Fixing the hack bike - Shimano LX?

[rgmerk]

As well as the road bike, I have a cheap crappy Kona Dew hybrid to pound over bike trails, the odd bit of gravel, etc. etc. etc. It serves very well for that purpose, but the el-cheapo Shimano 8-speed drivetrain seems to be completely stuffed. Obviously, the chain and cassette are knackered, but I've noticed that the front rings seem to be bent, the rear derailleur won't adjust to shift smoothly...it's knackered, in other words. But the wheels are fine (both front and rear have been replaced) and the frame is OK.

So I was thinking of keeping the frame and replacing all the moving parts with a new Shimano LX groupset.

It seems to me that even allowing for the cost of paying a bike shop to fit the parts, it's a much better deal than a new bike.

So:

* are there any potential incompatibilities between my frame and the groupset to watch for?
* are there any other reasons why I should chuck my bike away and buy a new one, as suggested by one bike shop when I asked about my plan?
* assuming this plan is sound, is there any reason why I wouldn't go for the 44/32/22 crankset rather than the 48-36-26?

 

[badboyberty]

So:

* are there any potential incompatibilities between my frame and the groupset to watch for?
* are there any other reasons why I should chuck my bike away and buy a new one, as suggested by one bike shop when I asked about my plan?
* assuming this plan is sound, is there any reason why I wouldn't go for the 44/32/22 crankset rather than the 48-36-26?

1. Compatibilities, only issue would be whether your Dew has disc brake mounts or not. Can't remember when all Dews started to carry tabs and the extra brace on the rear.

2. Provided you haven't dented or bent anything, your frame should be fine. Kona seemed to use the exact same frame (except for provision or lack of disc brake mounts) on all the Dew series, so at the entry level you got a good frame with a bonus gruppo

3. 48T set is the "hybrid" set and gives you more big gears for bitumen cruising, while the 44/42T versions are geared more for XC use. The only advantage in swapping down to a 42T chain-ring set-up is if you don't think your current gearing goes low enough.

If I was you I'd do the upgrade keeping the 48T chainring set-up...

 

[rgmerk]

thanks

Thanks very much for the advice.

The reason for being keen on the the 44/33/22 was so that I could switch to a closer-ratio 11-28 cassette without getting rid of the really low gears.

I suspect 44-11 will be more than high enough given that I don't use this bike for bunch rides or for racing downhill.