# First MTB,what to upgrade??



## Gixer Rob (8 Jun 2012)

just bought this for £50........

I know its about 10yrs old but dont think its had much use..still original tyres,chain,brakes etc....
not sure how much il use it yet but id like to upgrade it a little bit..2nd hand where possible (motorbike + road bike are draining my play budget)...but not sure where to start.........
would like some nicer forks and maybe upgrade brakes in some way...any suggestions or guidance greatly appreciated.......
plus im not sure what to do about pedals...DMR V8's just to get going with and ive got some spare SPD's.........what do most people use,clipless, clip in or those dual sided things???


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## Cubist (8 Jun 2012)

Bargain!

What do you want to do with it? If you want to ride towpaths etc then it'll be fine as it is. If you want to ride some more adventurous bridleways and trails then perhaps you could upgrade the fork and brakes as you say. 

A lot depends on budget, and whether the frame has mounting lugs for disc brakes at the rear. I suspect it might. 
If so you can fit a pair of hydraulic disc brakes, but to do so you're going to need a new wheelset. 

You could go for a new fork, but again, this will depend on budget. You can get a new Suntour XCM or a Rockshox XC fork for less than a ton on ebay. You could get a used Tora for about £100.

Go and browse Singletrackworld.com . The "For Sale" forum is full of folk shifting cheap bits of kit, and wheelsets come up all the time. It's not beyond the bounds of possibility that you could get a cheap pair of used XC wheels for about £50-75. 

Check there for brakes as well. I got a virtually brand new pair of Shimano SLX for £80 and a used pair of Deore brakes for £55. 

Stick your SPD pedals on it.


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## Gixer Rob (8 Jun 2012)

intend to do trails on it,plenty of local routes,,,
thanks for yor advice ,,il check out singletrack.....
Id like to be able to sort forks and brakes for £150-£200 if possible,and raid friends spares boxes for any other little bits...
on the look out for some cheap MTB shoes then......
can i get an idea of what tube length I need on forks without taking them off the bike?


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## cycleruk (8 Jun 2012)

Neat little bike you got there . First of all i would get a gel seat, that way, the more comfortable you are, the more enjoyable the ride.
Next fit some metal pedals, they will last a lot longer and wont give way when you put your foot down on them.
I would then think about getting a chain guard, i have six pairs of trousers with rips and tears in them before putting one on so trust me there worth there weight in gold.
looking at the pics, it looks like there are braze ons for front disk but not rear but you could fit a disk brake on the front (maybe even hydraulic if you wanted to) but you would need to chance the wheel.
The front fork i would swapt for a fork that has a lock out function (make sure you get the right size steer tube 1 inche for example). if you intend on doing off road then the tyres you have will be ok but if you do mostly on road then i would look at putting some road tyres on again they do make a big difference.

You dont have to buy this all in one go, you could do a little at a time that way you spread the cost. What ever you decide to do, it looks like you have a valiant steed there


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## dan_bo (8 Jun 2012)

I fink planet x are doing rockshox recons cheap.....


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## Gixer Rob (8 Jun 2012)

forks and some half decent flat pedals first then.......
and il put the word out about brakes and wheels,,,see what anyones got spare/cheap......

gona have a run on it sunday at cannock chase,,,,,brother in-law and his mate on 3K+ Cube and Specialized ...il av to leave my brain at home i think!!


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## Dan151 (8 Jun 2012)

Wheels, pedals and forks. Might have a struggle finding forks that fit your head tube but then again if your going for second hand oldish ones you might not. Looks in good nick for a ten year old bike. Also give it a quick service (check the gear cables n that) then get out on it


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## Gixer Rob (8 Jun 2012)

whats goin to be the problem finding forks??..tube diameter??...modern are 1 1/8" are mine likely to be smaller??

rides smooth enough and gears seem fine...
sunday will be a shake down...


