Will I be wasting money?

[rmurphy195]

Having just turned 70 a couple of weeks ago, I can see the views given by those who interpret more years as being = more gears! Or at least some nice ow ones when returning after an absence.

About 5 years ago a local pickup driver "presented me with an opportunity" to replace my 25-year old Galaxy.

After looking around at many bikes, and (almost) being sold gravel bikes, and nice carbon-framed bikes, I came to realise a few things that influenced my decision not sure whether ny thoughts were correct on a technical level, but here goes

1) All the bikes I was being shown had gearing that was too high (rule of thumb, at least 2 sprckets that are larger than the smallest chainring)
2) Most of them had an integral mount for the front changer which (I assumed) might limit my ability to have smaller chainring to lower the gearing
3) Most of them had very little tyre clearance
4) Most of them had "trendy" gear setups - widely spaced doubl at the front, 10 or 11 cogs at the back, thin chains which all looked expensive to replace when worn
5) A nice carbon frame might not allow me to put a band-on front changer
6) Common question was "Where are the mudguard/rack mounts?"
7) Will electronic shifters still work in a couple of years without failing due to flat battery or corroded connections

But I did want to upgrade my "tech" as it were

So I deci8ded on a Condor Heritage Disc, fully cable disc brakes, a semi-cheap 8x3 setup (Claris) using a basic square-taper BB, combined brake/gear levers (don't need to bend down any more to the downtube shifters) and plenty of tyre clearance.

Since I had it built I've swopped out the chainset for a nice shiny (well, it was once!) item from Spa, with slightly bigger chainrings, and moved the front changer mount to suit, swopped-out the rear cogs for slightly bigger ones , bolted-on the old rear rack from the Galaxy (disc caliper location doesn't need special rack mounts), put wider, lighter tyres on and a few other tweaks to get it to fit more comfortably.

Overall I feel that the choice of a steel frame and low-level components in some areas at the outset has allowed me more flexibility to tweak things than a super-lightweight carbon jobbie that I'd be afraid of breaking if I messed about with things or tightened up a clamp a bit too far.

So OK its maybe a bit heavier than many bikes, but I can lighten the bike by removing guards/rack, lighte its load by leaving my small change behind and carrying a smaller water bottle, and have lightened myself by about 8 out 9 kg since I bought it (and that last bit cost me nowt!)

I suspect that disc brakes apart, your 531c Orbit would allow some updating of bits, without loads of expense? Or maybe look at an Audax bike or have one built up? (The Spa Audax comes to mind, and the Condor Fratello whhich I was, and still am, tempted by)

Oh, in case the pound note counters were wondering, the original build cost about £1650 plus some bits from the old bike (especially the saddle!), plus about a hundred or so tweaking the gearing and a bit more experimenting with tyres. So somewhere between roubaixtuesdays good value and nice to have (the frameset was the expensive bit!).

[halfpenny]

I happily rode my steel framed Viscount for 35 years - then bought a secondhand full carbon Boardman, and was taken aback, but perhaps not surprised, by the noticeable speed improvement. More importantly, now at 66, I took the Viscount out last week for the first time in four years, and was amazed at how comparatively comfortable and smooth is the Boardman. I could hardly believe what hard work was the Viscount. So there have been improvements over the years.

[Mick F]

............... but what do you want?

Faster and easier, or slower and become fitter?
Is it better to make the ride easy, or better to make it a bit harder and slower putting more effort in?

I spent 1,500miles riding a Raleigh Chopper pulling a trailer with weight in, including a JOGLE on it with a fully loaded trailer.
Concrete block in the back for training value ........... loads of info on that on here!

By the time I'd done all that, I was a fit as a flea. Did a few century rides on Mercian, and flew about over the hills of Devon and Cornwall. I reckon I was the fittest I'd ever been in my life ............. and I was nearly 60 years old by then.

I ride my Moulton more than my Mercian these days, and there's a "loss" of one minute per mile when I ride it as compared to Mercian as it's slow and laborious and heavy. I put the same effort in on any bike. Some are slow, and some are fast. Some go for further for the same effort, and some go less far.

Does it matter?
No, not at all.

[mig]

i would ride the bike you have to a) see if you are going to keep cycling (the weather is unlikely to improve from now on) and b) see if your ideal position has changed over such a long 'off' period.

establish those things then spend the money if you want to.

[willem jongman]

I would ride your current bike for another year or so and then decide what kind of bike you need now that you are older and now that the traffic is denser. My conclusion was not only lower gears but also mudguards and wider tyres for comfort on trails rather than just tarmac. And generator lights. My current loaded tourer has all this and the audax bike that I am hoping to have made will have all that too.

[pwa]

It is hard to say what bike will suit a cyclist I don't know. The things I like may not be the same as the things someone else likes. I have never felt drawn to electronic gears, for example, but other people are really enthused by them. One thing that is worth saying, though, is that when you get to 60 or over you should perhaps be thinking that your ability to feel comfortable in a stretched out or low down position may not last as long as the bike. I would recommend a bike with a conservative riding position and with the potential for raising the bars and bringing them a little nearer in the future, should it be needed.

[Syd]

Ask yourself the following Q’s.

