Help Me Upgrade My Sam Hillborne

[Doug Engel]

Hi Folks, I purchased a used Sam several years back and I absolutely love it and I am interested in feedback on how to upgrade some of the stock components. I am in my 70's and ride primarily on the road and packed gravel, not mountain biking for sure. I don't drink fine wine or have expensive cars but I am willing to put some resources into beautiful components. My current components are Tektro R559 V brakes, Sugino chain rings, Shimano deore derailleurs. Shimano bar end shifters and brake levers. I have upgraded the seat (brooks) and the pedals (oneup). I am moving from 45mm to 42 mm tires. Thanks so much!

[Steve]

Doug, sounds like a nice build already. I've always found that a nice wheel set makes for a worthwhile upgrade. What are your current wheels & hubs?   Do you have a picture you could share?  

Steve in AVL

[Dave Johnston]

The Nitto two bolt S83 seatpost is a nice upgrade, make fine tuning the tilt a breeze. I think it looks good with a brooks.

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

I second a good seatpost like the 83 mentioned above. Is yours a 27.2 or a 26.8? And pictures are mandatory 

-Kai

[Tom Powell Davies]

They are not to everyone's taste, but I've found a dynamo setup to be a great addition! 

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[Ryan Fleming]

Mind you, a dynamo set-up requires a front wheel with a specialized hub...if the OP doesn't commute or ride much after dark, he can get by with other lighting options just in case he is caught out after dark. Agree about the S83 seatpost. I would upgrade to a good set of handbuilt wheels (Rich Lesnick); https://www.rivbike.com/collections/wheelset. High-end hubs like WI or Phil, for example, are really nice, but from everything I've read, Riv's Silver hubs are a fine option. In the hands of a good wheelbuilder, the choice of hubs is almost moot as Riv's site points out. And some RH tires for light mixed surfaces would be good; not sure what tires OP already has, but a tire upgrade is a lot of bang for the buck.

If you want to accessorize with racks, bags, fenders...etc., there are a ton of options which others can chime in about to extend your bike's use beyond purely recreational riding, of course. 

[Doug Engel]

this is before the saddle and pedal upgrade

[greenteadrinkers]

The Velo Orange Retro water bottle cages could quickly add a somewhat inexpensive dash of style to your Sam.

[Bill Lindsay]

That's a great looking bike, and the OP wants to upgrade some of the stock components.  I think the important step is to consider one important question:  What will these upgrades accomplish?  Lots of people endeavor upgrading their bikes, and they have various reasons:

A. By upgrading my bike, I'll make it a better bike, and that better bike will be lighter, and/or faster, and/or easier to ride at the same effort

B. By upgrading my bike, I will make it a more beautiful bike

C. By upgrading my bike, I will show the world that I love my bike, and make my bike more unique and more "mine"

D. By upgrading my bike I will change it into a more useful bike

E. By upgrading my bike, I will change the bike's "personality" or identity to something closer to what I want it to be

F. By upgrading my bike, I will make it into a more reliable, easier to maintain bike

I'd wager most upgrade projects fall into that group of six for the most part, in terms of the "why", and the answer(s) would help people make suggestions.  A secondary question is more for the person to answer themselves, and I think it can be useful.  That's another form of "Why?".  The first question above is mostly about the person, and the second "Why?" is entirely about the person and it has to do with motivations.  That question is "Why now?".  Those answers can include:

1. I'm doing it now because I am preparing for "Big Event X" on the horizon

2. I'm doing it now because I've got the money and I can't take it with me

3. I'm doing it now because I'm restless/bored, and it will be enjoyable to have a project

4. I'm doing it now because my active participation in current "Activity Y" is being held back by the bike

I'd recommend to anybody garnering advice on an upgrade project to have a decent handle on both those questions.  The only specific recommendation you've gotten was to replace a $30 aluminum seatpost with a $100 Nitto seatpost.  That definitely fits into B. and maybe E.  

My main recommendation(s) if I were to make any would be to focus on C and D.  My recommendation would be to make sure your bike allows you to do all the cycling things you want to do with it (D), and then make it yours, and then ride it as much as you can.  Like a great new baseball glove, you'll imprint yourself onto your bike.  Towards that, the biggest shortcomings of the bike in the photo are: it doesn't look like it's been ridden, and it has no bags.  That bike doesn't need much in the way of upgrades.  It needs bags and it needs miles.  

