CassidyAce
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
As immediately above, really: good advice. All I would add is, if your priorities are safety, then economy, then ride quality:
1) Replace tyres if seriously deteriorated and check the brakes, looking for frayed cables that might snap and worn down pads. Replacement costs are small.
2) Forks: follow advice immediately above - little or no cost. At the worst, just go back to the rigid forks - little or no cost again.
3) Shifting: the shifters, cassette (rear cogs), chain, etc. need to be considered as an entire system. Cleaning and lubricating the shifters is good, and cheap, but the shifting is still likely to be ropey if the cassette is worn: it could skip gears, for example. If that does not happen, all well and good; if it does happen, a new chain, cassette and tools for fitting might amount to about 40GBP, but that's more of a ride quality issue than safety-critical. That said, if you're riding in heavy traffic, it's reassuring for the bike to behave as you expect it to.
As immediately above, really: good advice. All I would add is, if your priorities are safety, then economy, then ride quality:
1) Replace tyres if seriously deteriorated and check the brakes, looking for frayed cables that might snap and worn down pads. Replacement costs are small.
2) Forks: follow advice immediately above - little or no cost. At the worst, just go back to the rigid forks - little or no cost again.
3) Shifting: the shifters, cassette (rear cogs), chain, etc. need to be considered as an entire system. Cleaning and lubricating the shifters is good, and cheap, but the shifting is still likely to be ropey if the cassette is worn: it could skip gears, for example. If that does not happen, all well and good; if it does happen, a new chain, cassette and tools for fitting might amount to about 40GBP, but that's more of a ride quality issue than safety-critical. That said, if you're riding in heavy traffic, it's reassuring for the bike to behave as you expect it to.