Originally Posted by
whm1974
I'm thinking about doing that anyway since it took me a year to save up the money I have.
...if money is an issue, your old bike looks like it's in pretty good shape, from your pictures. You'll have trouble replacing it at today's prices, with something of equal or better quality. If there are mechanical issues with it, fix them, or have someone fix them, and you are back on the road with a smaller investment. Discs are, in and of themselves, not a reason to change bicycles, if your old one is working. There are some wear items you might want to consider replacing. But they shouldn't end up costing more than a comparable new bicycle.
A lot of the people on this forum have multiple bicycles, and a pretty steady income stream. So the advice you get on some question like this varies.