New Again to MTB, 3rd time lucky?
CaptainPeanut89
Posts: 4
Hi there everyone,
I’ve tried MTB three times over the course of the last 15 years. Currently running a 2010 GT Avalanche it’s had many guises over the years I’ve owned it.
With covid-19 I decided to get out on the bike a bit more and so far I’ve upgraded the more than rubbish Suntour XCM fork to a Rockshox 30 Gold RL without the remote I found it useless (still budget but better), shorter stem and wider bars (I’ve done loads of research) and whacked some new wheels on it. I know 26’’ is not the main standard anymore, but I like fixing things and learning the correct way to maintain a bike which will go a long way in the future.
I guess I’ve spent what I paid for it on ‘upgrades’, however my aim is to improve my skills so I can purchase a FS bike next year and start to tackle more challenging terrain.
Would anyone recommend upgrading the cable discs to hydro perhaps a clout 1.
Other than that I’m happy with 3 x 8 gearing at the moment and see no need spend further money on components that are still working. Just need a new cassette and chain and it’ll be good as new. Any recommendations appreciated!
Here’s few photos of it over the years from day I brought it to now (ignore the halo sas rims they were leftover from another bike)
I’ve tried MTB three times over the course of the last 15 years. Currently running a 2010 GT Avalanche it’s had many guises over the years I’ve owned it.
With covid-19 I decided to get out on the bike a bit more and so far I’ve upgraded the more than rubbish Suntour XCM fork to a Rockshox 30 Gold RL without the remote I found it useless (still budget but better), shorter stem and wider bars (I’ve done loads of research) and whacked some new wheels on it. I know 26’’ is not the main standard anymore, but I like fixing things and learning the correct way to maintain a bike which will go a long way in the future.
I guess I’ve spent what I paid for it on ‘upgrades’, however my aim is to improve my skills so I can purchase a FS bike next year and start to tackle more challenging terrain.
Would anyone recommend upgrading the cable discs to hydro perhaps a clout 1.
Other than that I’m happy with 3 x 8 gearing at the moment and see no need spend further money on components that are still working. Just need a new cassette and chain and it’ll be good as new. Any recommendations appreciated!
Here’s few photos of it over the years from day I brought it to now (ignore the halo sas rims they were leftover from another bike)
0
Comments
-
Even the cheapest hydraulic brakes will out perform cable operated ones. I would say it's a good and worthwhile upgrade to make.
Fit and forget with no more fiddling around readjusting as pads wear, better power and feel. I say do it! You can buy a decent set of entry level Shimano hydro's for around £40ish if you shop around.
Best bang for buck at moment would be Deore M6000's if you want to spend a little more?0 -
Thank you reaper, I’ve been dithering on the hydro front. I’ll probably add that to my to do list for June. Once I have hydros on it that will be that, no more upgrades to this bike. (I say)0
-
If you want to improve your skills, a coaching session is always a good investment (assuming Covid restrictions allow).
You mention that you would like to take on more challenging terrain and so you may get more benefit from a bit of coaching than any component upgrades on your existing bike.
Enjoy!0 -
I have been looking for coaching sessions to improve but current climate is blocking that, my SO is from South Wales, about 20mins from BPW so there’s plenty of areas to ride around there, of course BPW is not suitable on my current bike/skillset.0
-
You'll be able to do the majority of the Blue runs at BPW on that without too much trouble. You won't be the fastest down but you will get down.
“Life has been unfaithful
And it all promised so so much”
Giant Trance 2 27.5 2016 ¦ Sonder Broken Road 2021¦ Giant Revolt Advanced 2 2019 ¦ Giant Toughtroad SLR 1 2019 ¦ Giant Anthem 3 2015 ¦ Specialized Myka Comp FSR 20090 -
I took my 11 year old grandson to BPW for his birthday. He did it on a 26er XC with a Rockshox Recon 30 fork. He did all the blues that were open and one of the flowing reds. BPW were having a bad day that day (torrential rain the day previous) and not many reds were open. He loved it, absolutely loved it!
0 -
Cheers guys that’s good to know, even if I’m not the fastest at least I’ll have fun!0