On the frivolous end of things, I love bike bling.  An acquaintance gave me a skull bead on a Rivendell overnighter, and it now hangs on my saddle rail with a loop of string.  I like hearing it click against my seat post.  Today I noticed how it wrapped around itself on my ride:

Bike Bling

I like little details that individuals put on their bikes to make the bike more theirs.  I'm going to make a little photo album for bike bling.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[David Johnston]

After seeing the picture I'd say that Hillborne looks great as is. I have used most of those parts and they are solid choices.  I still stand behind the Nitto S83 seatpost though, especially if you are switching to a Brooks which can require some futzing to get the tilt dialed in. 

I think now you need some accessories like:

• A small saddle bag to carry a tube, patch kit, tools, tire levers
• Bottle cages, oh heck go all out and get Nitto
• Frame Pump like a Silca to fit that pump peg
• If you don't want to commit to a full time rear rack, you can get a Ortlieb Quick Rack, which has small studs that stay attached to the eyelets and then pops on and off in a minute. REI sells them. https://us.ortlieb.com/products/quick-rack?srsltid=AfmBOoqlfeMycBwgy9NB2b5j-V7HLWdjHn2iXwypYsSkqR-uAgNsn8bO&variant=45562361282738
• A larger handlebar bag. There are lots of kinds, I'm liking my much cheaper Chrome, but maybe a Riv Sackville Rollo. https://www.rivbike.com/products/sackville-ezpz?variant=41110260842607 

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[John Dewey]

Berthoud bags will definitely add some beauty to an already beautiful bicycle. 

Gorgeous bar bags, so very  nice. 

Jock 

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[greenteadrinkers]

If you need light, the Paul Gino light mount, mounted to a mid-fork braze-on with a Cygolite Zot 600 USB, works great. 

[Ryan Fleming]

Others brought up basic accessories like bottle cages(King Iris are elegant and reasonably priced), bags of some sort, and lighting. I was reminded  yesterday of  that necessary accessory for civil cycling....a bell...which the mushrooming population of e-bike,e- scooter, etc. users on Winnipeg roads, MUPs , etc. seldom use.  I've almost never had anyone react badly when I ring my bell to warn them I'm coming up behind them  and I really appreciate others who use them. Plus there are some really nice ones (Spurcycle) and really fun-looking ones. 

Just sayin' because I didn't see one on that nice Sam of yours:) . 
  

[Brian Turner]

While many folks use bar end shifters on their sweptback bars, personally, I'm not a fan of that setup. I like them only for drop bars. So, my suggestion if you were open to it, would be to swap for some Billie bars and Silver 2 shifters with thumb mounts.The Billies give you more room for your hands and to fit levers, shifters, bells, etc. Plus, the ergonomics and action of the Silver thumb shifters is really nice. This is the setup I have on my Sam.

Brian

Lex KY

[Garth]

Myself, I'd get it repainted in a scheme unique to my tastes, neither limited to, or by, the common themes used by most everyone. I could get a different seatpost, but to me if the post is serving it's purpose and goes unnoticed, I'm letting it be for the time being. 

[David Johnston]

Well if you go for a repaint, I'd consider adding canti-posts and switching to V-brakes, and hey maybe S&S couplers.

-Dave

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[Ian A]

The biggest and only truly noticeable upgrade you can make to the riding experience (assuming the bike fits and is comfortable to ride) are good tires. I've enjoyed both Rene Herse and Gran Bois tires. 

Ian A 

Lake Louise AB

[Damien]

Great points above, and not sure how much value I can add to this discussion. I will say that I like to prioritize getting the touchpoints dialed first - do I have the right saddle/seatpost, good stem/bar combo for the riding I want, and do the pedals feel good underfoot? 

Agreed with my fellow Canadian Ian above in that tires are a sweet upgrade! Filling in the gaps with cool parts (i.e., cages, bags, racks, bells, etc.) is also fun because you can get super nerdy about the details. I really like SimWorks stuff all around for adding a bit of fun. It's super high quality in my experience, and a lot of the time made by Nitto. 

Do you like spending money on shiny things? White Industries cranks are a really cool upgrade I've made and while you may not notice any appreciable difference in performance, they are solid and beautiful and truly stand out when you are admiring your bike on the stand