Originally Posted by
veganbikes
You can upgrade just about anything but you have to consider what your base is and if it is worth upgrades. Generally it is best to buy a bike with the parts you want from the get go as upgrades can get expensive. I would say if the bike has a not really adjustable coil fork and a cheap aluminum frame with Tourney or Altus I probably wouldn't put anything into that bike but maybe if it was Deore or Alivio and a decent enough frame maybe I might consider it. However it should be noted I prefer to build from the frame up, that way I can control what goes on it and while it costs a little more I get what I want without spending extra down the road to upgrade something I am less than excited with.
Yes, I absolutely see your point! Rekmeyata also pointed out that in a lot of cases it makes sense to just save up for a bike you really want instead of upgrading an inferior base.
Starting from the frame up, you have complete control in terms of what goes in. Someone here also mentioned that of course as a singular consumer you don't get the same discounts as a company buying in bulk, so as you say, you end up spending a little more, but you get exactly what you want.
I on one hand lack the experience and knowledge to build a bike from scratch.
On the other hand, I WAS looking for a frame and repurpose some old parts from my heavy city bike to build something that works until I saved up the money to buy a real fancy bike.
Then I stumbled across the TREK Multitrack series and simply fell in love with the frame geometry and hybrid character - it was exactly what I was looking for, the frames are really good quality and the older models were even manufactured in the US. Mine's not quite that old, but still good quality maybe except for some of the built-on parts.
The bike's nature is exactly what I was looking for, it suits my needs perfectly, it's just that technology has progressed over the past 20 years and I feel like some of the old, heavier built-on parts hold the bike back in way, if that makes sense. It has potential to go faster and be better than it is at its current state.
Can it compete with a 10kg all carbon frame gravel bike? No, and I don't need it to do that. I might end up putting more money into it than buying a ready-made bike (though Multitracks are no longer made, so I could get something similar but not this type of hybrid bike), but I will be learning a lot throughout the process about the individual components and how to fix and upgrade things by myself, knowledge that will be useful for the future, and I am also turning this bike into something I really want. Maybe not in a quite as elegant way as you, Veganbikes, and that's ok. I think what you do is awesome, I hope to get to your level eventually, and I'm just a beginner at this stage, but this route was well-selected even if it doesn't look like it from the outside.
Thank you for all your valuable feedback and for inspiring me reflect.