Prevention is better than cure: this biker stays away from ‘upgraditis’

Darenn Rodriguez, a biker from Valenzuela, shares his technique in avoiding this "illness" called "upgraditis."

They say that you’ll save money when you buy a bicycle. Hmmm… it’s partly true. But it gets different when you get diagnosed with upgraditis.

For those who are not yet familiar, “upgraditis” is a bike slang which refers to the constant urge of buying parts to upgrade your bicycle.

Darenn Rodriguez, a new mountain bike owner from Valenzuela, knows this so he shares with us his technique to avoid catching this bike “illness.”

“It’s not really na iniiwasan ko mag-upgrade, iniiwasan ko ‘yung additional gastos sa pagba-bike. Nag-research ako extensively sa maintenance tsaka market prices ng pyesa sa mga biking forums,” he said.

He’s practical. Darenn noted that just like other hobbies, it can be costly especially if the biker wants to invest and improve his cycling experience.

He added, “So palagi kong tinatandaan ‘yung purpose ko sa pagba-bike at as much as possible, doon ko lang siya ginagamit para minus risk na rin na masira sa byahe or wear and tear.”

Darenn uses his mountain bike for errands and rarely goes out for long rides. He used to run a small food business so the bike was really useful when he’s buying ingredients.

He recently closed his shop because he got busy with his regular work but our biker here still bakes bread for family and friends.

“Madalas ito ginagamit ko pambili ng supplies kasi mabilis at madali akong nakakapunta sa madaming manufacturers/wholesalers dito sa Valenzuela,” he said. “Okay naman mag-bike dito kasi maraming pasikot-sikot kaya pwede ka makapag-bike sa pupuntahan mo kahit hindi ka dumaan sa main road.”

The question is, will he be infected with the upgraditis virus someday?

To be fair, he already bought some new parts for his MTB. He got the used bike at Facebook marketplace and he immediately had to change the saddle, rear wheel, pedals and headset.

“Bagong bike na lang siguro (than upgrade) kapag fully invested na ako sa biking,” he said.

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