Better components?

[Old Guy New Hobby]

I've been riding for 15 years. It never occurred to me to pay attention to the components. The bike comes with stuff. I ride the bike. Now I am waiting for my Hase Trigo recumbent trike to arrive. The shop asked if I want better components. Here's what comes with the bike:

Brakes: Promax DSK300 mech. disc brakes, forged aluminum brake levers with locking mechanism

Gear system: 24-speed; Shimano Altus Mix, development 1.43 m to 7.36 m

Crankset: Samox, 155 mm, 50/39/30 T

The bike comes with some kind of twist shifter. I've used a twist shifter before and found it OK.

I ride 3 to 4 thousand miles a year. I'm a slow rider (10 to 12 MPH). I ride mostly on the street, but occasionally on a mild trail. I like going up hills. I ride to give my body a chance to do something and to have fun.

What components would be better? Why are they better? Do they last longer? Is there anything wrong with the default components?

[HikeBikeCook]

You can spend thousands on components and riders typically upgrade for weight or performance. If you are riding around town then having something break is less risky than if your are on a week long tour. If going up hill is your thing for exercise, than trimming weight seems counter productive. The final upgrades are for comfort, but until you ride your rig awhile you probably will not know what is uncomfortable.

I have what was a really light bike at time, a 1998 Litespeed classic. I did a lot of multi-day, 100 miles per day, fully supported, charity rides and I rode and conducted a lot of group training rides. I spent a ton of money chasing weight and got my bike to a point where the next 1.5 ounce reduction was going to cost me about $400. A riding buddy asked me what was next and I told him. He looked over and said "you fat F@#*, why don't you just skip a lunch."

My advice is to get the stock bike and ride it for a bit. If it is your hobby, you will find plenty of tweaks over the next two years and then probably buy another bike anyway

[staehpj1]

I am a weight weenie when it comes to my gear, but when it comes to the bike I don' think it is worth going crazy over swapping components.  Choose a bike that suits you and use it.  Replace components when they break or no longer suit you.  Upgrade them at that point if you want.  The only ones I really see upgrading proactively for performance or reliability reasons are maybe the wheels and tires.

There may be valid reasons to upgrade stuff.  You may decide that the gearing doesn't suit you or something, but just looking for stuff to upgrade is a fools errand IMO.

[Old Guy New Hobby]

Thanks, guys. If I were into minimizing weight, I wouldn't by a trike.

[DaveB]

The OEM components are low end but adequate and I would use them until they wear out and then replace them with something better as needed.  The one item I have some reservations about are the Promax brakes and I'd upgrade to TRP Spyres if it were me.  The TRPs are better mechanical brakes and use common Shimano compatible pads.  I have them on a Surly Midnight Special and they work very well.

Have the brakes set up using "compressionless" brake housing like Jagwire Pro housing.  It makes a significant improvement in responsiveness.

The stock gearing seems fine.  If my calculations are correct, your "development" numbers equate to 18 to 92 gear-inches which should be plenty low for almost any hill and as high as a trike needs.

[Old Guy New Hobby]

Thanks very much Dave, especially for the brake info.

[John Nelson]

I’m also a fan of wearing out what you already paid for before looking for something better.

[Pat Lamb]

How's that saying go?  Marry the frame, date the parts?

[DaveB]

How's that saying go?  Marry the frame, date the parts?

Ever tied explaining that approach to your wife?   

[Pat Lamb]

How's that saying go?  Marry the frame, date the parts?

Ever tied explaining that approach to your wife?   

Yes, actually.  I saw that for the first time after I'd read her the part of Grant Peterson's book where he said, "Wear something out."  Her response was, "You've certainly done that!"  So when I quoted her the "Marry your frame" bit, she told me to go out and buy a new bike.

 

[wildtoad]

I agree with DaveB re the brakes, those ProMax brakes are so-so at best in my experience. They can be made to stop okay, but can be unnecessarily difficult to keep in adjustment over the long term.

I run TRP Spyres on my touring bike, with Shimano XT rotors and Jagwire Pro cables/housing. Overall, I'm happy with the setup. I never cared for the stock pads that came with the Spyres, however. I eventually replaced them w/ relatively basic Shimano resin pads, a noticeable improvement all around. Re cables/housing and mechanical disc brakes (Spyres, Paul Klampers, Promax and others), I have found that top quality/high end cables are more important than compressionless housing. YMMV.

As to the rest of your build, I concur w/ the prevailing input to just ride until you wear the components out.

[Old Guy New Hobby]

Thanks for the brake info, "T-boss"