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Is it worth upgrading my cheap Chinese bike? (self.bicycles)

submitted 1 month ago by doyun to c/[email protected]

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Hi, I hope this is the right place to ask. I decided to start commuting by bike as it's only about 15 minutes each way. So I got my first bike and learned how to ride. It's a cheap Chinese MTB from my country's version of amazon. This was a few months ago now. Since then I've been riding almost everyday and taking longer trips along the river trail near my home.

So I'm thinking about getting a lower end Shimano groupset. But I'm wondering what I'll get out of upgrading. Will there be a noticeable difference in performance? Smoother shifting? More speed in top gear?

Thanks for any insight you can share :) any essential gear recommendations would be great too!

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Post pics, but if you know how to work on your own stuff and the bike uses standard parts: Sure, why not?

If the cheap bike fails, you can always rebuild with a better frame later and reuse the parts you already got. The only reason I'd say don't bother is if the existing parts work fine already/are well made enough that they aren't a safety hazard.

I upgraded the brake rotors on my shitty Engwe EP2 Pro and I wish I'd upgraded the fender (but then it failed and broke my arm because it was faulty and the company didn't give a fuck, thanks so much Engwe!).

You might also have some luck asking over at [email protected]