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| *Vultures Knob>>>Mountain Bike |
I need help building my mountain bike? |
Ok so I have a beginners bike that I got for $200 at Wal-Mart. But now that I am getting more into the sport, I need to upgrade. I don't have the money to go out and purchase a $3,000 bike, so I figured that I would upgrade my bike piece by piece until I have a sweet bike. The only thing I have purchased so far are WTB Dual Duty rims, and I am wondering what my next purchase should be. I don't have the money for a frame, so that is out of the question. I am looking into purchasing Avid Juicy 7 brakes, a RockShock carbon fork, or a Race Face crankset... but I don't know if I am heading in the right direction. That is why I am turning to you guys for help... What should my next upgrade be??? Did you just buy the rims or the entire wheelset? I understand your idea, but here's the problem... Regardless of how much money you put into upgrading, your frame and associated parts will still be way substandard and you could get hurt riding it as you propose. For example, the pivot bearings on the Walmart frame are often nylon or aluminum. Both of these will wear very quickly and are subject to sudden failure if a weird load is placed upon them. On top of that, many of the critical measurements of the WalMart frame are different from a true XC or Tech bike (let alone a downhiller) so as you purchase these parts you'll need to size them to fit the frame rather than to your ultimate goal of transforming the bike into your dream machine. An example of this would be the diameters of the fork steerer (usually smaller on a Walmart bike), the diameter of the seatpost, and the width between the dropouts of the frame (where the rear wheel goes- don't just bend the dropouts or frame to fit!!!), the front and rear derailleur attachment, and the brake stud placement on the frame. The list goes on. I might suggest that you go to a reputable sporting goods store (Dick's in the Northeast... but avoid Garts and Sports Authority) and look at a bike that might have slightly lower quality components BUT have a frame that can easily be upgraded with better parts. This will probably set you back $700 to $1000 and might even be "just enough" for your use. On top of that, these bikes can be fitted to you. Source(s): 26 years in the industry Depends on what you want out of it... Back in high school me and a buddy built our own Mountain bikes. We built for straight up climbing but still kept the top end for down hill (on the road) speed. Tires (which I haven't found in years) had a 1/4 inch raised bead all the way around for street and agressive knobbies for off road and rock. We actually designed our own 3 sprocket rear derailer to take up the chain length. Top end gears were a 54 tooth front and a 14 tooth rear. Low end was 24 tooth driving a 34 tooth. ok first of all leave the walmart bike where it sits and go get a new bike from a local bike shop that u like where they treat you cool. even save a little more to get a decent bike, itll be worth it for your patience. the guy above me makes some good points, totally. save what youve bought and yes your heading in the right direction, i like WTB myself quite a bit, as well as Salsa and the stuff you mentioned. Anyway, get a bike that fits, id suggest sticking with a hardtail. dont put that stuff on a sub par frame, dont mix turds with burgers cause its all just turds in the end. anyway, just dont do it. save as much as u can and get the bike your drooling over but stay within reason. sounds like u might start to need other stuff too soon like a clipless setup, maybe a new helmet and/or some gloves or something so budget ya know? later. The guys above have made some great points and I would like to reiterate them... leave the Wal-Mart special alone and go find a relatively cheap bike with a good frame and decent components. . . A good local bike shop is the way to go, explain what you want to do and what they recommend. Hope this helps -=D=- |
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