Help with basic upgrades

slc123 · September 2017

Hi all,

I have a cannondale Trail 4, which I've used for a couple of years mainly in local woods with single track and XC. I've done a couple of minor upgrades (tyres, wheels and pedals)

I decided to go for a bit of a step up and went over to the Forest of Dean and rode the trails over there. Damn good fun, but I did feel the bike and my skills were put to the test on some of the more technical areas on the red trail.

The things I noticed most were the seat position in the climbs and downhill. The obvious upgrade would be to get a dropper seat post to give me the flexibility. I've had a look and I have a 27.2 diameter, so options seem limited.

Secondly, the bike was pretty twitchy over some of the more rooty technical areas. Reading reviews on the bike it seems to suggest it doesn't handle that sort of thing that well due to narrow handlebars, so I am thinking that might be a worthwhile upgrade?

Lastly, the front forks were taking a bit of a pounding on certain areas, but I am not sure I would be in a position to upgrade those in terms of cost at this stage. It's got the factory fitted RockShox XC30 currently.

Any advice would be appreciated.

larkim · September 2017

Sounds like you've got your head screwed on with those proposals. Whilst I've not got a dropped, my son reports that it is the single best thing he's ever bought for his bike, and I'd reckon is one of the most noticeable "upgrades" as you genuinely get something you've not had before.

Bars / stem (worth throwing that in) is also a reasonably cost effective change from which you should be able to feel a difference in handling. Whether you like it or not once you've put it in place is another matter, but sounds like its worth a try.

A better fork is definitely something worth looking into, but you might find it cost prohibitive. At the least you'd be looking at some sort of air fork which is going to start (new) at about £160. Suntour air forks offer some good pricing and are well received, RS forks are good at that end but tend to be a bit pricier.

If I had £200 to spend, I'd go for dropper and bars over fork at this stage. Others might disagree.

The Rookie · September 2017

Bars and stem can be done fairly cost effectively using ebay and taking someone's cast offs.

Personally I'd go with a fork over the dropper, it helps in all riding, the XC30 struggles with stiffness as well on 29ers (which I'm presuming yours is), a used RS Reba or SID off ebay/classifieds would be my first point of call.

You can get 27.2mm inline droppers not to expensive as they are older 'crotch' droppers Raleigh did one that was pretty good for circa £90. If you need layback it's less easy to find.

vrsmatt · September 2017

The Rookie wrote:

Bars and stem can be done fairly cost effectively using ebay and taking someone's cast offs.

Personally I'd go with a fork over the dropper, it helps in all riding, the XC30 struggles with stiffness as well on 29ers (which I'm presuming yours is), a used RS Reba or SID off ebay/classifieds would be my first point of call.

You can get 27.2mm inline droppers not to expensive as they are older 'crotch' droppers Raleigh did one that was pretty good for circa £90. If you need layback it's less easy to find.

I managed to find a 27.2 reverb a couple of years ago for my last bike so hunt around on the internet

slc123 · September 2017

Thanks for the feedback.

The bike is a 27.5 not a 29er. Although from reading the stiffness seems to be a genuine issue. Ultimately it would make sense as an upgrade. I'll keep my eyes on eBay see what is available.

I've also read that the stem length can make a fair difference to the responsiveness and mine is currently 100mm, so I am guessing that would be worth changing to something smaller. I'll check out the options on eBay for the bars and stem.

I did have a look at new options and the Ragley wiser bars and Stem seem pretty sensible in terms of costs and get decent reviews. Any opinions?

cooldad · September 2017

VRSMatt wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Bars and stem can be done fairly cost effectively using ebay and taking someone's cast offs.

Personally I'd go with a fork over the dropper, it helps in all riding, the XC30 struggles with stiffness as well on 29ers (which I'm presuming yours is), a used RS Reba or SID off ebay/classifieds would be my first point of call.

You can get 27.2mm inline droppers not to expensive as they are older 'crotch' droppers Raleigh did one that was pretty good for circa £90. If you need layback it's less easy to find.

I managed to find a 27.2 reverb a couple of years ago for my last bike so hunt around on the internet

Really? AFAIK RS have never made a 27.2 post.

mattyfez · September 2017

No harm in a shorter stem, 100mm is very long, may be pick up a cheap or second hand one about half the length, it's a pretty cheap thing to try out.

Same goes for bars too. Plenty of people swap and change so you should be able to a reasonable one cheap second hand.

I would say though, with things like that, just change one thing at a time as if you change a few things and you like it, great, but if it's not quite right it's difficult to figure out why, as with both bars and stems it's not just about length, stems have various degrees of rise, handle bars also rise and back sweep, so there are a few variables to consider.

Forks have been the single biggest upgrade to my bike, I went from simmilary cheap coil forks to a ~£200 air fork, which is a fair chunk of cash for me.

The Rookie · September 2017

cooldad wrote:

VRSMatt wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Bars and stem can be done fairly cost effectively using ebay and taking someone's cast offs.

Personally I'd go with a fork over the dropper, it helps in all riding, the XC30 struggles with stiffness as well on 29ers (which I'm presuming yours is), a used RS Reba or SID off ebay/classifieds would be my first point of call.

You can get 27.2mm inline droppers not to expensive as they are older 'crotch' droppers Raleigh did one that was pretty good for circa £90. If you need layback it's less easy to find.

I managed to find a 27.2 reverb a couple of years ago for my last bike so hunt around on the internet

Really? AFAIK RS have never made a 27.2 post.

CD you are correct.

slc123 · September 2017

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the input. Bars and stems are next on the list then and will keep my eyes open for second hand 27.2 dropper and some new forks!

Other than Ebay any other good used parts places?

The Rookie · September 2017

Classifieds on here, singltrackworld.com or pinkbike.com

vrsmatt · September 2017

cooldad wrote:

VRSMatt wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Bars and stem can be done fairly cost effectively using ebay and taking someone's cast offs.

Personally I'd go with a fork over the dropper, it helps in all riding, the XC30 struggles with stiffness as well on 29ers (which I'm presuming yours is), a used RS Reba or SID off ebay/classifieds would be my first point of call.

You can get 27.2mm inline droppers not to expensive as they are older 'crotch' droppers Raleigh did one that was pretty good for circa £90. If you need layback it's less easy to find.

I managed to find a 27.2 reverb a couple of years ago for my last bike so hunt around on the internet

Really? AFAIK RS have never made a 27.2 post.

You're right, I've just checked, it was 30.9. My bad

Help with basic upgrades

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