Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
Oh oh! It sounds to me like you've caught the "CBT" (compulsive bike tinkerer) disease.
I recognize the symptoms because I've got it too. There's no known cure and it can be a lot of fun.
Buying a new high end bike certainly won't cure it, the cost of parts to improve it just goes up. I think that you've found perfect bikes for you and your intended use. Have fun with them and post back when you find an issue that you can't figure out how to solve.
Tell me about it. Most of my bikes have been tinkered with at some point. There's one that still has all the factory components but that's because my son doesnt want me to Tim Taylor (Home Improvement reference) his bike. Most have the stock derailers, cranksets, gears and brake arms, but that's about it. Handle bars, headsets, tires, seats, and even rims/hubs have been swapped for either better parts or parts to transform the bike for another purpose. Take my GT Karakorum K2. The frame, crankset and rear gears are about all that's left of the original bike. Went from mountain bike to cargo/commuter bike. Some stuff was done by previous owner but most was done by me. I have boxes of parts in my garage.
People give me old or broken bikes that I either rebuild to give away or strip anything usable from the frame and junk the rest. My wife occasionally gets annoyed when stuff trickles out into the back yard but that only happens when I've got a few projects finished up and havent quite got them out the door. Otherwise, she appreciates the recycle/reuse mentality and knows that I've often helped people out that may not have otherwise been able to get bikes. So yes, I have CBT with a touch or hoarder
