Cheap upgrades to a cheap bike

[AJB88]

Hi all,

First time venturing into this part of Pistonheads!

I bought a cheap £120 bike from Tesco Direct a few years ago used it for about 2 days, the handlebars kept coming loose etc so Tesco agreed to replace it, they sent me a new one, I left that one in the box for about 2 years, fast forward to lockdown finally got it out of the box, put it together and have been using it to go for a "ride" after day/night shifts, approx 8 miles a day, racked up about 250 miles so far.

The easiest thing would of been to have sent it back when they delivered it but I didn't so stuck with it now.

Any way wondered if somebody could suggest any cheapish upgrades I can fit to it? Thinking pedals? new seat? Anything else?











It's a "Vertigo K2" although I have de-stickered it.

Mate of mine just got a Rockrider ST100 from Decathlon, bright yellow coloured, feels a lot better put together.

I'm mainly using it for a 8 mile return journey from my house, round 2 lakes and back so just bumpy paths and tarmac really.

Edited by AJB88 on Friday 5th June 07:18

[Simes205]

Dare I say by the time you’ve upgraded bits you’d be better off buying a more expensive bike.

Modifications are a personal thing and can get out of hand! Have a look through this thread.....

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Firstly remove the reflectors!

[AJB88]

Simes205 said:

Dare I say by the time you’ve upgraded bits you’d be better off buying a more expensive bike.

I knew that would be the first response, trying to get hold of a bike at the moment is hard though! and as I don't use them for mad adventures etc not looking to spend ££££.

Yeh the reflectors are coming off! for some reason though I had taken them off already, first thing I did was remove the bell.

Edited by AJB88 on Friday 5th June 08:34

[SwissJonese]

Current lack of bikes in the UK and high demand mean you could probably sell for 300% profit.

However if you want to upgrade, I would probably get:
£10 - Change awful gripshift to normal Shimano quick shift (finger click)
£30 - A pair of hydraulic brake set (cable disc brakes are awful) (ebay)
£35 - Possibly remove the front triple crank to single one, save complexity.

[dontlookdown]

What Simes said is definitely the 'right' answer. If a little boring;). But all bikes benefit from better pedals, 30 quid on a pair of decent replacements for the plastic ones they all come with wouldn't hurt.

And then when you do realise it's time for a better bike, you can take the pedals with you.

Unless it's properly uncomfortable I would leave the saddle alone. Easy to spend far too much searching for the perfect fit.

[anonymous-user]

Try changing the tyres, they will be horrid plasticky rubber things, look for something with lower rolling resistance, it may be a more pleasant ride. It’s a 26” and Halfords do a slick hybrid tyre for £12.

Good point made above though, you could sell it for a reasonable price at the moment and see what else takes your fancy. Look for something without the heavy, inefficient suspension forks.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 5th June 08:17

[dcb]

SwissJonese said:

Current lack of bikes in the UK and high demand mean you could probably sell for 300% profit.

However if you want to upgrade, I would probably get:
£10 - Change awful gripshift to normal Shimano quick shift (finger click)
£30 - A pair of hydraulic brake set (cable disc brakes are awful) (ebay)
£35 - Possibly remove the front triple crank to single one, save complexity.

If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

I'd run it and when stuff breaks, which it will at this price level because its
got cheapest everything, suggest replace with better components. Then you
will have a better bike.

For example, Shimano Tourney is their cheapest derailleur and IMHO won't last
long. About £8 IIRC last time I bought one. Shimano Altura slightly better, maybe
their second cheapest derailleur.

[AJB88]

SwissJonese said:

Current lack of bikes in the UK and high demand mean you could probably sell for 300% profit.

However if you want to upgrade, I would probably get:
£10 - Change awful gripshift to normal Shimano quick shift (finger click)
£30 - A pair of hydraulic brake set (cable disc brakes are awful) (ebay)
£35 - Possibly remove the front triple crank to single one, save complexity.

Any links to any of the stuff above, might be easy for people in the know but its a mine field at the moment for me!

Thinking of ditching the current saddle for a Charge Spoon. I currently run the original saddle with a gel pad over it.

[fiju]

I wouldn't bother. Go straight to buying a new one when this wears out.

But if you must:
- hydraulic brakes
- 1x10 drive


Leave it at that. 26" is an old standard that's now obsolete. A new frame will be 27.5 or 29 and have different geometry and the the components aren't likely to swap over due to differing standards as well.

[S6PNJ]

AJB88 said:

Yeh the reflectors are coming off! for some reason though I had taken them off already, first thing I did was remove the bell.

Why? What's wrong with having something that helps you to be seen by cars and motor bikes and also for something that allows you to warn other nearby people of your presence? I 'retro' fitted a bell to my mountain bike when I was cycling along non-roadway tracks just to alert pedestrians walking in the same direction as me (ie with their back to me), to my presence before I got to them so it wasn't a shock as I blasted cycled by slowly.

Edited by S6PNJ on Friday 5th June 08:52

[AJB88]

S6PNJ said:

Why? What's wrong with having something that helps you to be seen buy cars and motor bikes and also for something that allows you to warn other nearby people of your presence? I 'retro' fitted a bell to my mountain bike when I was cycling along non-roadway tracks just to alert pedestrians walking in the same direction as me (ie with their back to me), to my presence before I got to them so it wasn't a shock as I blasted cycled by slowly.

it was plastic and broken! real chip thing, the kind of thing you flick it and it misses the bell completely.

Might go for an old school horn.

[AJB88]

I've removed the reflectors and purchased the following;

Universal phone holder, I usually ride with phone in pocket.
Selle Italia gel seat, wonder if this will be better than the Vertigo seat that it came with.

Cant decide what cheap pedals to go for, looking on Amazon Prime for quick delivery.

[Howaboutthis]

How about some lights? Cheap or not, you could always transfer them to another bike.

[Barchettaman]

I wouldn´t bother swapping out the GripShifts.

Saddle - you´ve done that.

I´m not a fan of those standard round grips. I much prefer one with an ´ergo´ shape on a flat bar. Should be a tenner a pair.

Make sure it´s well oiled and brakes/drivetrain are nicely ´dialed in´.

Stick on a pair of better tyres (optional).

Then ride it until falls apart.

[AJB88]

I've just realised I qualify for cycle2work scheme through my employer as well.. we have a Giant store in my small town which is listed.


Might enquire about that going forwards if I can get more into this.

[Simes205]

AJB88 said:

I've just realised I qualify for cycle2work scheme through my employer as well.. we have a Giant store in my small town which is listed.


Might enquire about that going forwards if I can get more into this.

The world is your oyster, lots of dealers do C2w

[AJB88]

So the saddle turned up, fitted and been out on s 8 mile ride, seems good, definitely better than the stock one!






Phone holder on the other hand was a let down, didn't hold my phone at all and kept pressing the volume buttons. Requested a refund and ordered another one.

[deeen]

The saddle looks low? Setting it the correct height for you will feel odd at first, but pay dividends when you get used to it. Also looking at those tyres, that would be my first "paid" upgrade, the smoother hybrid tyres mentioned above will feel better on everything except deep mud.

[AJB88]

By low do you mean the angle or actual height? if actual height I'm a shortarse (5ft 8) but have a longer upperbody than legs haha.

These the tyres everybody has mentioned?
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/bike-t...

99% of my riding will be the red ways of Milton Keynes so very little need for deep mud grip hopefully.

[Simes205]

And / or read up on the park tool website.