New to biking, what should i upgrade on my bike?
 

Title says it all. I recently bought myself a new 2009 kona dew plus :) from a local bike shop and was curious about what i should upgrade on it first when i have enough money. if it helps any i usually ride a good 20 miles a day, usually on roads, sidewalks, or dirt paths in the local nature part.

thoughts?

thanks

What don't you like about it that requires upgrading? Maybe a seat bag with an extra tube, a patch kit, etc and a frame pump in case you get a flat.

yeah i am saving for a bike pump and saddle bag. i love my bike in all and have had no problems with it. im just super excited to start getting into cycling. The long rides ive gone on so far have left me feeling exhausted but feeling super good. i might have found my new drug :) . I really just wanna make my bike perfect.

The best "upgrade" you can make is to your legs.

The usefullness of any kind of equipment upgrade depends largely on the type of riding you're doing. An upgrade for somebody who does a lot of climbing is going to be different then for somebody who spends their time going fast on flat ground.

I assume you rode other bikes, were propery fitted, and chose the Dew Plus because it fit your requirements. As the other poster stated, there is nothing you "need" to upgrade on it until you have more experience riding it.

For the record I also have a Dew Plus and think it is a grat value in an all around bike. While I wasn't used to the saddle initially, it was fairly comfortable after a few weeks of riding. I did replace the grips with Specialized BG ("body geometry") ergo grips which I like much better. Perhaps if you start feeeling the need to go faster you may eventually want to switch out the 700 x 42's for some 32's or 28's. I like the fatter tires for the type of combined road/path/gravel/dirt riding I do with this bike and ride my road bike for faster on-road rides.

As noted above, look at a saddle bag, water bottles and cages, extra tube(s), perhaps a pump and/or CO2, cyclo-computer, multi-tool, flashing rear light and perhaps a headlight if you plan on any night riding.

The Dew Plus would also make an excellent commuter/urban bike - just add on a rack (although you need to work around the disc brakes).


Oh yeah, most importantly - enjoy it!

Is this your bike?
http://www.konaworld.com/09_dewplus_u.cfm

In addition to the things mentioned here - stuff to patch a flat (I wouldn't ride without that stuff, at least not outside long walking distance back), and a rack, speedometer, lights, etc -

I would suggest (take it or leave it) replacing the tires with flat resistant tires. I just imagine the ones that come on a $500 bike aren't the best - though, who knows! If you get several flats a year, flat resistant tires like the Panaracer TServer Messenger tires or the Continental Gatorskins can *nearly* eliminates getting flats altogether.

Of course, to be fair, it was was me I would probably ride the tires it came with until it became a problem. :-)