heymatthew

Hey guys,
I'm currently riding a Masi Uno after several years of being on geared bikes. I love the Masi, but I'm noticing that I'm starting to replace parts with better components as I get more into riding again. Along with this, I'm also interested in upgrading to a new frame at some point.

Anyway... Is there any reason for me to NOT upgrade my current bike and then replace the frame later? I could always just buy a component at a time until I have enough for a complete bike and then just sell off my old bike and build the new one, but I figure since I'm wanting to upgrade my Masi, that I could use the parts until I figure out which frame I'll end up with.

Thoughts?

ThimbleSmash

The biggest parts of doing that is making your all your parts for the new frame fit properly. While a lot of things have become borderline universal in size you may encounter some size differences here and there which will start limiting options since you have to play off the old frame a bit depending on what you upgrade.

heymatthew

That's kind of what I was thinking. I'm fairly sure the Masi has pretty "universal" fit, but I would just have to make sure that whatever I'm moving to will accept the same parts. I'm pretty set on a Wabi frame, so I should probably just do a little more research and see if everything is compatible and build from there.

I'm also wondering if I'll need to worry about putting "used" parts on a new frame. Wasn't sure if that was a bad idea or not. I know people buy frames all the time, but most of what I see here are complete builds. I rarely see people putting used parts on a new frame so I wasn't sure if there was some reason for that.

ThimbleSmash

Make sure those specs match up, it stinks to buy something that doesn't fit on a build.

I don't see a problem with using old parts on a new frame, as long as the parts aren't all buggered up. I feel most people like a whole fresh start when it comes to a build, nothing like opening the packaging of new components knowing everything is at its finest.

heymatthew

Makes a lot of sense... Maybe I'll just ride my bike as-is and buy my new parts and leave them all shiny and new until I'm ready to put them on my frame. I'd hate to buy a nice new crank and then have it get mucked up before I get a chance to put it on my new frame or whatever.

Good advice. Thanks a million!

Juan Foote

The cool part about going to a frame later is that you can go full on, or semi-custom based on a modern or classic build according to your current parts requirements. Pretty much all of the frame houses (at least for road) make new frames for either type of build.

MNTC

Is your budget a concern? If so, I would go with a Wabi complete rather than a piecemeal build from a frame for cost efficiency. This would also mean you could keep your Masi intact as a back-up/beater rather than cannibalizing its parts when you finally do pick up the frame.

heymatthew

Budget is a concern, which is why I was hoping to do it a little at a time. I figured that way, I could get the parts I really want, even if I'm just buying one thing a month and when I'm done, I'll have a complete bike that utilizes all of the components I really want. At that point, I'd probably just sell whatever's left over of the Masi.

Although now that I'm typing it out, it makes less sense to do it that way as selling a used, mass-produced frame should be about as easy as selling used toilet paper. LOL!

But yes, budget is a concern. Although I have to admit, I've not looked at the Wabi completes yet.

Thanks for your input. It's greatly appreciated.

Wspsux

I was debating the same issue before starting my current project. I decided to go Frame first and buy parts for it as my budget allows. Aside from parts porting over from one bike to another (wasnt much of a concern) my reasoning was aesthetics. What looks nice on your masi may look like dog doo-doo on whatever frame you chose next. I'd rather select my parts based on my frame color/styling than to select a frame based on the theme of my parts.

However this means I'm forced to ride my Felt until my AC BB is done. I'm about 50% done and I'm pleased with my selections so far but I don't want to ride it until its perfect!

heymatthew

More great advice. I can't be ridin' no ugly bike!

Seriously though, I'm really thinking I'll be better of picking out what I want and then buying the stuff to do the build without porting parts over and what not.