Hi All,
I have an old Bianchi Broadway cross-terrain type bike from the late 80's/early 90's that I bought while in college. I'm the original owner and it's basically just sat since I bought it new. I am now thinking of fixing it up to take on family rides with my 2 year old son in tow (either a trailer or one of those bolt-on child seats).
My question, is this bike worth doing any upgrades to? The bike is in nearly-new condition. Steel frame, straight handlebars, shimano 15-spd shifters. Would there be much to gain by having my LBS upgrade my components to a newer 24/27 speed and maybe swapping out the straight bars for road-bike style bars? Given that I will have a 2-yr old in tow, I think the strength of steel frame that I have would outweigh the weight savings of a new aluminum frame road bike. (Maybe I'll get one of those someday if I decide to get into the road-biking thing.) Until then, it looks like I should be able to make some upgrades to my current bike and have the budget equivelant of a Trek 520.
What upgrades are recommended? What would give me the most bang for the buck? How much should I expect to spend to have my bike shop get this thing in order? Am I crazy for even thinking of upgrading this bike in the first place?
Thanks,
Scott
I have an old Bianchi Broadway cross-terrain type bike from the late 80's/early 90's that I bought while in college. I'm the original owner and it's basically just sat since I bought it new. I am now thinking of fixing it up to take on family rides with my 2 year old son in tow (either a trailer or one of those bolt-on child seats).
My question, is this bike worth doing any upgrades to? The bike is in nearly-new condition. Steel frame, straight handlebars, shimano 15-spd shifters. Would there be much to gain by having my LBS upgrade my components to a newer 24/27 speed and maybe swapping out the straight bars for road-bike style bars? Given that I will have a 2-yr old in tow, I think the strength of steel frame that I have would outweigh the weight savings of a new aluminum frame road bike. (Maybe I'll get one of those someday if I decide to get into the road-biking thing.) Until then, it looks like I should be able to make some upgrades to my current bike and have the budget equivelant of a Trek 520.
What upgrades are recommended? What would give me the most bang for the buck? How much should I expect to spend to have my bike shop get this thing in order? Am I crazy for even thinking of upgrading this bike in the first place?
Thanks,
Scott