Originally Posted by MadProphet

OK, I'm new to this whole bike game, but...what if he just wants to upgrade just to upgrade? (You know - GAS - gear acquisition syndrome) In most hobbies, that's a goal of a lot of players. When I had my Harleys - and I'm sure the same is true now - you could go to any HD dealer on any weekend and watch a veritable parade of bike owners in there buying bits of kit just to buy bits of kit. I put more money into my FatBoy than many people make in a year - just cause (at the time) I could. While I'd love to have some of that money back, I don't regret it.

I would like to upgrade my wheels and tires. I wish I could find a simple, concise 'instruction' web page on doing just that. "If this fits, you can use these" or "these are the measurements that matter" so I could look at the specs of my current gear and know what to buy - or what I CAN buy - to replace them.

As far as I know, nothing's wrong with what I have. I have the stock wheels, rims, spokes, hubs and tires. I'd like to replace the tires with something higher pressure and with more deliberate puncture protection, but aside from 700c x 38, I've no idea what I can use. I don't know where/what to measure to know if I can go wider and I'm pretty sure I don't want to go skinnier. I've straight up asked the LBS I got my bike from what tires I could upgrade to. They looked through their catalog and said I should keep these. Several things I've asked about got the same reception. I'm not sure if the bike actually has great gear or if they don't carry good gear. Most businesses are more than happy to replace perfectly good stuff with something 'better' cause they make money! I know my 8.3 doesn't have everything the 8.6 has, so I'm SURE there's some upgrades.

For wheels... honesty, I'd like something that has a bit more 'look' to them, number one. Number two, I'd like something designed to go tubeless, if I can. I'd like choices in that matter. I'd also like, given that I weigh 225-230, something TOUGH but without too much of a weight penalty. On the rear, I'm really considering having one built for an Alfine 11 hub. But I don't know enough to know what to look for in my new setup.

On another note, and beyond the simple GAS reason for upgrades, I'd like a spare wheelset with tires designed purely for street work. I have looked at a group ride coming up in Feb that will be 40 miles and I don't want to do it on my hybrid 60psi semi-knobby tires. I'd like something like a Schwalbe Marathon Plus (great puncture resistance plus higher PSI). No clue, none, zero, what wheels would be best. I don't know, when I read the sites that sell wheels, what will fit on my bike nor what the pieces add or take away from my current setup. I'd like to be able to look at a spec sheet and go, "oh, that will work for" and know the reasons.

I've asked around on forums, but get a lot of the same responses.

Obviously, my opinion is that if you want to upgrade or change something, you should do what your situation and desire allows you to do. At the same time, I hope people with more experience will temper that desire with some common sense, especially if you provide reasoning (outside that of just GAS) that is not well grounded.

. Any pages or sites you guys can point to or any guidelines you can offer would be much appreciated.