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Upgrading components on Wal-Mart bike

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    • CommentAuthorFree Memberheramb22
    • CommentTimeJul 11th 2009 edited
     
    heramb22
    I made the "mistake" of buying a GMC Denali road bike (same one you find in Wally world), and now want to upgrade the components.  I think I've already bought most of the Ultegra parts I'll need on ebay, however, I'm a newb to the bicycle world and wondered if there were any good sites to walk through this process. Lastly, would anyone in the North Atlanta area be interested in helping me do this?  Also, what would it cost for me to simply bring my bike to a shop and have it done?
    • CommentAuthorFree Membertinydr
    • CommentTimeJul 12th 2009 edited
     
    tinydr
    Option #2, if you have a little money, is to buy a low priced (but reasonably decent) frame and fork and sell the GMC... I don't think I'm way off when I suggest there's absolutely no point in wasting several hundred dollars worth of components on a piece of junk frame (no offense to you or Kent bicycles).

    Really... don't do it. Find a correctly sized frame & fork (lightly used is fine) that will accept the components and ditch the GMC. These days you should be able to find something reasonably priced.

  3.  
    bigbadvoodoomar

    i third that motion!!  don't bother trying to "upgrade" a wallyworld bike.  they are not meant for that.  there are lots of very fairly priced, quality bikes on ebay and craigslist.  shop around, ask a friend who is "in the know".  better yet, talk to your bikeshop... they may have some ideas for used or new bikes that you can build up; and they'll be a LOT happier to work with you if you buy stuff there than if you buy a mishmash of stuff online and then bring it them for assembly. 

  4.  
    steamroller67

    I have the same GMC bike.  I rode it for 3 years and cursed the shifting after every ride!  I still have it....in the shed collecting dust where it belongs.  I put over 500 miles on it due to my stubborness.  The frame is comparable to a size 56 and weighs a ton!  You can add an Ultegra  gruppo, Easton EA 90's and the bike will still need upgrades. 

    I bought a 2008 Felt F85, size 58 for around $1,000.00 and it is night & day between the 2 bikes.  Shimano 105's and Ultegra gruppo and a quality double butted aluminum 7005 frame.  My only upgrades were a comfortable seat (personal preference) and Continental Grand Prix 4 season tires.  I would stick with an entry level Felt or Trek and sell the Ultegra parts you have.

     

  5.  
    flamin trek
    putting fancy gear on a 'generic-department-store-brand' bike is like putting a racing gear box in a volkswagen beetle, it'll change gear better, but still heavy, old tech and not a whole lot better. Much better to save your racing gearbox for a decent frame, a carbon fibre body shell for your beetle, lighter, stonger last forever...
    • CommentAuthorFree Membermdb51
    • CommentTimeJul 17th 2009
     
    mdb51
    I'll add mine-Don't cast pearls before swine
  7.  
    pasquale67

    ok now i have a gmc yukon its 25lbs 14 speed black and yellow ugly as a bee i call it my piece a deshit but with that i love every min on it i ride this bike like crazy i did my first 50 mile (O YEAH) a few days ago i really cant complain the bike has been good to me for what i paid for it but i wanted to make sure when i bought this bike i would ride it and not just hang it in the garage    now im hoping that when i get a real bike my time improves i have a hard time getting over a 14 avg and my top speed is 39.2 im dying to crack 40mph

    ive been looking at the motobecane any thought on them

  8.  
    rattlenhum82
    In short, to second nearly every other post, upgrading any Wally-World-Land bike is worth neither the money nor effort. I got my GMC Denali bike as a commuter bike about 3 1/2 years ago. It was ok for my needs to start, but it became impossible to adjust and dial in the more miles it picked up. A piece of crap, but it got me the three miles to campus. Then I got more seriously into road cycling at the beginning of this year, and I also looked into making upgrades to it. Taking the online advice from fine forums like this one, I looked first at replacing wheels, but immediately hit a snare. The spacing for the rear wheel on the Denali frame is 135mm. I learned from Sheldon Brown's page on frame spacing (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html) that 135 mm is the standard spacing for mountain bikes, not road bikes. So to get a 700c wheel for that frame spacing, you'd have to do some real searching or have someone build it (or build it yourself if you know how). I then deemed it too much of a hassle. So I did some poking around and found a new-old-stock 2007 Iron Horse Triumph 5.0 on eBay for around $350. One of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm training for a metric century in a charity ride in November on the Iron Horse. The Denali is still my commuter bike, because it is still a piece of crap and thus a theft deterrent.
    • CommentAuthorFree Memberallangh
    • CommentTimeOct 27th 2009 edited
     
    allangh

    Interesting opinions so far...

    I, myself, picked-up a bike at K-Mart for something like $119.00, and--against the advice of every bike shop owner that I spoke to--spent less than $300.00 on new, quality parts for it...you know...things like a Campy Crank and 52-42-30 chainrings, with a bottom bracket and pedals (for under a hundred clams), new shifters (thirty-five bucks). 

