So I have built this out to be my ‘road’ bike. Since starting this build , I have moved from a pretty flat place to a very hilly area and find myself desiring to ride faster/more fitness minded. Right now this build has the og 3×7, works great, but rolls slllooowwww. I don’t like having bikes just for the sake of bikes and prefer multipurpose builds. My question is, should I update the groupset, go more modern or keep this as is and buy a more road focused bike? Thanks
by 99877787
7 Comments
Do you like this bike? It seems like it, because you have obviously spent time, effort, and energy building that old ‘goose. So if you have the space and financial resources to make it work, I think buying a second bike for the purposes you describe is really reasonable.
I feel similarly about practicality, and I go through this dilemma about twice a year. My general feeling is that, in my life, I need three bikes: rain commute, sun commute/party, and pickup truck.
Rain commute is alloy, big tires, big fenders, disc brakes, medium ratios, front platform rack.
Sun commute/party is often steel (but sometimes alloy), medium slick tires, weight saving components, higher ratios, somewhat aerodynamic.
Pickup truck should be self-explanatory, as much carrying capacity as possible, Bob Yak, maneuverable, comfortable, lots of gear ratios, etc.
Of course then I have a bunch of impractical road, gravel, and project bikes which I have n plus one’d and should probably get rid of.
Old 26ers are never going to be that fast, and updating the group set/getting light wheels will only make it marginally faster.
If your main goal is to get something that is fast, I would get a road bike specific bike or do a restomod on an old road bike that can fit 32-38mm tires.
Sick build though
If you want to be faster on the roads, the obvious place to start would be narrower/smoother tires. Those big ol’ Gravel Kings have quite a bit of rolling resistance.
How do you like those Blue Lug grips?
Upvote for the last pic
“Don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades.”
Maybe it’s the engine, not the bike.
> should I update the groupset
In my case, about the nearest current-day equivalent to older groupsets is Tourney, but that’s the budget side of the Shimano family, which leaves the LTWoo A2 (which does 3×7) as a viable sturdy alternative.
> go more modern
I’ll shoot for any Hollowtech crank with triple rings (you can play with 1x or 3x and experiment with different ring sizes) and BB set, which makes it less of a maintenance and chainline headache than a square pin.