Help needed - Bike Upgrading question

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hey
i own a 5 year old marin ridgeback, a regular city tourer. Now, ive
been thinking about upgrading to something lighter etc for some time.
instead of buying something brand new, I've decided to gradually
replace the main components on my ridgeback with stuff purchased second
hand.
To start the ball rolling I'm gonna get some wheels. Now, the wheels I
currently have are standard touring wheels. What i want is some nice
thin road tires. First question is will i be able to fit them? My
current bike has a 7 speed cassette so im guessing i need to get
something which is compatible?? Would i have to get new breaks and a
new rear deraillieur.
What about the front?
Is this gonna be worth the hassle? Should i just buy a new bike?

If anyone can point me in the right direction id be most grateful.
Thanks
JT

Google returned nothing on a search for "Marin Ridgeback," so I couldn't get
any sense of how your bike is currently equipped. And the term "city tourer"
is new to me as well, so I can't really picture the bike from your
description. It would help if you could specify the makes and models of the
bike's components and the make and size of the current wheels and tires. A
link to a site that actually shows/describes the actual bike would be
particularly useful.

RichC

Sorry Rich, its actually called a Marin Kentfield

http://www.epinions.com/bicycles_2003_Marin_Kentfield/display_~full_specs#

Rich Clark said:

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hey
i own a 5 year old marin ridgeback, a regular city tourer. Now, ive
been thinking about upgrading to something lighter etc for some time.
instead of buying something brand new, I've decided to gradually
replace the main components on my ridgeback with stuff purchased second
hand.
To start the ball rolling I'm gonna get some wheels. Now, the wheels I
currently have are standard touring wheels. What i want is some nice
thin road tires. First question is will i be able to fit them? My
current bike has a 7 speed cassette so im guessing i need to get
something which is compatible?? Would i have to get new breaks and a
new rear deraillieur.
What about the front?
Is this gonna be worth the hassle? Should i just buy a new bike?

If anyone can point me in the right direction id be most grateful.
Thanks
JT

Google returned nothing on a search for "Marin Ridgeback," so I couldn't get
any sense of how your bike is currently equipped. And the term "city tourer"
is new to me as well, so I can't really picture the bike from your
description. It would help if you could specify the makes and models of the
bike's components and the make and size of the current wheels and tires. A
link to a site that actually shows/describes the actual bike would be
particularly useful.

RichC

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sorry Rich, its actually called a Marin Kentfield

http://www.epinions.com/bicycles_2003_Marin_Kentfield/display_~full_specs#

I would recommend limiting the amount of money you spend on this bike, which
is what we'd generally call an "entry level hybrid." A perfectly good bike,
excellent for its intended purpose. If the wheels are still sound, you could
fit narrower tires, probably as small as 700x28, which could well give the
bike a significantly livelier feel.

But IMO a bike like this is best used as a beater, a short-distance
commuter, a utility bike, a spare, a loaner, a backup. You could sink a fair
amount of money into upgrades and not have a significantly better bike. More
important, you would still only have one bike.

In your shoes I'd be shopping around for a good used road bike or light
sport/tourer, which would complement your Marin quite nicely.

All that having been said, to answer your original question, you should be
able to use any 700c road/touring wheel on the front, and any road wheel
with a Shimano-compatible hub on the back. You'll need to add a spacer to
use a 7-speed cassette with an 8+ speed hub. You'll have to readjust the
brakes for narrower rims, but they'll work.

I have a hard time imagining a $300 hybrid with zooty road wheels on it, but
I can't think of a mechanical reason not to do it.

RichC

Quoted message said:

Is this gonna be worth the hassle? Should i just buy a new bike?

Depends on your budget. If you go over $300 you'll be better served
finding a used road bike, either flat or drop bars. Hell, I'd even say
over $200 and that's a better bet. Once you hit that number, you're
reaching for a road experience the Marin just can't give you.

However, if you can come in under $200 you'll probably be pretty happy.
Search your local bike shops, especially the 2nd-hand co-op shops. New
tires, yeah. New 700C wheels should be easy to find. Pull 'em off any
recent road bike. Lose that heavy suspension seatpost. Get a smaller
seat. Find a used derailleur set and lose some weight there too. Yank
off that chain guard and find some used light cranks. Sell all the
things you take off and you'll be OK.

Tell the shop about your budget and see if they can help. You can do
it, all right, and you might come out with a pretty zippy Frankenbike
in the process.

First issue is hub spacing in back and its probably 135mm so new wheels will
use MTB hubs, which can be light. 130mm would be for spiffy road hub in rear.
But it sort of doesn't make sense to put XT or XTR parts on a Marin
Kentfield. If you do get a newer/better wheel the rear will be 8/9 speed
compatible and you'll need a spacer (goes on the spoke side). You'll probably
get the bug to upgrade to 8-speed, so figure Alivio quality shifters, $45 or
so, new cassette, maybe $30 and the rear derailleur should still work. Those
are the main issues. If you like the geometry, they really don't make a
higher quality hybrid these days. The flat-handle bar road bikes are a bit
more bent over, try the Trek 7300FX or something similiar, see if you like how
it feels.

Rick

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Hey
i own a 5 year old marin ridgeback, a regular city tourer. Now, ive
been thinking about upgrading to something lighter etc for some time.
instead of buying something brand new, I've decided to gradually
replace the main components on my ridgeback with stuff purchased second
hand.
To start the ball rolling I'm gonna get some wheels. Now, the wheels I
currently have are standard touring wheels. What i want is some nice
thin road tires. First question is will i be able to fit them? My
current bike has a 7 speed cassette so im guessing i need to get
something which is compatible?? Would i have to get new breaks and a
new rear deraillieur.
What about the front?
Is this gonna be worth the hassle? Should i just buy a new bike?

If anyone can point me in the right direction id be most grateful.
Thanks
JT