What was your 1st ever upgrade? What led you to this point?

Augustus

Retrobike Rider
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OK,

what was the first ever upgrade on your bike back in the day? What was the catalyst that has whether you planned to or not, probably led you to this point here - talking about bicyles all day with a virtual family decades later?

For me it was 1987 and a set of Deore XT beartrap pedals. The matt black parallelogram ones (not the later slimmer XT comps or the even later cut aways (both of which I preferred later on).

I walked past F.W Evans (now evans cycles) in Kingston (UK) seeing them in the window, after school every day for months while saving up for those. They were £44.95 - a fortune for a 15yr old of the day. They were so pointless an upgrade on my Muddy Fox Courier, but I showed them off to anyone that would listen.

There was definately something in being able to attach them myself (wasn't very mechanically minded) but i suppose the lure was that lovely svelt black box and small DeoreXT logo with that lovely triple shimano colour bar under it. Badge engineering ...? I was Hooked.

It made an impression, and I realise now it started something that is in flow as we speak. It was that moment, that decision. And I'm glad I took it. Look where I am now - broke, but with an addiction I love.
 
I got the first Marzo forks on my Spe Hard rock . it was like riding a shopper . :LOL:
 
Mine was a Tioga T-Bone stem (150mm - way too long) and Scott AT-4's on my Rockhopper in 1990!
 
Think it was probably upgrading the stock 500lx shifters on my dyna-tech to some XT rapidfire sti units, the ones with the windows that you could see the brake cam thing through, and the rubber boots. Totally pointless but they were soooo cool I saved up and bought them.
 
My first proper upgrade was on my karakoram elite,

Fitted some magura's & dx thumbies, brakes were adamn sight heavier than the Ubrake and canti setup but they looked well cool.

;)
 
Hey Tioga stem too! On an 88 Rockhopper with understay u brakes.

In obligatory looooooooong reach :)
Then ITM Alu bars
Then black seatpost of some sort

Then new bike, whoo ha haa!!
 
Gump - what colour? Yellow or dark purpley blue?

I wanted that blue one so much and bought a Trekker instead. (?)

:roll:
 
The first modification I made to my Timberline was a pair of bar-ends, but I suppose the first proper "upgrade" was changing the stock pedals with clips and straps to a set of SPDs... Deore DX PD-M525 they were, with a pair of Shimano SH-M030 shoes to match (replaced with Poo-Bahs before long!), and the pedals cost me £55, which again was a fortune for a 15yr-old back then! I actually sold all my Star Wars figures and ships to fund them (even the Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper dress with removeable helmet).

My friend and I had been wanting to go clipless for about 6 months since we both got our first mountain bikes, and I think for me it was probably the biggest milestone in terms of how I viewed my relationship with bikes - once I had commited myself to being attached to the pedals, I no longer felt like just someone who rode a moutain bike; I felt like a mountain biker, like I could now justifiably define myself as a cyclist. Nothing I've ever bought since has made as much of an impact...
 
gump said:
Hey Tioga stem too! On an 88 Rockhopper with understay u brakes.

In obligatory looooooooong reach :)
quote]

scary - mine was Yellow. Soon after i bust the forks trying to bunny hop across a 4 ft wide ditch! Next upgrade was Project 2's!
 

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