Should I upgrade my mountain bike?

Question

I am nearing 60 yrs. old and have a Marin Bobcat Trail for mostly easy 20-mile runs without too many uphills or downhill sections. I ride almost every day. My bike store thinks I should upgrade to a Gary Fisher Sugar 4 but I'm not sure the type of riding I do requires putting out about $1500 when the Marin seems to do the job. Will I be missing out on a wonderful experience by passing up the upgrade, or is the bike I have just what I need for the kind of riding I do? Maybe I should just upgrade some components on the Marin -- if so, what would you recommend I change? Any tips? Thanks

Answer 1

I would avoid any full suspension bikes. They are far less efficient than hardtails.

Keep the Marin and ask the shop to do a complete overhaul... they will tear the bike completely apart, clean it, relube, replace any worn parts, and put it back together. It'll cost you about $150 but your bike will be "as new" where it counts.

Answer 2

From a purely mechanical perspective, the newer bikes are leaps and bounds above where bike were just a few years ago. For $1000m you get a bike that will shift, handle, and feel much better than a more expensive ride from years past. So yes, the new Fisher will feel different and probably be a blast for you to try. Think about driving a 25 year old Vette Stingray. Great car....fun the drive. But then you get into a new Vette and wow.

From another viewpoint, a new toy is a new toy. You might be inspired to ride more with some new hardware. A new bike once in a while is always nice.

Answer 3

If you're not racing, $1500 is excessive for a bike from a purely functional perspective. For your type of riding, a $500 bike would work just as well. Of course a lot of doctors and lawyers drive Porsche's, but don't have the knowledge, skill, or opportunity to even make it breath hard.

On the other hand, if you ride a lot, there's nothing wrong with doing it on a nice machine. As another responder said, a new toy is a new toy. You'd spend that much on a sofa that doesn't go anywhere at all.

I've got a nice race bike, but most of my mileage (5-6k per year) goes on a beat to crap 5 year old MTB that I got new for $350. Even on that, very few people can stay with me. Once you get past department store bikes, its mostly the motor.

FWIW, I'm about your age.

Answer 4

This is a personal choice so it is hard to say if you should stay with your Marin or get a new bike. I would suggest that if you are enjoying what you have, then stay with it. Maybe find somebody else who has a newer bike and see if they will let you borrow it to see if you are missing out on anything.

As for the Sugar 4, that bike has not been made for a couple of years so I hope they are offering you a sweet deal on it.

Answer 5

assuming the bike is not too old, I would recommend upgrading the fork, since you have no suspension int the back you should go for premium suspension up front...see if your bike will accept 100mm fork if not 80-85mm will do, I highly recommend a Marzocchi fork with coil...not air internal suspension, purchase on line at pricepoint, jenson,cambria bicycle outfitters or performance bike, have a mobile bike mechanic install for you if need be, you will save a lot of money, keep your drive train in shape by replacing as needed, hard-tail bikes (your bike) are good for most everything unless you are racing, consider converting to tubeless tires, the tires can be run at lower pressures thus giving you a smoother ride in the back and you will rarely flat out, the UST system is the easiest to maintain, Stan's notubes is a conversion kit that uses your non UST rims and tires but it is a finicky system, go for the UST you will be pleased, the wheels are about $240.00 and UST tires are $60.00 and up, I have two pairs of Mavic UST crosslands wheels and use a flat preventive fluid in the tires (Stan's).....no more tubes, imagine that! shop around on the Internet bike places don't pay for components at your local bike shop...way overpriced.at the least upgrade to a tubeless system...good luck.

Answer 6

the Marin bike is good, the only thing different about the Gary fisher is rear suspension, and maybe a lighter weight if the Marin does the trick stay with it,

Answer 7

if your bike is fine (which from the sounds of it, it is) then you do not need to upgrade.
The issue is wheather you want to spend the money or not. The bike will be better overall but do you really need that much more of a bike.
My opinion is that you should ride current bike into the ground and replace it when it finally dies.

Answer 8

if the bike still works, stay with it. although you'll miss the feeling of getting on a new bike, but it'll just be a waste of money if you already have a bike that works well.