Upgrading Mach 1200 with Ultegra Goodies

[adrian_d]

Hi All,

I am really enjoying owning this Mach 1200 Gitane bike and was considering one day chucking on some really good gear on it one day, even if its just an improvement on the brakes.

How much of this thought is insanity from my part, or are there others out there that like to make a wolf with sheeps clothing sort of thing. I was thinking of sourcing out some nice Ultegra parts, eventually it would be a good opportunity for me to upgrade it to a 10 speed from the original 8.

The bike weighs around 10kg or so which isn't the lightest around but i've got quite attached to this bike considering it was likely to be on the way to the tip.

I also had a question regarding cheap Bottom Brackets, I didn't know what I was looking for originally and ended up buying a Venzo Bottom bracket for $10, has anyone had a cheaper Bottom Bracket fail on them? Quality wise it still seems fine and I don't think they could sell them if the main shaft would snap (even though I am worried about that haha)

I wonder if I could pull most of the bits I needed from the Kestrel bike and then sell just the frame?
SOOO excited

[Abby]

That's a very interesting set-up. Particularly the saddle, and the lever position on the handlebars...

Maybe instead of buying some Ultegra stuff, buy a carton of beer to give to someone with some knowledge on bike-fitting? Do you have any discomfort anywhere riding in that position?

[adrian_d]

That's a very interesting set-up. Particularly the saddle, and the lever position on the handlebars...

Maybe instead of buying some Ultegra stuff, buy a carton of beer to give to someone with some knowledge on bike-fitting? Do you have any discomfort anywhere riding in that position?

Oh yeah that positioning was mid build unfortunately, the seat position angle has been lowered and I hadn't mounted the shifters in the right spot. I just wanted to get an image of how the bike would turn out.

In my test ride though as the seat was, there was a particularly sharp pain in the groin lol. I dunno how anyone rode with the seat like that prior. That would have hurt.

PS: Nice blog you've got there, i'll be sure to keep upto date on your progress

[Abby]

Thanks for the compliment...

Back to your original questions though - if you really like your bike, then go for it! From a hard $$$ point of view, you'll be over-spending on it. But from a personal point of view, if you have no intention to on-sell it, and you really like it, then why the h3ll not...

Best way is usually to upgrade as things break or lose their performance. You'll need to do a bunch of things together though (eg rear derailleur/shifters/cassette/chain), as systems are 'inter-linked'...

I don't know much about bottom brackets - but good-quality standard ones are all pretty cheap. If it works, don't stress. When it gets grindy or stiff, chuck and get a new one then...

Cheers,
Abby

[adrian_d]

Good point thanks for the information mate

One thing I couldn't figure out is how I could be better sized for the bike, I am 172cm and I noticed that the bike i'm riding is 57cm.

When I took it for a spin today I found it well suited to me, I adjusted the seat and took it for a spin. The one thing I noticed though in the riding position was that my neck was a bit sore after sitting in that position for a while.