upgrading a giant vt2

paramart

thinking about upgrading my vt2, but dont know if it is worth it, by the time iv,e finished it wouldn,t be far off the cost of a new bike, i just wondered if anyone has upgraded one and was it worth it in the long run, mainly used on the chase routes

flatpat

Depends why and what you want to upgrade.

I've got a VT and replaced cassette/chain/middle ring/front mech in the summer. With various other servicing stuff that was over £100. Which is obviously cheaper than a new bike. Oh and probably new cranks soonish..

In a year or so I'll probably need new suspension bearings and the brakes are pretty shot.

The questions for me are:
1. Does it still allow me to ride where & how I want?
2. Are the fixes too expensive or annoyingly frequent?
3. Can I afford a new one?
4. Can I forget how good my mate's Whyte E120 was when I borrowed it?

It still rides up to and beyond my capabilities and I'm pretty sure I'd end up wrecking a nice new drivechain over a winter's night riding. So right now, it's a keeper, despite the lure of shiny new things.

On the other hand, if yours needs a new fork or rear shock...

Tim.s

I had a nice VT a few years ago, the frames are quite well regarded. Well worth upgrading IMO.

I built mine from a bare frame, and the spec was Rebas up front, 717's on Hope XC hubs, LX drivetrain and brakes, mostly raceface finishing kit i think.

Built up into a nice bike, the fork was a bit short in hindsight but it was a capable XC machine and less than 28lbs if I remember right.

Didnt the factory bikes have Manitou forks? I think they were a bit pants, might be an area to think about upgrading, better set of wheels/tyres perhaps?

paramart

thanks for the replies lads, frames ok its the wheels and front shock i would like to change first, with brakes later, i find my manitou platinum blacks work fine pushing them up and down, but feel as though they arn,t doing alot when riding, could be plusher (i think) it has a 3 way swinger on the rear, what size fork would work better as even on 120 travel it,s still pretty straight ie not much rake on it, tends to jar on tight bumps

Tim.s

Yeah I thought my 120mm Rebas were a little short for the frame, I think a 140mm would be a better choice. You can pick up Second hand R/S Pikes for resonable money nowadays.

flatpat

FY I run RS Revelation U-Turn 85-130mm forks. They seem "about right" at 115mm for me doing standard xc fayre. Nice to lengthen them on longer downhills though.

I'm sure Pikes would be good. Perhaps make sure they're adjustable to keep your options open.

paramart

ta lads i thought about a set of adjustable 140 forks, i always rode with it set to 90-100 for general xc no probs but on the monkey or ftd, i find it feels like i,m going over the bars downhill with the fork set at 120 and even hanging off the rear, also it feels like the front end wants to fold under you when giving it some and turning quick in both directions, l/h followed by a r/h, i,m no expert but feel i could do better with more rake

ricky48

Hi mate,I`ve a 2004VT2 which I`ve owned since new and I`ve upgraded it a lot over the time I`ve had it.Curently it`s running with a 2008 Float 140mm fork.At the back is a PUSH tuned XV RP23 shock which replaced a duff Manitou swinger-a really good upgrade btw.What I can tell you is it runs best with a 140mm adjustable fork-I sometimes run it with a set of U-Turn Pikes along with 2.35 or 2.5 tyres for fun days at Glentress and it just floats downhill.Drop the fork travel and winch it back uphill again for take off.I`ve tried prob every combo of build on my VT and it runs with them all.This bike gets pulled out of the shed MUCH more than my pimped up 2008 FUEL EX8 which replaced my Orange 5 (sold as I bought too small a frame).Treat your VT to some upgrades-you won`t regret it.

psymon

woop woop.

i ride a fully upgraded VT! Check the "fast" in my signature

built from frame and i love it. a liitle heavy but this is partially due to components.
it is a true do it all bike, and i seem to remember it was voted second best bike (to the spesh enduro) of the decade by one of the mags.

i run 140mm Van 32s, double and a bash, sunline wide low risers and Hope Hoops.