When I bought the burley limbo IK new it had pretty crappy components. That seems the case with bents for the price your paying compared to a road bike. I mean 1500.00 buys a pretty good road bike these days. It may get you a nice bent but it will have cheap components.
So I started to hunt around for good deals. I bought avid single digit 7 brakes and levers. I wanted the most powerful brakes out there. I think that this was not really necessary after I rode the bike awhile. But they were only 50.00 and the cheap ones were hard to tune up. The most important to me was shifting. The bike came with the wrong front derailleur it was for a road bike. So I had to get an mt bike front derailleur. The rear shifting was ok but I always had a problem on one cog the third one. I could almost adjust the problem out but not quite. Well I could not find any good sram shifters in 8 speed. So I finally had to go to 9 speed. So I had to buy shifters a new rd cassette and chains. I got a pretty good deal on the x9 series the shifters (lever type) and x9 rd for 120.00 of course right after I bought them I found them for 99.00 but 120 is still a great price.
I did not have time to change it all out myself and I am waiting on the stand adaptor so I just took it to the shop.
Got it yesterday and test rode it. It takes a little getting used to on the shifting. But man what a huge difference shifting is perfect and very smooth very quiet too. This was well worth the money as the bike is far more enjoyable to ride. Plus my gearing was not quite low enough for the hardest hills I have to go up. If I have my trailer with me it was really not low enough. So I changed the 11 -28 cog set to an 11 -34.
Later I may upgrade the crank set but it is not a big deal. I can see maybe building a new rear wheel and using a smaller rim so I can put a road bike tire on.

When I bought the burley limbo IK new it had pretty crappy components...Later I may upgrade the crank set but it is not a big deal. I can see maybe building a new rear wheel and using a smaller rim so I can put a road bike tire on.

Hi Steve,

I hear ya. I found it funny on Burleys that the bikes come with a mix of good components and shotty components. Like on my 2003 model Canto, they came with a Truvativ Elita crank. It is a really nice crankset. But the derailleur is like an Alivio or something like that.

I switched my shifters to X.9 shifters and got a X.9 derailleur on the back. Very nice stuff. Recently, I redid the X.9 twift shifters to X.9 triggers. Very nice.

I have not replaced the front derailleur yet. But I am eyeballing the new X.9 front derailleur (I am not really a Shimano fan). Also in the works for this next year on projected upgrades are Velocity Deep V rims. I think that I may also look at the Terracycle riser and bars. But who knows.

Hi Steve,
I have not replaced the front derailleur yet. But I am eyeballing the new X.9 front derailleur (I am not really a Shimano fan). Also in the works for this next year on projected upgrades are Velocity Deep V rims. I think that I may also look at the Terracycle riser and bars. But who knows.

I just got the fd the shop reccomended. I Doubt there is too much difference in them as long as it is the right one. it shifts so well with the levers I doubt there can be any improvement.
I had a velocity deep v on my road bike a very nice wheel got their hub too. that ma ybe my next thing to get rid of the 1.5" wide tires. I think they slow me down a fair amount. even with a heavier bike my home hill I coast down it slower on my bent then my road bike.

that ma ybe my next thing to get rid of the 1.5" wide tires. I think they slow me down a fair amount.

I use Continental Sport Contact tires that are 1.125" wide and run at 85psi max. Oddly enough, these are the fastest tires I have used. Better that Schwalbe Marathon, Marathon Slicks or Comets or Kwests.

Plus I am still using the stock Weinmann Zac19 rims.

but they are not kevlar lined are they? I don't want flats on the bent it is such a pain to change them. iwas thinking a new rim and going to 25's or 28's aramadillo's.

I use Continental Sport Contact tires that are 1.125" wide and run at 85psi max. Oddly enough, these are the fastest tires I have used. Better that Schwalbe Marathon, Marathon Slicks or Comets or Kwests.

I had Contis for a while, but got lots of flats due to their light construction. Although you’re right, they are very fast. Afterwards (about two years ago) I switched to Marathons. Now I can't remember my last flat. If you ride on clean terrain, Contis are great. But I ride on lots of glass, so I need more durability. Also, I'm not light, and Marathon sidewalls give me more confidence on fast-n-rough descents:=)

NR

The new Sport Contacts are warranted for a year against flats, IF you also use a Continental tube. That's not a big deal, since Conti tubes cost the same as other tubes. I'd say that Continental, at least, is pretty sure they're durable.

Steve - your comments about upgrading are interesting. I'm currently trying to decide between the EASYRACERS Sport and Sport Limited for purchase next spring. One moment I think the base model would be just fine for a year to 2 and then upgrade things I didn't like (such as the shifters, etc). The next moment I think just go ahead and spend the extra $350 now and get the Limited model (although I'm not real crazy about the shifters on that model either! Good thing I have about 4 months to think about it!

Why not just buy a frame kit (if possible) and get components on e-bay? I've done it that way several times -- you'll get exactly what you want and it might even be cheaper overall.

NR

That's a great idea if you know what you're doing! I wish I had the resources to pull that off. Unfortunately, I'm really uneducated as to what it would take to put together a well-functioning package. I read the posts here and see there are many possiblities to go wrong due to component incompatibility. I'd much prefer to purchase something that functions well (or reasonably well) and tweek on it to improve it.

I could do it now. but not on my first bent. I had to learn about it first. but it's hard finding a bent frame on ebay. I don't think I have even seen one yet.

I had the Sport and upgraded recntly to a TE. Loved the Sport and Never missed a beat shifting. Not that fast but I'm not a racer. Put on Big Apples and the bike floats. Enjoy either one/