[swoody]

Well hello everyone! New monkey here, and I'm looking for some tips on upgrading some parts on my bike. I currently have a Trek 4300, with eggbeater pedals, but otherwise bone stock (rim brakes, too), I'm looking to use this bike as an XC bike (casual, no organized racing or anything of the type), and I'm 6'4", and ~215lbs, so I'm looking for stuff that can handle a bigger rider.

I'd like to get some suggestions for the best mods you've done yet. What are the first mods you would do to a stock bike? What are some things you've gotten the best return for your money? Or just some pretty necessary beginner's mods? Also, any companies you recommend, or companies to stay away from, I'd really appreciate that as well. Thanks all for your input!

Woody

 

[Jibby]

My first question would be, what isn't the bike doing well for you right now?

If you're riding mostly casual XC, and not competing I don't think you would really need to make any changes other than comfort ones, like nicer shifters, smoother derailleurs and stuff like that.

As for companies for components, I am preferential to Sram for drivetrain, very smooth, and even their cheap stuff works pretty well and is durable. For forks, a lot of people have preferences. I like Marzocchi for suspension. Their prices are reasonable, and their forks are buttery, and they don't make a lot of crummy low end stuff like RST and some lower end rock shox. I have heard bad things about Manitou, namely that some of their forks tend to leak...a lot. I've also heard rumors about seizing, but I am told their rear shocks work well, not that that's an issue on a Trek 4300, which is a classic and ideal beginner's bike.

You may benefit, as a tall and heavier rider from making sure the fork preload/sag is set-up for you. They're usually set up for the average weight rider. You might check Calvin's Corner on the Parktool website, or just head over to a good bike shop and ask about helping with fork setup. If the fork doesn't have much adjustment, maybe a new fork would be a good upgrade.

But, like I said before, if the bike's working well for you, the only upgrades you might think about would be a few weight savers, maybe a nice light bar and stem, or seatpost and saddle. Otherwise, if you like the bike, just keep it stock, and if something breaks, replace it with a better part.

Remember to run slightly higher psi than your lighter buddies so you don't pinch flat.

My last peice of advice, don't worry about upgrade-itis. It's a disease a lot of riders have. Riding your bike makes you a better rider, not having a better bike.

 

[swoody]

Jibby - Thank you for the great advice. I know I'd like to replace the shifters/derailleurs, and the seat/bars/post/stem. Do you have any recommendations for the lightest ones that will be strong enough for me?

The fork only has a single adjustment on the top of it, and it really doesn't seem to do a whole lot. I never had it adjusted by any professionals, though.

 

[Jibby]

The one knob on the fork is preload adjust. It basically compresses the spring in the fork a certain amount to make it stiffer. And, as a big rider, you want it stiffer so you don't bottom out the fork.

It's called setting Sag. Sag is how far the fork sinks when you sit on the bike. On a XC bike, you want the fork to sag about 15% of it's total travel. Basically, you put a zip tie on the fork stanchion (the part that slides into the lower fork legs( at the very bottom. Then you sit on the bike in your normal riding position, let the fork compress and get back off. Then you look to see how far up on the stanchion the cable tie was pushed, that's sag. If it slid too high (fork sank really low) you need more preload. If it didn't sink at all, you need to dial it down.

Anyway, any decent bike shop is usually willing to show you how to use the preload adjust for free, plus if they find they can't get the fork to sag correctly for your weight, they can order a stiffer spring if need be, (usually like 20$ or something).

As for the cockpit stuff, the best way to get lighter parts is to find out (if you can) what parts are on the bike stock, and then go do research on the internet and find weights for them. Then you go shopping for your new parts because almost every internet sites lists part weights right next to the part. Buy lighter ones than you have, but be warned, if you like your riding position as it is, buy the same length stem that came with the bike, and the same rise handlebar. Usually rises are pretty standard, from 0 degrees (flatbar), 3/4", 1", 1.5" 2.0" and so on. XC bikes these days usually use low rises, like 3/4".

But as far as that stuff goes, unless you're throwing your bike off cliffs or riding really rough stuff, any good parts will do. FSA makes good XC stuff, Easton parts are good, Titec and all that. If you're worried about breaking stuff, you could buy what are called All Mountain style parts, Titec has a Hell Bent line for example, that is AM specific. It's more aggressive than XC and meant for burlier riding, but doesn't carry the weight penalty of Downhill and Freeride parts where strength is of primary concern, not weight.

A good thing to do would be to get specs from Trek about the frame. Seat tube diameter and seatpost diameter help when getting a new post, so you don't buy the wrong size. And the stock stem and bar specs will help you keep the cockpit the same, only lighter and nicer.

For the shifters+derailleurs, if you want good quality, I'd use Sram X.7 or X.9. Just don't try to use Shimano shifters with Sram derailleurs or vice versa, they're VERY incompatible.

I could write a book on this, but I digress. One thing I did was to go out and look at half price books and find MTB books there to read, or Borders even. They can help out a lot to a beginner who's trying to learn about the various disciplines of mountain bikes.

Anyway, hope I've been helpful. I like helping get people into MTBing and offer up tips when I can.

 

[swoody]

Wow, thanks again for all the info! That's very helpful. Well I know I have an RST Gila fork, the seat/post/bars/stem are all Bontrager, and the shifters/derailleurs are Shimano. I'm going to look for all the paperwork I got when I bought the bike (if I can find them) and see if there's any specs in there. If not, I'm going to call up Trek and get the specs through them.

Also, should I stay away from carbon fiber products? Would they be strong enough for me? Or are they alright?

 

[Jibby]

CF is generally plenty strong, the problem arises though when CF resin gets scratched, it's weakened. Once it's weakened, and it decides to break, it does so very rapidly, unlike steel or aluminum. If you don't crash a lot, they're probably fine.

I think the easiest place to find your bike's specs would be on Trek's website.

 

[dmilkman589]

NO SHIMONO WHAT EVER UPGRADES YOU MAKE.... IT WAS BUILT TO BREAK.....SRAM ALL THE WAY
sram makes everything too..
-shocks
-forks
-cranksets
-brakes

so trust me go with sram