My first bike (Muddyfox Impel)

jamz74

Not the best bike lol but i like its pretty decent. Added mudguards and my nickname as a decal (JAMZ). Going to replace the pedals with DMR V8 and also new handle bars and a sigma computer. What do you think of it? Also how do you think i can improve it?

PashleyRider

The best thing you can do is ride it and get saving for something better later on

I would not upgrade it as it isn't a particularly good base to upgrade around and it will be never ending! No disc brake mounts (that I can see) limits brake options too. If you are insistant on upgrading, then some better forks would not go a miss!

Briggo

jamz74 wrote:

What do you think of it? Also how do you think i can improve it?

Not a lot, because you put a silly decal on it.

Upgrading, why what terrain are you riding?

harrybarfield

Hi,

I was in the same boat as you when i first started out which was about 18 months ago. I started with a low end supermarket bike that wasn't really up to the job and started looking at parts that I could buy to improve it. I asked a similar question on MTB forums and didn't really get the answer I wanted. Everyone told me to get a new bike and I assumed it was a case of snobbery. Luckily I listened to them and went out and brought a second hand GT Avalanche and never looked back.

The upgrade potential of your bike is minimal and for the hundreds you could sink in to it, be worthless. Its going to be heavy, your stuck with rim brakes, your wheels are going to weigh a ton and not be particularly strong......I could go on but I don't want it to sound as im trying to insult your pride and joy because i'm not. Every single component will need upgrading if you plan an enjoyable trail centre ride and after all that you will still be left with a poor frame.

To put it in context a new set of decent forks will set you back £150. I paid £120 for my GT which had better everything than my :oops: Shockwave :oops: Y frame bike that weighed about 40lbs!

Ive since changed everything on the bike other than (literally) the frame front mech and seatpost!

Don't for a second think mountain bikes are a cheap sport!

Hope this helps

Harry.

petriodet

will break if you drop off a kerb and the best way to improve it is with fire.


sorry but there is no point polishing a turd keep it as it is until it breaks and then buy a decent bike.

The Rookie

Some of the comments are a bit harsh however it is NOT worth upgrading, just ride it as is and enjoy as much as possible, if things break then you may want to fit something a little better for reliability, otherwise save up and start thinking of something better in a bit.

Learn to do your own maintenance as it will save you a fortune and give you the confidence to consider a used buy next time.

Myster101

Ride it and enjoy it as it is. Like The Beginner said, start carrying out your own maintenance (strip it as far as you feel comfortable with then rebuild is a great way to learn) then save up and get yourself a decent second hand bike, or a new one if funds allow

Wouldn't bother trying to upgrade as the frame isn't worth it.

jamz74

Thanks for all the comments, some were a bit harsh though

Ill keep this bike for until it breaks down. I'm learning to do my own maintenance repairs to save me costs. I don't ride on any kind of specific terrain. Just mostly ride on London city roads, sometimes in country park and this bike is pretty decent for that. I'm thinking to upgrade my tires to a slightly slimmer to reduce weight and speed up the ride. I'm thinking of purchasing the 'Continental Race King (Racesport) 2.0'. This will cost me about £30. Do you think it is a good upgrade? If not, which tire would you recommend?

Thanks

frankspencer1979

I put conti race kings on an old bike I used for roads and bridle ways and they made a huge difference, really fast rolling, good tyres. Took them round gisburn forest a couple of times without many problems, so they'll easily cope with London roads! For purely road riding, you could get full on slick tyres, but at least you got the option to get a little dirty with these

blue9iron

Briggo wrote:

jamz74 wrote:

What do you think of it? Also how do you think i can improve it?

Not a lot, because you put a silly decal on it.

Upgrading, why what terrain are you riding?

Not very helpful guy is asking for advice on upgrades for his 1st bike and needs encouraging not putting down.We all have to start somewhere and that type of reply is the reason why people dont ask for help or advice.Enjoy your bike and upgrade it if you decide to carry on, you can get a good bargain of ebay and then start to upgrade that.

Briggo

blue9iron wrote:

Briggo wrote:

jamz74 wrote:

What do you think of it? Also how do you think i can improve it?

Not a lot, because you put a silly decal on it.

Upgrading, why what terrain are you riding?

Not very helpful guy is asking for advice on upgrades for his 1st bike and needs encouraging not putting down.We all have to start somewhere and that type of reply is the reason why people dont ask for help or advice.Enjoy your bike and upgrade it if you decide to carry on, you can get a good bargain of ebay and then start to upgrade that.

I asked a question, what terrain is he riding to ascertain why he wants to 'upgrade' to help, now if you'd like to jog on.

blue9iron

Briggo wrote:

blue9iron wrote:

Briggo wrote:

jamz74 wrote:

What do you think of it? Also how do you think i can improve it?

Not a lot, because you put a silly decal on it.

Upgrading, why what terrain are you riding?

Not very helpful guy is asking for advice on upgrades for his 1st bike and needs encouraging not putting down.We all have to start somewhere and that type of reply is the reason why people dont ask for help or advice.Enjoy your bike and upgrade it if you decide to carry on, you can get a good bargain of ebay and then start to upgrade that.

I asked a question, what terrain is he riding to ascertain why he wants to 'upgrade' to help, now if you'd like to jog on.