    New hubs and tires only sets one back about $50.00 out of that $300.00, re-lacing the spokes and truing the wheels just isn't that big a deal, and dropping a 9S cassette onto the freehub is nothing...and adjustments don't cost you anything at all to make.

    So, for something less than one-third of what all the experts told me that I would spend, I have a bike that is, admittedly, heavy; however, the frame doesn't flex and it's exactly what I wanted in terms of my ability to ride it.

    I have a Specialized for the long rides, but my kick-about bike is geared identically, so I get the same work-out on either frame; but I'm not going to lose the same investment if somebody happens to nick my K-Mart bike at the grocery store.

    I took the bike back to one dealer who was particularly adamant about my doing this, and asked him for his exact reasoning as to why the bicycle wouldn't work well for me, and why I should not have done that myself. 

    After looking the bike over, he admitted that it would work just fine; but, in his opinion, I should not have spent "all that money" on a "generic" bike.  He said that I should have bought the bike that he had recommended to me months ago; which, he said, would have been cheaper. I then responded with what I paid for the parts, and showed him receipts when he expressed disbelief.

    I kept pressing him for LOGICAL REASONS, and he simply could not come up with anything that had even one fact to back it up.  His fall-back was to simply get himself real angry.

    There is room for an opposing opinion on this, but I don't see many people acknowledging that.

    Now, to the OPs original queston:  Get over to www.BicycleTutor.com and visit Sheldon Brown's site (www.SheldonBrown.com), and you'll find more than enough information to take your project to the next step.  Also, pick up some bike repair books and applicable special tools over at Amazon.co.  These are a wise investment for any bicycle owner.

    [EDIT]

    Afterthought:  That K-Mart bike has, by the way, tripped-over the ODO at around 5400+ miles as of yesterday, and is just over a year old; which means that I'm tipping Sheldon Brown's published stats on department store bicycle miles ridden before landfill burial to something more than 75 miles average.  That, or there are a lot of bikes dying at mile 1 to compensate for me.

    • CommentAuthorFree Memberchefrdr
    • CommentTimeOct 28th 2009
     
    chefrdr

    I live in two worlds..the biking enthuasist who thinks an expensive bike would be way cool. I also am very frugal, wife says cheap. With both of these ideals I am always willing to spend money on quality.  For Instance, I have rekindled my love affair with riding and I currently ride a pretty much stock 20 some year old panasonic dx-2000. I did a metric century last month, and out rode many more expensive bikes. My first point, the bike doesn't make the rider. That panasonic has some fine miles and points, but due to its age I am soon looking to retire it, easy fix or replacements are hard to find.

    Second point, Since my wife calls me cheap, I say ride the denali till its wheels fall off, replace/upgrade what your comfortable with in your own workspace. spending shop dollars for upgrades, long term better spent on better bike. My quality arguement, I have a pair of Pearl Izumi shorts that are still in damn good shape after 5 years. My wife got a "store" brand and they are only 6 months old and look the same as mine.  I spent $70 when I got them, she spent $35, at this rate in 5 years she will have replaced and out spent me by far.

    Upgrade and balance what you want, there your bikes and you ride them. We are all just giving forth, and sometimes we get stuck like the dealer trying to sell or upgrade cause we get snobby about it.

  11.  
    flamin trek

    I'll second sheldon brown's site. Ive found it really useful looking up info to see if new ebay parts will be compatible with my curent setup and how to do all sorts of stuff myself.

    I've been upgrading my 14year old trek y frame MTB, cost a bomb back then and i love the frame. Figured it was time to replace the rims, they've had a hard life and were getting a litle skinny in the braking surface. Got some new rims, figured a disc upgrade would be nice, that meant a whole daisy chain of events that a lot of people wouldn't attempt but i've got a light strong and well loved frame i want to keep.

    So significant dollars later I've nearly completed the upgrade, rims, brakes, shifters, forks, chain, cranks/chainrings, rear cassette. Needed forks for disc mounts, needed shifters because my old brake/shifter was combined and not hydraulic type, went to 9 speed with shifter coz 8spd hard to find, new 9spd cassette/chain wouldn't work with worn chainrings, hard to get canks without bottom bracket, couldn't get chainrings because they've changed from 5arm to 4 arm cranks...etc etc.

    Upgrade at will, but keep in mind that new stuff is not always the same as old stuff (or cheap stuff) and might lead to a spiralling cost.

    Mates said my upgrade was a can of worms. It is. But i've put a lot more life into the old girl and for the same dollars I wouldn't get anywhere near the level of gear or lightweight bike. Besides, I haven't spent any money on it for ages!

     

  12.  
    theInnkeeper

    Here is your link:

    http://www.parktool.com/repair/

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