but I am ok with it.This

...and the hunt. I enjoy the hunt for the right parts at the right price more than I actually enjoy owning said widget.

M

[oldpotatoe]

I have a pretty intense interest in the equipment, but I also have come to the conclusion that the development of the road bicycle reached its peak about 2005 give or take a few years. Since then most of the developments have been driven by the necessity for new far more than the interest in better. Along the way there have been huge losses in the areas of aesthetics, and serviceability....and to some extent durability.

I agree but think the pinnacle was about 1985-1988..clipless pedals, index/'click' shifting, lever mounted shifting(road and MTB)...

[madsciencenow]

You don't have to do it to make you faster. I do it because it's fun. I ride a fair amount and this is my main hobby. I enjoy tinkering with my bikes.

...this plus I need the mental release from work to retain my sanity.

[soulspinner]

That's why you are here:bike:

[Ronsonic]

I really can't upgrade now. My main bikes are totally freaking dialed.

I'm looking for a frame that inspires another build. Nowhere else to go,.

[BRad704]

This



...and the hunt. I enjoy the hunt for the right parts at the right price more than I actually enjoy owning said widget.



M



This is where I'm at too. Buying the best deal on whatever parts I THINK I need for the next project. And I probably enjoy tinkering more than riding lately.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Tabl10s]

I've always been tweaky from when I had my guitar modded at age 15. Anything I own has to be of equal quality and I always have more than one. My bikes have the same stem, crankset, pedals, brakes, bars(except for one).

The last bike is being built and I will be done.

[Hellgate]

I'm forever tweaking stuff, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, the house etc.

The problem I have is I see an issue, or a way to improve something and it will bug me until I do it!

I've gone a far as melding the bottom half of one motorcycle motor to the upper half of a later generation of the same bike.

It's a sickness...https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190622/45d95553b5c954df05f8b048d5e130d4.jpg

[john903]

Whoa, that is amazing. So tell us more I am interested in the build. Did the bike start out as a XV920R/TR1 and you went from there?
Thanks and have fun.

[Andy340]

My latest ‘upgrade’ exemplifies the utility to me of many of my new purchases. I finally tracked down a limited edition bell to match color of headset - just makes me happier to ride bike (or look at bike) without any improvement in actual riding.

[BRad704]

Related thought, I just yesterday pulled the trigger on ordering a brand new bike through my LBS, then bought some extra wheels (disc cx) from a friend for the pending new bike. Now my bike fund is $0.00 but I'm still opening this site to look at Classified several times today. The compulsion is real.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Hellgate]

Whoa, that is amazing. So tell us more I am interested in the build. Did the bike start out as a XV920R/TR1 and you went from there?

Thanks and have fun.Here ya go. XV920R. It's a continual project. 1064cc, Web cams, JE pistons, ported, on and on. [emoji3]

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eapriliaforum%2Ec om%2Fforums%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D259391&share_tid=259391&share_fid=114330&share_type=t

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Clean39T]

My latest ‘upgrade’ exemplifies the utility to me of many of my new purchases. I finally tracked down a limited edition bell to match color of headset - just makes me happier to ride bike (or look at bike) without any improvement in actual riding.Love it.

Completely rational, IMHO.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[parris]

I'm always looking for something a little "better" when it comes to components, wheels, etc. I'm happy with the frame sets so it's the parts that get swapped around and such. It was MUCH worse when I was into competition shooting. That was a rabbit hole and a half!

In the end I'm a bike nerd and enjoy all aspects of the hobby.

[merckxman]

I have been interested in how different materials ride and have one of each, and also even the difference in all steel bikes (all the bikes are road bikes). Haven't had a new project in some years so was looking for something really different and found the Dekerf in the classifieds here with the segmented seatstays and segmented (straight) fork, and fillet brazing of frame. Definitely different. Now patiently collecting one or two more parts for the build, should be ready in September.