Component upgrade?

Howdy,

I am curious, how hard is it to upgrade the components on a Giant OCR-3?
The current system is Shimano Sora 8-speed and I want to know how hard it
would be to upgrade to a Shimano 9-speed system. The higher priced Giant
OCR bikes have 9-speed systems but use the same frame as the OCR-3. I love
my bike but may want to upgrade the components in the future.

Thanks,

Rob

"Oz" wrote in news:5Bh5d.3242$%06.810
@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
I am curious, how hard is it to upgrade the components on a Giant OCR-3?
The current system is Shimano Sora 8-speed and I want to know how hard it
would be to upgrade to a Shimano 9-speed system.

Upgrading is not hard, but it is not cheap and the performance gains are not
large. You can save a lot of money by just buying a better bike to begin
with.

"Ken" wrote in message
...
"Oz" wrote in news:5Bh5d.3242$%06.810
@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
I am curious, how hard is it to upgrade the components on a Giant OCR-3?
The current system is Shimano Sora 8-speed and I want to know how hard
it
would be to upgrade to a Shimano 9-speed system.

Upgrading is not hard, but it is not cheap and the performance gains are
not
large. You can save a lot of money by just buying a better bike to begin
with.


there is also the factor of the longevity of the parts. i know there is a
big difference between a 7 and a 9 cassette. the 9 is much thinner and wears
out much sooner. i dont know how and 8 sora would compare to a 9 dura-ace or
ultegra (anyone know?). OTOH the new STI systems are very nice.
-alan

"Ken" wrote in message
...
"Oz" wrote in news:5Bh5d.3242$%06.810
@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
I am curious, how hard is it to upgrade the components on a Giant OCR-3?
The current system is Shimano Sora 8-speed and I want to know how hard
it
would be to upgrade to a Shimano 9-speed system.

Upgrading is not hard, but it is not cheap and the performance gains are
not
large. You can save a lot of money by just buying a better bike to begin
with.


Yeah . . . . . . If I could have afforded a $2,000 bike I would have bought
one. Kinda hard to justify a purchase like that with 4 kids to
raise/feed/clothe. Then again, for my first bike I did not want to drop
that kind of money.

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 01:03:45 GMT, "Oz" wrote:

"Ken" wrote in message
...
"Oz" wrote in news:5Bh5d.3242$%06.810
@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
I am curious, how hard is it to upgrade the components on a Giant OCR-3?
The current system is Shimano Sora 8-speed and I want to know how hard
it
would be to upgrade to a Shimano 9-speed system.

Upgrading is not hard, but it is not cheap and the performance gains are
not
large. You can save a lot of money by just buying a better bike to begin
with.


Yeah . . . . . . If I could have afforded a $2,000 bike I would have bought
one. Kinda hard to justify a purchase like that with 4 kids to
raise/feed/clothe. Then again, for my first bike I did not want to drop
that kind of money.

You're kinda missing the point. Now-a-days, it -is- better to buy the best
bike you can afford, all other things being equal, b/c "upgrading" isn't
really that beneficial/cost effective.

IMO, bikes are cheap for what you get - light weight, indexed shifting,
clipless pedals, carbon forks. Anything that you're going to use -a lot-
you should be willing to save up or budget around and get good equipment.
IMO, at around $1200 bucks there's a price break, go under $1000 and
there's some compromise, depending on the bike...ah, heck, make that under
$800 and there's compromise if you get a year-end sale. Some might say
build your own bike off ebay or shop for used bikes and know a diamond in
the rough and you can do much better than that.

However if your bike fits, and works fairly seamlessly with you, then
you've got all you need. One need not try make up for ill fit, or lack of
training with spending more money. You can get good to great performance at
the $1000-1200 range. It's just a matter of getting over the 'sticker
shock'. Remember you're paying 10K for your car, maybe even 20K, and it's
just a box to get you to distant destinations quickly. A bike is an
experience, a joy, even a way of life/life-saving device!

-B

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 17:07:13 GMT, "Oz"
wrote:

Howdy,

I am curious, how hard is it to upgrade the components on a Giant OCR-3?
The current system is Shimano Sora 8-speed and I want to know how hard it
would be to upgrade to a Shimano 9-speed system. The higher priced Giant
OCR bikes have 9-speed systems but use the same frame as the OCR-3. I love
my bike but may want to upgrade the components in the future.

Thanks,

Rob


It isn't hard to do. New shifters, cassette, and chain. Installation
is pretty straightforward. If you do the work yourself and find good
deals on the parts, $200-250 would get you into 9-speed 105, maybe
Ultegra easily.

Any reason that you want to upgrade? Or just looking ahead to when
parts start wearing out, etc.? Others here obviously have different
opinions than I do, but holding on to a frame you like and slowly
moving into better components is a valid way to go.

Badger_South wrote:

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 01:03:45 GMT, "Oz" wrote:

"Ken" wrote in message
...
"Oz" wrote in news:5Bh5d.3242$%06.810
@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
I am curious, how hard is it to upgrade the components on a Giant
OCR-3? The current system is Shimano Sora 8-speed and I want to know
how hard
it
would be to upgrade to a Shimano 9-speed system.

