Introductions - new member - poor collage kid who rides a bike

hello all - as the title says i am a poor collage kid who rides a bike. its an old 10speed and its my only set of wheels right now (no car). as i ride over 100 miles a week too and from the store, school, church and where ever else i need to go i would really like to upgrade some of it. i am in good enough shape from running cross country that i could really use a few higher gears. i would like to add a new larger set of handle bars and a set of those shifter/brake combos. shifters that i currently have are the old school levers that are attached to the handlebar stem and they require that i sit up and take a hand off of the bars to shift(not much fun when riding in traffic). last but not least i really like to be able to stop when ever i want too, my old brakes are rather weak and despite my best attempts they either drag or have too little friction. i am here in hopes that all of you can give me some good advice on upgradeing the old 10speed.

-ben

Collage:

An artistic composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface, often with unifying lines and color.
A work, such as a literary piece, composed of both borrowed and original material.
The art of creating such compositions.
An assemblage of diverse elements: a collage of conflicting memories.

Sorry, just had to say it...

haha - yeah my spelling isnt the hotest and it gets worse when i type fast

-ben

Get new pads for your brakes, learn to adjust them. I only have a 7 speed bike you lucky collage kid....alla breaks.

Also nice light rim\ wheelsets really help the ride regardless of speeds. 10 be fine by me. You have a nice fat chain.

If it's an old bike, it probably has horizontal rear dropouts, which makes it a perfect candidate for conversion to fixed gear-one speed, no shifting, sounds like a step backwards, but, no,try it. If you're like many of us, you'll never want to go back to multiple gears. Checkout the Old Skool fixed gear site for lots of information about fixed gears. Also, go to Sheldon Brown's fixed gear commentary on the Harris Cyclery site. Sheldon will give you to real step by step, why and how. I ride fixed 100+ miles a week in Vermont, which is not the ideal location as it is so hilly here (I haven't seen another fixie up here). But I'm 53 and, if I can do it, well...you really ought to look into it. You might surprise yourself and save thousands of dollars not spent on one of those fancy schmancy road bikes.
P.S.
If you do get new shifters, go with Campy. You won't be disappointed, though they might be worth more than your frame.
Frankie Fixedundefined

Seems to me like you want to drop quite a bit into an old bike. If you start talking about drivetrains, brakes, shifters, etc., you're now talking about enough to cover an entry level brand new road bike.

Take for instance the Specialized Sirrus (http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=9354&JServSessionIdroot=ae9ldjyn5m.j27004), which ranges around $500 for a 2005 (and I've seen 2004's for as low as $400)... In other words you might do better saving your pennies and making a move all at once than upgrading an older bike. More bang for your buck in the long run.

Look for a used 12 year old bike with freehub rear wheel, it will cost less than upgrading the 10 speed. Other components will be similarly improved. Downtube shifters are fine if you ride on the drops as you dont need to change body position to shift.

I f you really wre a collage kid rain would be disastrous and forget about a shower, You'd go to pieces. I have a couple of 7 speeds and if the gears are well chosen that should be enough .You probably would be better off getting a better used bike at a garage sale or goodwill than updating.

i have done my homework on the parts i would like to add - and you are correct new parts would cost far more than what i could buy a new bike for but i have looked on ebay an found almost all of the things i would like for 90% off of the new price

- ill look into the one speed thing

-ben

I would push for the fixey, It's the best, I have found myself blowing past people with too many speeds. I recently found a centurion sport deluxe in the dumpster, thats gonna be my new ten speed. It need serious work as well.

i dont know about your "fixey" i really like to change gears - 3 gears would be all i really need - my Dad has an old 3speed with the planitary gear setup - the guts are kinda neat but here in klamath i have so many uphill and down hill rides that i think i would have a hard time with only one gear

- what gear ratio do you run if you go fixed ?

-ben