Carrera Vulcan upgrades

bwfc4eva868

Right after being persuaded to stick with my current Vulcan I'm after tidying it up.

It's a 2009 Carrera Vulcan V spec.

The changes I made are.

Rockshox Tora SL coils 100mm
Maxxis Highroller 2.35 40A front 60A back.
Front wheel Shimano M505
Rear wheel Mavic Xm319 on SLX Centre lock Hub.
Deore M535 disc brakes 180/160mm
And everything else is standard. Sram x4 and suntour chainset.
The rest is standard. I want to make the bike feel like new again, make it a bit lighter and make it fresh.
Budget 450 max.

Also which bits do I replace first.

supersonic

Air forks, foam grips, lighter tyres and tubes, then wheels. Weight the rest of the parts ie saddle, seatpost, stem, bars.

bwfc4eva868

supersonic wrote:

Air forks, foam grips, lighter tyres and tubes, then wheels. Weight the rest of the parts ie saddle, seatpost, stem, bars.

Replaced the saddle to a chromo railed Charge spoon. Do I replace the sram stuff to newer stuff like Deore groupset? Any light but sturdy wheel ideas? Also wanting 120mm air forks but I can only see Recon Silver to air with 15mm axle or Suntour Epicon airs. Or should I stick to 100mm

The Rookie

Check link in my sig to my 10.1Kg Kraken (same frame as yours) for some ideas.

Consider getting good used parts, much better bang for the buck!

bwfc4eva868

I really want to upgrade my gears. But I don't know what's compaitable with what etc. And what sort of bottom bracket or front mech I need.

The Rookie

All SRAM Xx (where x is a number) are compatable (shifter and mech), all other SRAM are compatable with everything Shimano. If you stay 8 speed then you can swap the SRAM bit s abit at a time, or go 9 and swap cassette, chain, shifter and mech all at once for anything you like (as above), only shifter and mech have to match, as long as the speeds are right then chian and cassette can be anything!

supersonic

Unless you start getting higher up the range, there isn't always much weight to be saved with gears, and performance is pretty much the same until you get to XT level too. Infact the best shifting stuff I have is budget 8 speed shifters and a 20 year old LX mech lol.

bwfc4eva868

The Rookie wrote:

All SRAM Xx (where x is a number) are compatable (shifter and mech), all other SRAM are compatable with everything Shimano. If you stay 8 speed then you can swap the SRAM bit s abit at a time, or go 9 and swap cassette, chain, shifter and mech all at once for anything you like (as above), only shifter and mech have to match, as long as the speeds are right then chian and cassette can be anything!

So if I went to 9 speed, I'd need say x5 front and rear mech, a 9 speed cassette and chain and then what about the front chainset and bottom bracket?

supersonic

Not worth changing to x5 at all.

bwfc4eva868

supersonic wrote:

Not worth changing to x5 at all.

Which would be a good but affordable upgrade then? X7and is it cheaper to buy individually or as a groupset?

supersonic

What is on at the minute?

bwfc4eva868

supersonic wrote:

What is on at the minute?

Sram x4 Mecha and shifters and a Suntour chainset.

supersonic

The drivetrain would be the last thing I changed. Forks first for sure, then wheels.

Wear the gears intot the ground then change all at once, at least Deore, preferably SLX/XT mix.

bwfc4eva868

supersonic wrote:

The drivetrain would be the last thing I changed. Forks first for sure, then wheels.

Wear the gears intot the ground then change all at once, at least Deore, preferably SLX/XT mix.

I compared my chain to girlfriends bike and there is hardly any difference in wear and hers is new. There is a 0.5mm gap between links. It just a bit rough shifting from the granny ring to the middle. Takes a good second or two to shift.

Should I stick to 100mm Recon gold tk or 120mm ? If I go 120mm that means I'd need a 15mm through axle hub for a new front wheel.

supersonic

Reba, TK is no real upgrade to what you have, a bit lighter.

bwfc4eva868

supersonic wrote:

Reba, TK is no real upgrade to what you have, a bit lighter.

Reba RL any good? £269 from Merlin, 120mm QR. So forks or wheel first upgrade? Then gearset and then bits like handlebars etc?

supersonic

Very good fork or that money, would be my choice. If you want 15mm you'll need to replace both at the same time.

bwfc4eva868

supersonic wrote:

Very good fork or that money, would be my choice. If you want 15mm you'll need to replace both at the same time.

Do I need a 15mm or is a QR fine? And 120mm on a Vulcan won't kill the frame will it?

supersonic

Nobody needs 15mm, but they are marginally stiffer in steering terms. 120mm will not kill it, the frame is designed for 100-120mm.

bwfc4eva868

Best get saving for some. Or slap it on credit card. Get the gears indexed and lubed by a professional to give them a bit more life. It's a good bike at the moment and I enjoy riding it. But I want to improve it.

Any reccomendations on lighter tyres but same grip levels as maxxis highrollers?

supersonic

Save money and sort the gears yourself ;-)

coulddobetter

Check out pink bikes tech tuesday , good section on setting up sram gears.pics vid and step through guide . ( very easy and save money )

bwfc4eva868

coulddobetter wrote:

Check out pink bikes tech tuesday , good section on setting up sram gears.pics vid and step through guide . ( very easy and save money )

I may have a bash actually. If I cock it up, I have Girlfriends bike as a back up. I don't think they need more than a index as they have never been done since the Halfords PDI. And they set them up nicely. Never took it back for its 6 week free service.

poah

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Not worth changing to x5 at all.

Which would be a good but affordable upgrade then? X7and is it cheaper to buy individually or as a groupset?

I run an X4 rear with an X7 shifter (9sp) and get great slick shifts - I'm only going to change the X4 rear when it breaks since an X7 rear is £40 and not worth the upgrade at the moment. I have a front LX mech with an STX shifter - they work really well and don't see the point of changing them until the brake. With my wife's Vulcan I changed fork, tyres, stem, bar, seatpost, shifters and F mech. That lot cost 375 although I did give her my old X4 RH shifter and handle bar. It has made the bike 4.7lb lighter and made it handle and run a lot better.

You only need a SRAM X* shifter for their rear X* mechs. the SRAM front mechs can be used with shimano shifters

zx6man

My x4 on my vulcan got damaged and just changed it for a x5 . couldnt justify the change to anything higher. The x5 is a lot sturdier and has been fine. Forks are next on my list as they are "past it".

zx6man

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

Very good fork or that money, would be my choice. If you want 15mm you'll need to replace both at the same time.

Do I need a 15mm or is a QR fine? And 120mm on a Vulcan won't kill the frame will it?

Changing to a 15mm will need a new front wheel also. Stick with QR

Edit, missed the bit where sonic meant changing the wheels too :?

97th choice

Look at your bars, stem, seatpost, for saving weight. I started on a carrera vulcan disc spec and the bars were very, very narrow. It might also be worth taking a magnet to them to check they aint steel, although they'll probably be aluminium.

The Rookie

Carrera don't stoop to steel, they leave that to Giant and Spesh....Vulcan will be ally.

bwfc4eva868

It weighs 15kg mine. So any weight savings a bonus.

The Rookie

Should be about 13.5!

Kowalski675

My 2007 Carrera (20" frame) was bang on 15kg in standard trim.