1. Do you want a new bike?
2. Do you want one with all the bells and whistles?
3. Can you afford it without debt or to the detriment of anything else?

If the answers are yes to all then what does it really matter? Buy it and get out and enjoy it.

[francovendee]

Hello, Mrs The Boss Her Indoors has an old Orbit in her stable, and has ridden - at 60 - an end to end on it in the UK, and two 'around and arounds' in France (4000km + each one) during the last two years. Plus, of course, thousands of other miles and kilometres on our daily/weekly/monthly jaunts.


Just get on your bike and ride, and donate the £4000 to me - my wine cellar needs replenishing before the year is out.

Happy days,

Well I suppose she's got to do something while you're out looking for those rich widows.

[kgw2511]

Thanks to everyone who took the trouble to reply.

Some interesting comments for me to think about.

[Bmblbzzz]

For what it is worth, my opinion is that yes, you would be wasting your four grand. The 4Gr bike will not be eight times better than a £ 500 bike. You would just be paying through the nose for a load of marketing ballony. As others have said, it's the "meat engine" that counts. Get yourself 'bike fit' on the Orbit and enjoy the ride. Welcome back!

Get yourself "bike fit", yes, (if you aren't already). And let your riding style develop so that you can be confident what general sort of bike you want. But the arithmetic doesn't apply. Sure, it won't be "eight times as good" (on what measure?) but the £500 bike isn't "five times as good as a £100 bike". It is a lot better and it's up to each of us to decide at what point that multiple ceases to be worth paying. For me personally, it seems to be about £1k but I've no objection if for the OP it's £4k and for you it's £500. We cut our cloth to suit our pocket as well as our patterns.

[NUKe]

Will I be wasting money?
Of course you will.
Should you is a completely different matter of can you really afford it, will make you happy, is it what you want then go for it.

People waste money on so many other things that they will never use to the full potential you only have to look at the cars people buy Off roaders that cost the price of small country , that will never anything more off-road than a gravel drive way. vehicles that break the speed limit in first gear. have a top speed of about 3 times the speed limit.

[Navara]

People waste money on so many other things that they will never use to the full potential you only have to look at the cars people buy Off roaders that cost the price of small country , that will never anything more off-road than a gravel drive way. vehicles that break the speed limit in first gear. have a top speed of about 3 times the speed limit.

4x4 double-cab Pick-up...tick(but my drive is block paving)
Extremely fast motorbike......tick
"Expensive" Carbon and Ti bikes....tick

I don't consider any of them a waste of money as they all give me pleasure.No point earning money if you aren't going to spend it and enjoy it.
Everything could be considered a waste of money if you really thought about it.

[Bmblbzzz]

People waste money on so many other things that they will never use to the full potential you only have to look at the cars people buy Off roaders that cost the price of small country , that will never anything more off-road than a gravel drive way. vehicles that break the speed limit in first gear. have a top speed of about 3 times the speed limit.

4x4 double-cab Pick-up...tick(but my drive is block paving)
Extremely fast motorbike......tick
"Expensive" Carbon and Ti bikes....tick

I don't consider any of them a waste of money as they all give me pleasure.No point earning money if you aren't going to spend it and enjoy it.
Everything could be considered a waste of money if you really thought about it.

I hope one of your expensive carbon and Ti bikes is a "block paving bike".

[Brucey]

I happily rode my steel framed Viscount for 35 years - then bought a secondhand full carbon Boardman, and was taken aback, but perhaps not surprised, by the noticeable speed improvement. More importantly, now at 66, I took the Viscount out last week for the first time in four years, and was amazed at how comparatively comfortable and smooth is the Boardman. I could hardly believe what hard work was the Viscount. So there have been improvements over the years.

I would bet money on three things;

1) that you have much nicer tyres on the Boardman and
2) that the Viscount could do with some additional fettling
3) that the riding position, gearing etc between the two machines isn't identical

IME if these things are attended to, there is a very small -often unmeasurably so- difference in average speed between a typical steel-framed road bike from 40 years ago and a modern one.

In relation to the OPs 'waste of money', it all depends on your priorities. Said a one-time millionaire, now on skid row; "I spent an awful lot of money on wine, women and song (*); the rest I just wasted"

(*) you can use almost anything in place of the wine, women and song.

If the question is anything to do with whether spending X on a new bike is a cost-effective thing to do as a functional bicycle then you are more likely to get a meaningful answer.

cheers

[NUKe]

People waste money on so many other things that they will never use to the full potential you only have to look at the cars people buy Off roaders that cost the price of small country , that will never anything more off-road than a gravel drive way. vehicles that break the speed limit in first gear. have a top speed of about 3 times the speed limit.

4x4 double-cab Pick-up...tick(but my drive is block paving)
Extremely fast motorbike......tick
"Expensive" Carbon and Ti bikes....tick

I don't consider any of them a waste of money as they all give me pleasure.No point earning money if you aren't going to spend it and enjoy it.

I am not disagreeing just pointing out that if that's the OP Wants to spend his money on its his choice. Cars/motorbike are a good example where people are prepared to pay more than they need, just to be able to say it can do rather than use it for . Your exactly right though its your choice how you spend your money,
.