what upgrades

yanktanks

I brough a giant Yukon FX1 a few months ago and the bike seems a real good ride
I now have a few quid to spend and are not sure where to start upgrading
any ideas ?

the only thing i could think of is the shimano brakes perhaps changing them for avid's

apart from that if you read the review everything seems ok

I am looking at riding the ridgeway path, Exmoor, dartmoor and around cornwall
this year

so any advice would be apreciated

cooldad

Shimano are less hassle than Avids.

.blitz

Upgrades can be tempting but it's rarely worth changing components just for the sake of it. It's better to wait until something breaks or wears out and then replace it with a higher-spec equivalent. New Deore is better than clapped-out XTR.

Big, bike-changing upgrades include wheels and forks but beware of going down the lighter-is-better route; there's a middle ground of lightweight components that are noticeably more 'twangy' than their cheaper, heavier (but stronger) equivalents. It's not until you get to the real top-end stuff that you get strength and light weight but of course there's a price to pay.

Cheap, light, strong - choose any two.

yanktanks

the only other thing I could think of was changing the forkt from the standard tora's to a set of fox forks but is it worth it.

cooldad

No

geoff93

Look at your tires as a simple 'upgrade'. Are the stock tires really the best for your type of riding? Getting tires that are best suited to your type of riding and the terrain you're on really is a very good place to start. Is the saddle comfy enough? Past these two, just buy what you fancy, there are no real rules, probably best to do as Blitz suggested, waiting until parts wear out and then getting better bits! If you aren't already, consider going clipless to improve your riding!

Northwind

Tyres, pedals maybe, saddle if it's not 100% comfy- contact points are often worth doing even if you spend thousands. Other than that if the question is "What upgrade" the answer should be "none", wait til you think "I don't like this bit" or a bit drops off

Atz

cooldad wrote:

Shimano are less hassle than Avids.

Bah. You know how well I look after my bikes (for everyone else, I don't) and I've never had a single problem with Avid brakes.

cooldad

Atz wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Shimano are less hassle than Avids.

Bah. You know how well I look after my bikes (for everyone else, I don't) and I've never had a single problem with Avid brakes.

Avid make great brakes, just a PITA to bleed etc. As you would know if you loved your bikes.

EddieHitler

Like mentioned earlier dont just upgrade for the sake of it. I bought the Yukon FX 2 on the CTW scheme 2 years back and paid about £380 with the tax discount in total (its got a pretty decent frame and rear shock). started riding more and more, longer and harder and replaced the leaking forks first with some Rockshox Recon Race 120 Air for about £200 and the difference was unreal then broke the rear mech so replaced that and the chainset, crank and gears with the Shimano ELX and upgraded to 27 gears, again massive difference for about another £220, then changed the woooden leaking shimano 400 brakes with Avid Exilir R's for about another £180, which are so so much better. So what I have now is a hell of a lot of bike for about £1000 spent!

The Northern Monkey

cooldad wrote:

Atz wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Shimano are less hassle than Avids.

Bah. You know how well I look after my bikes (for everyone else, I don't) and I've never had a single problem with Avid brakes.

Avid make great brakes, just a PITA to bleed etc. As you would know if you loved your bikes.

+ 1. lol.

I just can't get on with avid.

Atz

The Northern Monkey wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Atz wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Shimano are less hassle than Avids.

Bah. You know how well I look after my bikes (for everyone else, I don't) and I've never had a single problem with Avid brakes.

Avid make great brakes, just a PITA to bleed etc. As you would know if you loved your bikes.

+ 1. lol.

I just can't get on with avid.

Clearly bleeding brakes is optional because I've bled brakes approximately NO times in the last 5 years. Don't overcomplicate things; as they say: "Ride it like you can't be bothered to fix it"

yanktanks

Ok Chaps,

First change coming up, the kenda navigal stick-e tyres have been great in the dry but now seem to want to slide all over the place.

So can anyone reccomend a good allround trye the main use of the bike is on towpaths and riding through the forest with a little riding on the roads but only for short distances.

my plans for next year are Dartmoor, Exmoor and the ridgeway path so a tyre that can handle this terrain would be good

Any ideas ?

Martin

geoff93

My suggestions are all Bontragers:
XR4s are pretty good all round tyres, a little heavy though, and they cope well with mud. Mud X tyres if you're area gets clogged with mud, its also not bad all round, as it's light and fast rolling, but not the best protection from sharp rocks
And another very good all rounder, is the XR3. I wouldn't worry about semi slicks for you, if you're wanting to do dartmoor etc.

Of course there are other brands, I just dont use them