No you be little him with your 1st sentance about the sticker, he has asked for advice as it is his first bike his pride and joy and you take the p__s grow up.

chrismarkham1982

As others have said, ride it into oblivion and enjoy it! if you still have the bug then get a bargain off ebay.

blue9iron

chrismarkham1982 wrote:

As others have said, ride it into oblivion and enjoy it! if you still have the bug then get a bargain off ebay.

Well said enjoy your bike get out and ride it as often as you can, learn to keep it well maintained and it will repay you and you will get your money out of it.We can not all afford to buy top of the range bikes and be label snobs.

chrismarkham1982

This man speaks the truth, I only got mine in the state it is through my wifes uni payments :oops: lol, otherwise it would be a standard carrera vulcan for me.

minley1

It's a good looking bike, just enjoy it, don't worry about what to improve though, the best thing to improve any bike is your fitness and skill, the more you ride it the better you will get.

blue9iron

chrismarkham1982 wrote:

This man speaks the truth, I only got mine in the state it is through my wifes uni payments :oops: lol, otherwise it would be a standard carrera vulcan for me.

Hi Chris I also own a Carrera vulcan that I am upgrading so no label snobery hear , just learning how to look after it and enjoying going out on it as often as poss.So to the op nice starter and as we have said just enjoy it and if you want cover your bike in decals it is after all your bike.

chrismarkham1982

Nice! to the OP, when you run your bike (look after it properly and that will be a while!) remember, you dont have to spend a lot to get a good bike

5tew ST

Looks like a good place to start to me. Make all you mistakes on this one fall of it loads ( but don't hurt yourself ) then when your hooked on biking and know what your doing in the way of maintenance treat yourself to something better that you ll really enjoy..

Most importantly have some fun

stubs

Its not the best bike in the world but it is still loads better than the bikes I started on years ago. Spend the minimum on it to keep the wheels going round and save your pennies for when you are totally hooked and ready to start splashing the cash on something shinier. Get it muddy and all bikes look the same :-)

Briggo

blue9iron wrote:

Briggo wrote:

blue9iron wrote:

Briggo wrote:

jamz74 wrote:

What do you think of it? Also how do you think i can improve it?

Not a lot, because you put a silly decal on it.

Upgrading, why what terrain are you riding?

Not very helpful guy is asking for advice on upgrades for his 1st bike and needs encouraging not putting down.We all have to start somewhere and that type of reply is the reason why people dont ask for help or advice.Enjoy your bike and upgrade it if you decide to carry on, you can get a good bargain of ebay and then start to upgrade that.

I asked a question, what terrain is he riding to ascertain why he wants to 'upgrade' to help, now if you'd like to jog on.

No you be little him with your 1st sentance about the sticker, he has asked for advice as it is his first bike his pride and joy and you take the p__s grow up.

He specifically asks for people's opinion, his own words - what do you think of it?

An opinion is given, now accept that opinion and get off your high horse.

blue9iron

Briggo wrote:

blue9iron wrote:

Briggo wrote:

blue9iron wrote:

Briggo wrote:

jamz74 wrote:

What do you think of it? Also how do you think i can improve it?

Not a lot, because you put a silly decal on it.

Upgrading, why what terrain are you riding?

Not very helpful guy is asking for advice on upgrades for his 1st bike and needs encouraging not putting down.We all have to start somewhere and that type of reply is the reason why people dont ask for help or advice.Enjoy your bike and upgrade it if you decide to carry on, you can get a good bargain of ebay and then start to upgrade that.

I asked a question, what terrain is he riding to ascertain why he wants to 'upgrade' to help, now if you'd like to jog on.

No you be little him with your 1st sentance about the sticker, he has asked for advice as it is his first bike his pride and joy and you take the p__s grow up.

He specifically asks for people's opinion, his own words - what do you think of it?

An opinion is given, now accept that opinion and get off your high horse.

I dont have a horse it's a Carrera vulcan as stated earlier so get your facts right.

cat_with_no_tail

The first comment was clearly a bit of banter, the second was a very valid question.

This isn't moredirt, if you post your bike on here you're likely to get honest opinions not just a handjob for your ego and a comment that looks like it was written by a spastic gibbon.

"Nys byk m8, r8 myn plz"

FWIW, I agree with Briggo too, decals just look stupid unless you're racing for a pro team. Which I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the OP does not.

The Rookie

blue9iron wrote:

I also own a Carrera vulcan that I am upgrading.

Hi,
Fancy adding your bike to the Carrera HT thread (see link in my sig)

Simon

gt-arrowhead

I see exactly where you are coming from about wanting to upgrade this. Im fairly new to biking too and the same sort of thing happened to me. I had a standard bike and i just wanted to upgrade EVERYTHING cos i liked it so much. From experience i seriously recommend for you to get slick tyres if you are riding around london roads like me. Go on eBay and have a look at "Curio UK" Ive bought 3 pairs of tyres from them. They are really great bang for your buck. They arent like truely amazing or anything like that. Just half decent tyres. They come with red sidewalls or even full red if you really want to make your bike look really whack. But i seriously recommend getting slicks on that. All i did to my first bike was get slicks, new grips, and a new saddle. I put some spare handlebars on aswell. It eventually ended up being stolen but it helped me get into biking. Here is the raleigh firefly that started me off with bikes. Half ruined decals and what not. Loved it. Miss you firefly LOLOLOL.

This had the Curio UK tyres i mentioned above, have a look.