Is my POS worth upgrading? (commuter, ride, better)
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A while back I bought a 2000 Gary Fisher Joshua F3. I found it on Craigslist for really cheap so I got it for cruising around the hood and some very light trail riding (no jumps, big dropoffs, etc.). It's worked out great for me so far, but me being on the heavy side puts quite a bit of strain on the 16 year old shocks. I took it to the local bike shop for a tune-up and asked about replacing the suspension fork with a newer one to provide better functionality. The owner looked at me like I was an idiot. It was a how dare you try to upgrade that piece of crap when we have a bunch of great new $1000 bikes just sitting here and the upgrade wouldn't do jack to improve your ride. I guess his point was that I only paid $175 for the bike, why would i bother? I realize this will never be a competition bike but why wouldn't a new fork that costs in the $150 range provide at least an incremental improvement? Everything else is in good condition. What would y'all do?
Unfortunately, those bikes were a URT (unified rear triangle) design. One of the worst suspension designs ever.
Sell it and put the $150 towards a lightly used Craigslist mountain bike. Get a hardtail unless you have over 500 to spend.
If you're more than 180lb's you'll have to get new springs for any suspension, but air suspension can be pumped up to accommodate most riders (120-220lbs or so).
So... get a lightly used hard tail with an air fork. Or better yet a coil spring fork that's already set up for a heavy rider. "Sag" should be about 20-30% of the forks travel.
Also, if you're a big guy, don't buy a light weight racing bike. You want something built to take punishment, which will be heavy ~30lbs or so.
Hmm. I know a lot about bikes - but what I solidly know is from before the suspension era. So I know a little about suspension.
Thots:
I would think that age of the shocks should have a minimal impact. The usage wear on them will. So maybe you have an issue, and maybe you really don't - but you don't know this.
I think that getting a second local shop opinion - and even a 3rd - might be very useful to you. And it won't hurt. And you will probably know a lot more about your options after you've done that.
I also think a more typical hardtail will serve you well. You want a bike in a low dollar range that will do what you need done. Fancy complex bikes are generally expensive, and expensive to maintain. And complex is always more likely to break down than simple. Hardtail is simpler and probably more reliable.
I have a soft tail mountain/commuter bike that sits on the balcony most of the time... I vastly prefer my hardtail 700C racer overall. Suspension seems (and looks) cool and definitely has its uses on hardcore offroad terrain, but truth be told, in day-to-day use, it really just added more weight that I had to get up hills. Plus, for me - 6'2, 200lbs - I had to adjust the rear shock to the point that it may as well be a hardtail, otherwise it dips up and down when I'm torquing the crank.
As far as replacing the suspension... definitely get a second/third opinion, preferably from a bike co-op, which I'm sure there are at least a few of in Austin. Since the co-ops generally aren't in it to make a ton of money and are staffed by bike enthusiasts who are generally all about re-using and reducing costs, you'll probably get a more balanced opinion on the matter. You could look in some of these shops also on eBay or Amazon to find a cheaper NOS setup that would work for you, rather than something super cutting-edge that probably would be somewhat lost on an older frame.
Typical elitist, bike store, snooty, yuppie attitude. I hate those types, and run into them at maybe 70% of bike stores no matter what city I'm in. Don't even bother w/ these clowns, who are often rude and really don't know their stuff anyway. Find an independent shop, something like Steve's Bikes or something like that, and they will be a lot more honest and help you, rather than try to sell you much more bike than you need. A lot of times they will have a used bike selection so you can pick one w/ a suspension front fork (much safer and stable than a rigid fork on the bumpy city streets). Pawn shops often have a good selection too. If you like your bike and it fits you, nothing wrong w/ upgrading it, except by the time you put new tires, a suspension front fork, etc, you can buy a new low end bike store bike for less.
My son was a huge mountain bike enthusiast 15-25 years ago and has just this year taken it up again. He still has his old $2,000+ bike in his garage, but it needs a shock or two, I think he said. Anyway, it was going to cost ~$400 to replace the shocks. He chatted with the bike shop owner a bit and ended up buying two new 2016 bikes (for him and his wife) at nearly half the price they were a year ago. I believe he said his was second hand but only used for a week or two before the guy traded it for something else. He says these new bikes are waaaay superior to his old one, which he bought new in the early-to-mid 90s.
Of course I look at it a little differently, maybe like you. The most I've ever paid for a bike for my own use was probably $100. I've always been happy with whatever I had, probably because I didn't know any better, but also because my biking was like yours -- 99% street use and a little rough stuff occasionally, whereas with my son and his wife, it's strictly mountain trails -- long ones.
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I've always been happy with whatever I had, probably because I didn't know any better, but also because my biking was like yours -- 99% street use and a little rough stuff occasionally, whereas with my son and his wife, it's strictly mountain trails -- long ones.
