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

submitted 2 months 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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[–] teft 4 points 2 months ago (3 children)

What is your original bike? As long as the frame is solid and the standards aren't weird you should be ok to upgrade part by part.

What type of riding do you do? Trail riding will have different needs than full on downhill racing. My first recommendations for upgrades on a lower end bike are pedals and cockpit. A new handlebar and stem will change the most about your riding and new pedals will make you stick to your bike over rough terrain. Also a new saddle isn't a bad idea if you're riding for long distances. make sure you measure your seat bones in order to get the right size.

[–] doyun 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

The brand is called tragen and the drivetrain is all sunrun. After some googling it seems like a knockoff of a brand called sun race.

I'm just commuting through the city mostly. I figured a mountain bike would be most beginner friendly and good for going over curbs and speed bumps and the like

[–] CosmicGiraffe 1 points 2 months ago

If you're just commuting & riding flat, even-ish trails, you maybe don't need a MTB at all. You'll get much bigger changes in handling/comfort/speed from changing the style of bike than the marginal gains from upgrading individual parts.

What are you hoping to gain from a drivetrain upgrade? It might make more sense to look at changing the type of bike you have, rather than trying to transform a MTB to act like a hybrid/gravel/road bike

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