rank these upgrades

[rip]

I am trying to do alot of biking this year and probably should start upgrading my bike, just curious what upgrades will make the biggest difference over what I already have.

So if you could rank these or give your opinion on what upgrades are the most important or not that important.

My bike is a specialized rockhopper a1 but the components are all pretty basic. v brakes, flat pedals(no clips), and deore shifters.

so the upgrades I can think of now are

- disc brakes
- wheels/tires
- better shifters
- pedals/shoes
- fork

are these things worth trying to upgrade or am I better off just saving my money and buying a full suspension, which is what i would like to do but I am broke ass poor right now and do not really see that situation changing for a few years.

[Plakespear]

To upgrade all of those components would cost more than a new bike with similar components. I'd say if you plan on riding a lot of XC, upgrade to clipless pedals first. Ride the deore drailleurs into the ground, than upgrade to XT. Fork- depends on how much you like the current one. Wheels- again, ride these ones into the ground and upgrade them when you need to.

Disc brakes- this is an expensive upgrade. Just use the v-brakes until you can afford a whole new bike. The cost to upgrade to discs is almost as much as you paid for the whole bike new.

[zion zig zag]

#1 would be shoes/pedals
#2 would depend on what you want. do you want lighter weight, or just better performance.

Lighter weight: prolly wheels/ tires
better perf.: new fork, shifters are ok, maybe new cables and better rear derailuer.

[rip]

sweet, thanks for the quick responses.

I would say definately performance over weight. Any weight upgrades would be better made by me just cuttin off 10 lbs myself

I used to ride my bmx bike everywhere when I was a kid so riding with just the platform pedals has never really bothered me or anything I am just so use to them.

I know hardtails are sweet for climbing but all I think about after I make the death climb from my house up to the trailhead(hella steep) all i think about on the way down is how smooth the ride could be.

godamnit why are bikes so expensive

[cumerritt]

dont start upgrading your bike until you break something, then get a new bike.

[altagirl]

Shoes and pedals make sense to start with - you'll transfer them to whatever bike you end up with in the future. Otherwise, just replace things as they break until you can afford a new bike.

[Mountainman]

I'll just help drive it into the ground...

shoes and pedals

[tjb]

If you are considering upgrading to discs, make sure you have a clear strategy in mind if you plan to upgrade wheels first.

For instance, you could get disc compatible hubs with new wheels so that if you plan to upgrade to discs later your wheels are ready.

I don't think discs have to be a super expensive upgrade. With a compatible wheelset, good value hydraulics can be found for sub $US250 (Hayes, Diatech, Promax etc)

[Plakespear]

Originally posted by tjb
I don't think discs have to be a super expensive upgrade. With a compatible wheelset, good value hydraulics can be found for sub $US250 (Hayes, Diatech, Promax etc)

True, but chances are you'll need to upgrade the wheelset as well, especially on a $600 bike.

[phUnk]

Put "upgrade to disc brakes" last.

[Viva]

I absolutely concur with the clipless pedals and new shoes upgrade and, even more, have someone good, really good, fit you to your bike after you make the switch. You want to be positioned just right so that you ride as efficiently as possible. You may find that you also need a different length or rise stem, or your saddle is too far forward, etc. If you've never been fitted on this bike, then that probably the best thing that you could do.

For better braking, replace your stock Shimano brake pads with those from Kool Stop (I'm assuming that you're using the stock pads). The reddish color KoolStop's are excellent all around pads and may improve your braking markedly for about $17-18.

After this, there's nothing more that you can practically do short of buying a new bike. your Rockhopper is nice, but not worth the expense of all the upgrades you mention- in fact, you're frame probably isn't even disk-compatable, effectively killing that as an upgrade option.

[rip]

Originally posted by Viva
I absolutely concur with the clipless pedals and new shoes upgrade and, even more, have someone good, really good, fit you to your bike after you make the switch. You want to be positioned just right so that you ride as efficiently as possible. You may find that you also need a different length or rise stem, or your saddle is too far forward, etc. If you've never been fitted on this bike, then that probably the best thing that you could do.

For better braking, replace your stock Shimano brake pads with those from Kool Stop (I'm assuming that you're using the stock pads). The reddish color KoolStop's are excellent all around pads and may improve your braking markedly for about $17-18.

After this, there's nothing more that you can practically do short of buying a new bike. your Rockhopper is nice, but not worth the expense of all the upgrades you mention- in fact, you're frame probably isn't even disk-compatable, effectively killing that as an upgrade option.

The frame is disc compatible, I just didnt realize how much wheelsets cost.

Went for a long ride yesterday, first thing I am going to buy are wider tires, couldnt get any traction in the mud. I think I bent my chain or something too, hopefully its a quick fix.

thanks for the tip on the brake pads I'll check them out, i need new ones very soon anyways.