When do you know its time for a new bike?
 

Hello everyone - the subject pretty much says it all but there is a secondary question associated with it.

I started riding in 2013 - I saw a bike at a local shop that was expensive (to me at the time) but aesthetically, this was the bike I wanted. So I made a deal with myself, I got a single speed and told myself that if I ride this bike consistently for 3 months, I could go and get that expensive bike. I got to the point where I could ride that single speed 20-25 miles, 3-4 times a week within 2 months and that's when I said, time to get that bike.

So I got it - my Felt Z4 size 56, 10-speed. At the time, I had zero other cycling friends and knew zero about how to use gears, clipping in, how to be fitted - nothing. I just liked the looks of that bike. So I got the bike, didn't get fitted even though the bike shop was offering - put on regular pedals, adjusted the seat to the height I was comfortable with and rode it for 37 miles on its maiden voyage. The thing is, I am only 5'8" and have been told several times that the bike (56cm) is a little to big.

About a year later - I went back and got fitted on the advice of a buddy of mine who had been riding for several years. The shop even remembered me and honored their free fitting that they offered the first time. For the most part I've been doing okay with the fit. Its been 6 years and 4000 miles now, I'm usually a 25-35 mile/3-5 times a week at 15-15.5 mph (I'm old and slow) and I've been wondering - is it time for a new bike that is the right size (and fitted better)?

Thoughts? And when do you guys justify its time for your new bike?

If you can afford it get a new more modern bike. Now the hard part. Which one/type. :50:

More modern than 2013? LOL

You have ridden plenty, go get a nice, shiny , fitted bike!!! Everyone deserves a nice bike!

It would be time for a new bike if someone offered me that Felt. ;)

I think you're ready. You've proved to yourself that you'll get several years of use out of a nice bike, and that you know what improvements you want.

My only advice is, sounds like your Felt is at the limit of adjustment. I'd suggest choosing a bike that not only fits better, but can be adjusted beyond what you need right now, i.e., without having to max out any of the adjustments. Also, bring a yardstick with you to the bike shop and make sure you believe that the new bike's geometry is really different than the old.

It’s always time for a new bike.

A few people in the shops here where I live have been pushing a gravel bike - they've become the new rage these days - but I have zero interest in riding dirt - I even sold my MTB cos I got tired of cleaning it. Mostly I just like riding on the street or the W&OD (which is close to where I live)

I've been looking at the Specialized Roubaix Sport. I like the Tarmac Comp also - but I have zero aspirations to race.

There are points on a bike that represent 'proper fit', and 'proper fit' is not an absolute single solution. It is such that the points' dimensions have a tolerance that accommodates your chosen riding style.

What is in between those points is almost immaterial (beyond it being a Huffy). I fitted my bike in 1974. The major component, the frame, is still there, but the gruppo has changed several times.

If your bike fits well, is comfortable, and you can ride well, and you are happy with your riding, you don't need a new bike. You may need a new bike if you want to change your riding, say from long, comfortable, moderately paced rides to a more intense and faster-paced riding experience.

The most important criteria are that life is too short to ride a ****ty bike. If you want a new bike and have the means, do it. Don't hesitate. Be happy. No matter your age, the window is closing. You cannot put off having the bike you want for your next life if you catch my drift.

You say you are old; I'm pretty sure I have a Lambertini jersey that is older than you are. Perspective.

it's the rider not the bike

Get yourself a proper sized bike. You deserve it!

tubeless tires
disc brakes
12 speed

All since 2013

Perhaps the question to answer is if you got a new bike what you do that's different from your current bike? is it just a matter fit or are you looking for a different type of bike as well. If the new bike won't be much different than your current bike perhaps it's not worth spending the cash.
Funds and upgrades are the determining factor for me so I still have my older bikes for now.

Get your posts up to 10 and show the pics. Then we can see if it fits.
A smaller bike will not help as you are getting older. More likely to be riding more upright.
That is what's happening to me. I have always had big steel bikes with comfort bars.
4,000 miles isn't enough to wear much out. Maybe wider tires could be desirable.
Nothing wrong with getting a stem 10 mm shorter or maybe just turning the stem upside down to get height.

When the bikes you pass at the street for garbage are better than the one your riding.

I bought a new bike because no matter what I did couldn't get comfortable on my old mountain bike.
When I put it out for garbage with a "Free" sign on it it took several days to get picked up. Probably for scap steel.

“When do you know its time for a new bike?”


When my wife says so.

6 years? I'd have changed that bike in the first 6 months or at least got some test rides on frames that were more my size to validate my thoughts.

Just a bike. If you like it and it fits, keep it otherwise sell it. It'll be worth whatever the market wants to pay for it.

When you need something different.

It's not even broken in, and you can get a professional fit with video on the same bike.

A 56 probably isn't far off for you, and may be preferable to a 54 due to the taller head tube.

I bought one when I got my first decent paying job in 1997.

In the last 10 years I put 35,000 miles on it. I put a fair number of miles on it before that, but don't know how many because I eschewed computers for over a decade after my purple Avocet broke.

I upgraded to 10 cogs after wearing out my shifters then being unable to buy small parts, added a power meter rear wheel to train with, and installed dynamo lighting so I could ride hours after dark or before sunrise. I also got a professional fit with shallower drop bars and a slightly higher position than I rode 20 years ago when I noticed some knee pain.

Launched by Mavic, Michelin, and Hutchinson in 1999, the tubeless UST rim and tire system has been used by World Cup racers and weekend riders alike for many years

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fe87df2543.jpg

I'll give you they added a cog to the cassette, not that 10 or 11 isn't "modern"

My newest is 1991, I’m good, for awhile.
Tim

Actually, both my bikes and cars go for 12 to 15 years.
The husband of a workmate used to sell/ trade off used cars every year. Said he could break even or sometimes make a profit. But this was 30 years ago. Can't be the same now.
Must have been a good talker.

What did the guys who did the fitting say? How do you feel when you are riding? 3 to 5 times/week 2 hours a day is a lot of riding. How do you feel after you ride? If the answer is, you feel fine, then no, there is no need to make any changes.

When were tubeless and disc brakes available on commercially sold bike from major manufacturers?

When i was looking for a bile in 2011 I don't remember seeing and with those options.

My 2002 hybrid had disc brakes, with modern form.
I have seen a bike with that very first disc brake. What a pile of metal that was. Must have come out in the 1980s.
Sew up tires came out way before that. I wouldn't want them or tubeless. Way too goofy for me.
Yah, they probably haven't come out together.

when my wife says so.
😃

Test ride them all. Some of the so called gravel bikes like the Trek Checkpoint have spots for adding racks and fenders. Good for rainy days commuting or trips. They accept wider tires for rougher rail trails like the C&O Canal near you or the Creeper Trail in SW Va.

Why clean a mountain bike. It’ll just get dirty again. That’s what there for. :lol: