Originally Posted by
RetroActivePay
My main concern with not upgrading is I've read unfavorable reviews of the stock parts. Is there any truth to this? I don't want to spend the money to fix something I'm going to want to replace.
Well -- you aren't really spending money on replacing anything. You're basically replacing all of the "wear" parts that need replacing anyway (tires, tubes, chain, brake pads, etc.). Everything else you are just cleaning up and putting back on the bike.
The only money you are possibly "wasting" is the money to have the hubs on the wheels overhauled and putting new 27-inch tires on -- and that's only wasted if the wheels are junk or you immediately upgrade the wheels to 700c. But if you fix up the wheels, and ride them for a year, it's hard to argue you wasted any money. Plus, you can always unload a set of 27-inch wheels and tires on Craigslist.
I think if you want to go deeper on what you should replace or upgrade, you should get photos and post them here.