New bike + upgrading advice.

aba2005

I've ordered a GT Avalanche Expert. However i'm planning to upgrade/change the cranks, mechs, shifters and cassette within a month or two of buying the bike. I planning to change everything to XT except for the rear mech which I would change to XTR. Is this a bad idea? Should I try and spend a little more now on the bike instead of upgrading later? I had the Avalanche 1 b4 so i know i'll like the bike thats why I chose it.

Also I read the that Shimano recommend rapid-rise for trail and normal rise for all mountain on their rear mechs. Is there a technical reason for this? I ask cos I like rapid rise but if normal rise is stronger then I would switch.

Anyone know a website doing the stuff i'm looking to upgrade to in a groupset? I haven't been able to find one.

Thanks for your help.

chilledsandwich

Why are you upgrading all these bits? Why not wait a month or so and then order a bike with all those parts already on? You will get a much better bike for the extra £300 or so that you will be spending on the groupset. Did you have a look at the Zaskar? Pretty much the same frame, but better forks and an LX groupset for about £300 more.

If that is not an option, why not hammer that groupset into the ground first? I use SRAM, I personally prefer SRAM, I would not want to use that groupset for a month or so and then change it for a very comparable groupset. That groupset will easily keep you clicking over for a year or so. Easily.

Don't think you have thought all this through really.

Will try and help though, Shimano gear isn't really sold as a groupset any more. have a look HERE for Madisons pages on Deore XT or a look HERE for a good price on a Deore LX groupset from On-One.

aba2005

the main thing I would upgrade is the cranks. The rear mech I would change because I like rapid rise. The rest is probably me just being sentimental, lol, because I had upgraded to those parts on my old bike b4 it was stolen.

I did look at the Zasker but was put off by the shorter travel fork which was not adjustable, just checked out the 08 model though and that has 100mm, the 07 had 80mm.

Is the Reba a much better fork than the Tora and can it take as much punishment? Also I thought the Zasker was a trail bike while the Avalanche is an all mountain bike.

Thanks for your help.

DARK KNIGHT

Hi I bought a Trek 6000 6 mths ago rode it 4mths then upgraded rather than buy another bike as the frame was already a good starting point for a decent light hardtail
When looking at forks I found ,from reviews and specs given including what forks were used on highend bikes and found that toras were ok but a bit too heavy and the better choice were allways the reba or recon range of shocks( if buying rock shox in that range).
Plus deore lx range is more than adequate for most needs its light and strong plus very durable and only a few grams heavier than say xt and xtr
I do agree with the chap who made the comment also about buying another bike ,I`m quite sure that if you look into this further for the money that you will have to spend it would have been cheaper to have bought upgraded bike already
hope this is helpful

aba2005

The parts I take off the bike could be sold on, so I would make some of the money back.

I went on Rock Shox's site and all their All Mountain fork are about 4.5lbs in weight. The XC forks are lighter but I guess that means they aren't as strong. They class the Tora as a XC fork, however Evans cycles class it as all mountain.</confused>

zero303

The Reba is massively better than the Tora - nowt wrong with the Tora, just the Reba is that good!

Toras get classed as XC and AM because if you get the U-Turn model you can go from 80mm up to 130mm athe twist of a knob.

Do yourself a huge favour and get the Zaskar - I'm pretty sure it's a different and better frame, much better fork (100mm Rebas are as good as it gets for mere mortals) and brakes, this will be so much more noticeable than an XT groupset which apart from the cranks and brakes is more of a nice-to-have.

Please buy the Zaskar!!!

Edit: (Just buy a riser bar and shorter/higher stem and it'll suddenly be a trail bike not a racer as the frame geometery doesn't look all that racey)

chilledsandwich

The Zaskar is a classic bike and the frame will stay with you for years. There have been quite a few coming into my shop over the last few months, in all sorts of guises, some have gone silly lightweight and others have gone for a really good hybrid for getting to work on. Frame is so versatile!!

Second hand bike parts are not worth that much money tbh, especially if you are going to be riding it a month or so before selling. Have a look on eBay for the parts you will have to get a rough idea of how much money you can make back.

The Rebas are very good forks and can take a fair bit of abuse. They are also a lot lighter which you will notice when it comes to climbing.

I have an LX crankset on one bike and an XT on another and it is so hard to notice a difference between the two. Yes the XT is marginally lighter and marginally stiffer, but is it really worth coughing up that extra £130 to get that?

It is down to you at the end of the day, so do what you want to do, but I think you should bite the bullet and get a better bike from the off, at least then you know that those are the compnents that you are going to stick with and you know that it is worth setting it all up properly and looking after it right, otherwise the rest fo the bike can suffer.

supersonic

The Reba isn't massively better than the Tora! The 318 version uses the motion control damper, and is quite a bit stiffer. Its also an all mountain fork and will take more hammer. However it is a little wasted in the lower travel settings, which is what the Reba does best.

The Zaskar has the lighter frame than the Avalanche - but its an XC bike. The Avalanche uses more metal, slacker angles and his built for harder riding, hence why it has a fork like it does.

I have to say those upgrades dont make economical sense unless you recoup a lot of money.

aba2005

Thank you all for your advice. I'm going to go with the Avalanche Expert but not do the upgrades apart from the cranks. As I said before i'm gonna change the mech to a rapid-rise mech as i'm used to that now and I don't know of any reason that makes a conventional mech better, that is more a sideways move anyway. If I do this as soon as I get the bike, I can sell the parts as brand new and should recoup at least 50% of what I spend. I've seen the XT cranks for £85, which is only £25 more than LX. Is the LX so close to XT that the XT isn't worth £25 more?

The rest of the upgrades can be done when the parts are knackered as people suggested.

One more question, I'm assuming the shimano hydraulics they refer to in the bike a description are the Deore brakes. What are they like? Are they good?

omegas

The other option you have is to go for the GT Aggressor Elite (Halfords £899)
Rock Shox Revelation 409 forks and LX/XT group set and a good specification throughout.

If it’s the SRAM that is putting you off on the Avalanche Expert, try it for a few weeks as you might find you prefer over Shimano. Sometimes we become brand blind and don’t give other equipment a chance to see what its like.

I have a Shimano group set on my GT hard tail and SRAM on my Specialized full sus both change gears with there own characteristics and one is no better than the other.

If you ride to the limit none of them parts will last long so run them in to the ground over a few months and upgrade as needed or just purchase a bike that is as close to the requirements you need.

aba2005

Unfortunately the bike has to be from Evans as it is through my insurance policy and Evans is the insurance company's supplier.

That Elite sounds good though as I know they use the same frame as an Avalanche. GT used to make an Avalanche Pro with an XT groupset, I wonder why they stopped.

stevebrock

aba2005 wrote:

Thank you all for your advice. I'm going to go with the Avalanche Expert but not do the upgrades apart from the cranks. As I said before i'm gonna change the mech to a rapid-rise mech as i'm used to that now and I don't know of any reason that makes a conventional mech better, that is more a sideways move anyway. If I do this as soon as I get the bike, I can sell the parts as brand new and should recoup at least 50% of what I spend. I've seen the XT cranks for £85, which is only £25 more than LX. Is the LX so close to XT that the XT isn't worth £25 more?

The rest of the upgrades can be done when the parts are knackered as people suggested.

One more question, I'm assuming the shimano hydraulics they refer to in the bike a description are the Deore brakes. What are they like? Are they good?

Ive gone for an LX over an XT for my Rockhopper Pro, it is my second bike so couldnt justify having XT as it doesnt get much use. XT is going on my Pitch Pro once the stock Deore cranks give up!