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## Dan151 (8 Jun 2012)

Erm I dunno just my head tube looks a lot bigger than yours and I'm running rockshox rebas 120mm travel. There great for trails but are £340 brand new. Upgrade your suntours to a more modern model. There a good and reliable fork. Not very expensive either


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## Gixer Rob (8 Jun 2012)

Dan151 said:


> Erm I dunno just my head tube looks a lot bigger than yours and I'm running rockshox rebas 120mm travel. There great for trails but are £340 brand new. Upgrade your suntours to a more modern model. There a good and reliable fork. Not very expensive either


 
right...gotcha,,,,,might sling it in back of car tomorrow and take it down LBS let him tell me what will n wont fit it.......
thanks for your advice....


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## Cubist (8 Jun 2012)

Your head tube will be inch and an eighth, it' the length of the steerer that will be critical. Measure the length from the top of the fork crown, to the top cap. The minimum you will get away with is the length of the head tube, plus the stack height of the stem, plus a minimum of 10 mm spacers.


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## Gixer Rob (8 Jun 2012)

Cubist said:


> Your head tube will be inch and an eighth, it' the length of the steerer that will be critical. Measure the length from the top of the fork crown, to the top cap. The minimum you will get away with is the length of the head tube, plus the stack height of the stem, plus a minimum of 10 mm spacers.




thats great!!..thanks for explaining that....


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## zizou (8 Jun 2012)

Assuming everything is in working order (it certainly looks in decent condition) then i'd ride it until things wear out then upgrade when you need to replace. That will keep the costs down for now and in the meantime you can keep an eye out for bargains on disc brakes and forks etc for the future.

Unfortunately one of the things about mtbing in a climate like Britain is that wearing out components can happen quite quickly so personally i never bother upgrading until I need to replace something!


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## Dan151 (8 Jun 2012)

Or you could save for a better bike? Ride that, get some good experience, maintain it, then once it's had enough buy a new one


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## Gixer Rob (10 Jun 2012)

rode it yesterday to our local country park which also includes dissused quarry...
had a couple of hours on ash paths,forest trails and narrow technical drops and descents.....
nothing broke!! got covered in mud,,,wet and fell off!!! loved every minute!!

totaly different work out from the roadie...much more use of upper body strength.....

gave it good wash and lube when got home...and managed to blag pair of double sided clipless/spd pedals off a friend of a friend today!!!


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## lukesdad (10 Jun 2012)

Best " bang for bucks" upgrade on a bike are tyres. As cubist said clipless pedals, then worry about forks and brakes. Would I worry about disc brakes ? Unless you can find them cheap.. probably not, a decent set of V brakes well set up will stop you well enough. look for some top end avids with some single digit levers second hand. If you want a disc set up Id start saving for your next bike. 

By the way Cubist how's that components feature going ?


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## Gixer Rob (10 Jun 2012)

lukesdad said:


> Would I worry about disc brakes ? Unless you can find them cheap.. probably not, a decent set of V brakes well set up will stop you well enough. look for some top end avids with some single digit levers second hand.


 
got a rough idea what £££ id be looking at 2nd hand??


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## lukesdad (10 Jun 2012)

Gixer Rob said:


> got a rough idea what £££ id be looking at 2nd hand??


 
Wouldn t pay more than £50. The only thing you have to check other than blocks are the tension rods but these can easily be tweaked. the single digit levers may be a bit scarce but they are a luxury.


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## lukesdad (10 Jun 2012)

oops meant speed dial levers and single digit brakes

for instance: ( new )
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avid-Spee...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item4ab6ff96f1

and I have a pair of these although you dont need the Ti

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avid-Sing...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item4166b5db67

There are loads on ebay.


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## Dan151 (10 Jun 2012)

V brakes will be good enough  cheap and effective. Cheap disc brakes won't be worth it really. Get good brake blocks too.


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## Gixer Rob (12 Jun 2012)

at the risk of sounding thick....
how could i fit these as my levers are intergrated with my shimano deore shifters..??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avid-Spee...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item4ab6ff96f1......

I feel dim just asking!!


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## Dan151 (12 Jun 2012)

You might need some new shifters. There not too expensive.


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## Gixer Rob (12 Jun 2012)

like this??
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-D...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item45fd236db5......

suppose its obvious!!  although il use being on nights as an excuse!!

cheers Dan


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## Dan151 (12 Jun 2012)

Yeah they would be good but you could get them cheaper i think. Been on nights is a good excuse  I'll be using it next week


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