Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I'm starting to think that upgrading the one I currently have might be better than replacing it. I really do like the bike and everything I've done with it, and in reality, my biggest probs are currently the brakes, gears and rear axle which keeps getting bent (however I've noticed that my rear wheel is on crooked so straightening it out after I replace my axle or wheel should prevent it from reoccurring).
Originally Posted by
fietsbob
Internal gear hubs and drum brakes [NB the spelling] can be purchased as a combination.
and a drum brake and hub generator for the front wheel, for light without needing batteries ,
and that will work when ever you are moving,
or can be part of the specifications of a new bike purchase..
and get a serious lock and strong chain so you can keep it. !
I'm definitely going to start pricing these parts out and see how much an upgrade would cost me.
Originally Posted by
Bikewer
All the above is solid advise, but I'm wondering why your V-brakes would need so much adjustment. I maintain a fleet of about 25 police patrol bikes all with V-brakes and aside from normal wear on the pads or an occasional worn cable they work fine almost all the time.
Although typical V-brake pads wear fairly rapidly, you should get on the order of at least months out of them.
I'm not quite sure why my v-brakes have been going out of alignment so much lately. They have a tonne of life left on them, and I had a store replace my pads not too long ago (avoiding that mechanic from now on as I feel he lied to me since there was plenty of life left on my prev pads but I changed 'em since they were so cheap). Before the winter came, I hadn't adjusted them much at all and they seemed fine. I know the pads and rims are in need of some cleaning (cleaned the rear ones a week or two ago, but now both are in need of a nice cleaning since I've been riding through snow, slush, and wet pavement since).