Originally Posted by
practical
Interesting and informative replies. I was wondering how someone might do annual upgrades to their bike in order to get a much better bike over the course of several years. So, let's say you start by buying an "affordable" bike then spend $100 to $200 each year to upgrade some aspect of it so that over the course of few years you'd have a high end bike that you paid for on the "installment plan." I don't know if this is a sensible strategy or not, but was trying to think it through. So one might start with easy things like tires, then derailleurs and shifters, then brakes, wheels, etc. For example, the Giant Escape 1 is $650 and the Escape RX is over $1,100. The differences between these bikes appear to be component sets (Shimano Altus vs. Shimano R460) 9-speed vs. 10 speed, and the wheel hubs. My guess is that I could purchase these upgrades for less than paying for the RX and do it over time. What do you think?
Someone else might be able to offer more detail, but my guess looking at those two bikes is that most of the difference in cost is due to the lighter frame, which you can't really upgrade. Generally that's the case when the price jumps that much, in my experience. Other upgrades depend on the frame/fork too -- for example, if they're fitted for disc brakes if you ever want to go that route, whether your rear wheel will accept a cassette with more gears, etc.