Upgrading is not hard, but it is not cheap and the performance gains are
not
large. You can save a lot of money by just buying a better bike to
begin with.


Yeah . . . . . . If I could have afforded a $2,000 bike I would have
bought
one. Kinda hard to justify a purchase like that with 4 kids to
raise/feed/clothe. Then again, for my first bike I did not want to drop
that kind of money.

You're kinda missing the point. Now-a-days, it -is- better to buy the best
bike you can afford, all other things being equal, b/c "upgrading" isn't
really that beneficial/cost effective.

In general, I'd agree--it's easier to shave the grams off the rider than the
bike (and often cheaper).

However:

There are situations where "upgrading," or at least component changes, might
result in a significantly different experience.

My bike is otherwise perfect, but I am saving money for new cranks with
170mm arms instead of the 175mm. Having ridden the longer crankarms for a
while now, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I didn't just prefer shorter
crankarms to begin with (my first road bike--now in the process of being
resurrected!--had 172.5mm cranks). The anticipated gains are pretty big:
easier spinning and thus greater enjoyment through greater
speed/efficiency.

-Luigi


--
www.livejournal.com/users/ouij
Photos, Rants, Raves

"Dan Daniel" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 17:07:13 GMT, "Oz"
wrote:

Howdy,

I am curious, how hard is it to upgrade the components on a Giant OCR-3?
The current system is Shimano Sora 8-speed and I want to know how hard it
would be to upgrade to a Shimano 9-speed system. The higher priced Giant
OCR bikes have 9-speed systems but use the same frame as the OCR-3. I
love
my bike but may want to upgrade the components in the future.

Thanks,

Rob


It isn't hard to do. New shifters, cassette, and chain. Installation
is pretty straightforward. If you do the work yourself and find good
deals on the parts, $200-250 would get you into 9-speed 105, maybe
Ultegra easily.

Any reason that you want to upgrade? Or just looking ahead to when
parts start wearing out, etc.? Others here obviously have different
opinions than I do, but holding on to a frame you like and slowly
moving into better components is a valid way to go.


Dan,

That's it. I'm just thinking about the future. Thanks for the input
because you seem to be about the only one to have read my post with an open
mind and understood where I was coming from.

Thanks,

Rob

"Badger_South" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 01:03:45 GMT, "Oz" wrote:

"Ken" wrote in message
...
"Oz" wrote in news:5Bh5d.3242$%06.810
@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
I am curious, how hard is it to upgrade the components on a Giant
OCR-3?
The current system is Shimano Sora 8-speed and I want to know how
hard
it
would be to upgrade to a Shimano 9-speed system.

Upgrading is not hard, but it is not cheap and the performance gains
are
not
large. You can save a lot of money by just buying a better bike to
begin
with.


Yeah . . . . . . If I could have afforded a $2,000 bike I would have
bought
one. Kinda hard to justify a purchase like that with 4 kids to
raise/feed/clothe. Then again, for my first bike I did not want to drop
that kind of money.

You're kinda missing the point. Now-a-days, it -is- better to buy the best
bike you can afford, all other things being equal, b/c "upgrading" isn't
really that beneficial/cost effective.

IMO, bikes are cheap for what you get - light weight, indexed shifting,
clipless pedals, carbon forks. Anything that you're going to use -a lot-
you should be willing to save up or budget around and get good equipment.
IMO, at around $1200 bucks there's a price break, go under $1000 and
there's some compromise, depending on the bike...ah, heck, make that under
$800 and there's compromise if you get a year-end sale. Some might say
build your own bike off ebay or shop for used bikes and know a diamond in
the rough and you can do much better than that.

However if your bike fits, and works fairly seamlessly with you, then
you've got all you need. One need not try make up for ill fit, or lack of
training with spending more money. You can get good to great performance
at
the $1000-1200 range. It's just a matter of getting over the 'sticker
shock'. Remember you're paying 10K for your car, maybe even 20K, and
it's
just a box to get you to distant destinations quickly. A bike is an
experience, a joy, even a way of life/life-saving device!

-B



Yeah, I suppose I could have waited until next year to get my bike. Then
again, I would have missed out on 2 or 3 months worth of riding.

The bike I have is fine for me for now. I was asking the question for
general information for the future.

I have noticed the tendency on this forum to take a simple question and blow
it way out of purportion - perhaps even devolving into arguments and
oportunities for people to get on their soapboxes and preach. I asked a
fairly simple question that Dan Daniel didn't seem to have a problem
answering. Perhaps, taking a simple question and using it as an opportunity
for pontificating is a little overkill. I don't know.

Back to lurker mode.

Rob

"Dan Daniel" wrote

Any reason that you want to upgrade? Or just looking ahead to when
parts start wearing out, etc.? Others here obviously have different
opinions than I do, but holding on to a frame you like and slowly
moving into better components is a valid way to go.

If you ride enough, it's really the default route unless you sell the bike.
Cassette and chain wear out pretty quickly, but brifters go too,
eventually. Let's not forget chainrings, BB's, headsets and rims, and the
recommendation of some to retire handlebars, seatposts, stems and cranks
after significant mileage. What does that leave? This phenomenon is
especially noticeable in mountain biking where things wear out faster and
suffer a lot more crash damage. Replacing/upgrading is just the way it is.