I ride a brown 2008 SE Lager. Nothing fancy, but I dig it. Bought it on "last year's model" sale for $399 from Performance.
UPGRADES = White Industries ENO 17t freewheel, All-City Messenger 44t, Brooks B17 saddle, white Vittoria Randonneur 700x28 tires, MKS Sylvan touring pedals, red bar wrap.
It's nice to have a bike that isn't super flashy or expensive - I live in Chicago proper and theft is a concern. I'd rather no one notices/covets my bike, but I do want it to perform well and reliably (hence the upgrades).

SO in your opinion, was it foolish of me to put so much money into a budget bike? I like the bike a lot but I can't help wondering if it was silly to put $400 worth of upgrades into a $400 bike?

No it wasn't. You are also talking to the wrong bunch of people. If you think you spent too much, than the rest of us are doomed.

This.

Sounds completely reasonable to me.

I've upgraded much cheaper bikes. Hell, the bike I used for my FG was free!

not foolish at all, those are quality upgrades BUT quality parts & theft prevention are 2 diff things. I live in the burbs but I do a lot of work in Chicago & surrounding areas. I'd probably be more worried about the saddle being an easy target than the other stuff...

Haha alright. Good to know. I will tell my wife about you all next time she raises an eyebrow about my upgrading.
Just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything stupid without realizing.

@Thade - I live in Logan Square and I lock up with the small orange krypto u-lock and a thick krypto cable. I use the Sheldon Brown method of locking only the rear wheel and through the rear triangle. Then I use the cable to secure the front wheel and Brooks saddle and lock it into the u-lock. I know nothing is secure if a thief really wants your ride but I rely on the poorly locked bikes all around me. Haven't had any trouble so far.

I'm soon to put a grand into a 450 dollar bike....

You're fine.

Haha right on.
To me it's totally worth it if you stay smart with it. I'm not going out spending a bunch of extra cash on special colored parts or whathaveyou. I'm just upgrading ultra budget components on an entry-level bike. I bought the Lager because I liked the frame and it fit me. It was a good starting point, and it was on sale.
And when you start upgrading things that really need it - you can feel the difference right away and it brings a smile to your face.
The first time I experienced that was when I replaced the stock POS freewheel with the White Ind ENO. I didn't mind spending the $100 when I could have just bought a $20 freewheel, because the difference was obvious and enjoyable. Brooks B17? Same deal. Sure it costs many times more than a lot of seats, but my ass likes it and again the difference is obvious and enjoyable. Upgrading the tires was key in avoiding flats - haven't gotten a flat yet on my Vittoria Rando's. Even the Kool Stop Salmon brake pads - yeah they cost a bit more than the "regular" pads but they stop silently and quickly, even in the rain (little ugly but so what).
Long story short, it's nice to ride a properly tuned bike with quality components. An entirely different experience than riding a budget bike with budget components.

Definitely fine, but people DO steal parts off of bikes in Logan Square. My friend went outside to find her pedals+straps, saddle, and bars+grips ganked off her bike one night. Based on anecdotes, I'd guess it's the highest bike theft neighborhood in the city. I hope you can bring your bike inside when you're at home.

Check for dummy poles, definitely lock that saddle, and see you around.

I ride a Lager that I've probably put $500 in upgrades into. You're fine. By the way, the rest of us Chicagoans need to get together so that Kaz and I don't feel like the only ones.

Might be the highest bike theft hood in the city, but if so, it's because it has the highest number of bikes/bikers. Most folks I know that had stuff stolen either left their bike unlocked on a backporch or something. Not disagreeing with you though, I'm nervous as hell whenever I lock up. I try to lock up in a spot I can see from the bar window, or spots that aren't secluded, and yeah I always check for false/dummy poles and never ever lock up to trees (especially small trees). I've seen more cut trees in Logan Sq and Wicker Park than I care to. Someone lost a bike and we all lost a tree. Double bummer.

Spend money to solve particular problems. No problems in particular? No need to spend money.

Keep upgrading your bike and soon it will be too nice for you to comfortably leave unattended...locked or not.

Words of wisdom, no doubt. But what about those rare times when something goes wrong during a ride? You're at a red light and it turns green so you grab your bullhorn bars and stand up to start pedaling and you put all your force into it and your cheapo stem gives and your bars come loose and you crash in the middle of the intersection. I would rather spend $20 and avoid it. Not that it 100% WILL happen if I don't upgrade, and not that it 100% WON'T happen if I DO upgrade. You're absolutely spot-on with your advice. But I just wanted to point out that sometimes things happen. I once broke my rear axle somehow on my '72 Schwinn Varsity when I was taking off from a red light. I didn't crash or get hurt but who would've thought? I took it into the shop and dude goes "what were you doing with this bike man? you broke the rear axle in half"

Eh, if it makes you happy keep going with it.

Don't get me wrong, a flexy stem is worth replacing. Just don't fall into the "gotta upgrade everything" cycle that we all fall into sometimes.

spend what you like, ride the Fuuuuu out of it......

ha well most peeps don't go to those lengths so u got it covered

So true... oh so true.....

paging epicschwinn

anyway

I bought a 25 year old bike 10 days ago or so and immediately put a concor saddle, thomson seatpost, 2x gatorskins, new sram chain, new mks road pedals and new lizardskin tape on it. you're fine

In my dmr's case, I'm up the creek without a paddle. I have A LOT put into that bike.

Spend too much and you might be too paranoid to leave it inside your crib! ...I see those punks looking at my bike when I am bringing it inside the house

a friend of mine had that happen, and someone stole his bike out of his living room.

I don't think that will be a successful strategy to winning points with your wife . . .

Behold: carleton, voice of reason.

What kind of bar wrap?