Hardtail -> Trail upgrade

[Pieter-the-dutchy]

Hej allihoppa,

Jag är ny på den här forum. Kanske känner några mig av tisdagsklubben i Stockholm, jag är honom med en Canyon hardtail och en dålig accent när jag försökar att tala svenska.

I alla fall, som ämne säger, vill jag ge min xc hardtail en lite upgrade til trail (hellasgården).

Nu tänkte jag att jag skulle köpa några saker..

To save you from reading my painful swedish and to not spend 2 hours on this article i will proceed in english if that's alright with you on this forum.

I am the proud owner of a Grand Canyon AL 6.9 http://www.canyon.com/_nl/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3208 Since I am not going to be able to afford a AM bike any time soon I want to upgrade my HT to use it this summer and 1 or 2 more. So keep in mind its supposed to be an affordable project and im not planning on buying new forks etc, better to save up for the new bike imo.

I was thinking an adjustable seatpost
http://www.amazon.co.uk/RSP-Plummet...=1402486990&sr=1-9&keywords=dropper+seat+post any experiences with that one?

I'm also planning on getting a new stem, from 90 to 60. Ive got the XL bike and am about 1.96 tall. My legs are ridiculously long in comparisement to the rest of my body which leads to that I am leaning forward a lot on my bike and paddling comfortably OR paddling my ass off and sit more leaned back. Therefore i was thinking about getting a stem with an upwards angle, such as http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/se/en/seatposts?f=2258&page=3 . Sounds like a good idea or should I just get a regular one?

Lastly I want to upgrade my Reba RL 100 to 120, since I'm using it all up quite regularly while I don't have a lot of sag (maybe 15% max). It's a 2014 model. I don't have fancy bike tools at home. Is this doable or should I go to a lbs?

Any comments, hints, recommendations etc. are mostly welcome!

/The Flying Dutchman

 

[Makten]

Sounds about right:-) A few more options:

– Wider bars, especially if you're tall and you will get a shorter stem.
– Fatter tires (depending on what you've got on the bike now, of course) lessens the need for upgrading the fork.

 

[Pieter-the-dutchy]

Thanks :) Right now Ive got 2.2 tires, and 620 handlebar. You think it will make a lot of difference?

 

[Vandraren]

Yeah. I'm 173cm and have 720 handlebars and sometimes I want even wider.

A dropper post, fat(er) tires, shorter stem, wider bars and some knee pads and you should be good to go!

In the future when you buy an AM bike, are you planning on building one of a frame kit or buying "of the shelf"? That would affect my choice of upgrades for my current bike.

 

[Pieter-the-dutchy]

Well I have been doing trail riding for a couple of months now, knee pads are taken care of ^^, learned the hard way

So wider handle bars will be something to look into then :)

Although theres nothing I would like to do more than building my own bike, I will be taking one off the shelf. Money being the issue here. So I get what you mean than I could use those parts when ill assemble my AM but tyvärr :)

Thanks for the hint !

You have an opinion on the upward-angle steer stem as well?

 

[Makten]

Pieter-the-dutchy skrev:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks :) Right now Ive got 2.2 tires, and 620
> handlebar. You think it will make a lot of
> difference?

Jag svarar på svenska så att du får öva dig lite;-) Men svara gärna på engelska tillbaka.

Ja, det kommer att göra ganska stor skillnad med bredare styre. 620 mm anses vara "smalt" nu för tiden. Särskilt med tanke på att du är lång.
Om du tänker köpa en kortare styrstam så kan det vara en idé att välja ett riser-styre istället för en stam som lutar uppåt. Det blir säkert snyggare i alla fall;-)
Prova till exempel 740 mm. Det kommer att kännas jättekonstigt först, men man vänjer sig. Dessutom går det att såga av styret om du tycker att det är för mycket.

[Edit: Om du lutar framåt mycket nu, så kan du nog välja en ännu kortare styrstam än 60 mm]

När det gäller däcken så får du kolla om det får plats större i ramen och i framgaffeln. Men minst 2,3-2,35" brukar fungera även på XC-cyklar.

-----------

Om du inte redan provat, så hjälper det också att använda väldigt lågt tryck i däcken. Ju större volym, desto lägre tryck kan man använda utan att få punktering. 1,5-2 bar kan vara en lagom utgångspunkt.



Just tell me if there is something of the above that you don't understand, and I'll translate:-)

 

[DanielW]

I have the same frame, take care that it is designed to be 100mm fork, if you use 120mm it voids the warranty etc. Don't know if there are any real issues by going 100mm. If I'd do the same thing, I'd go for a dropper post and then a pair of really fat tires for example a pair of Smorgasbords from on-one and go with as low pressure in them as possible. I think especially the dropper post would help a lot.

Wider bars and shorter stem as well, yes.

 

[jofahjalm]

Just a Quick release for the seatpost is a good upgrade when on a budget. You should also be able to find a stem and bar for dirt cheap if you want to go shorter stem / wider bar. The tyres can probably wait until fall.

 

[marran]

Short stem/ wide bars would be my first upgrade, with a bit of rise if you are tall. Superstar components are cheap and have a shape that works well for me.
I would recomment to try full on 50mm stem/ 780mm bars, at least to start with, and cut down if it seems too much. Maybe 30mm rise in the bars will put you in a good spot, even with a "normal" straight stem.

Also look at cockpit, placement of levers etc makes a huge difference. Brakes set up a bit inboard on the bars to get one finger braking with your index finger at the tip of the blade, with the bite point really close to the bars make a big difference since you can hold on to those bars properly even when you have to brake. Also try moving the shifter levers inboards to put them out of the way, you can still reach them with your thumbs even if they are not overhanging the grips.
Maybe you have already done these things, I just mention it because it is not the typical way xc bikes are set up from factory, for some strange reason.

Then of course dropper post, if it fits your budget.
The cheap alternative as Jofahjälm points out is qr seatclamp, and lower your seat as soon as you leave the gravel and hit the trail. You will have to stand up all the time, it is exhausting but builds great strengh after a while.

Another thing to consider is a bash guard, to get some protection for the chainrings when you try to get up ledges and such.

 

[Pieter-the-dutchy]

Tack alla!

@Makten
Du har rätt, jag måste lära mig! Jag svarar er på Svenska också :)

Tack för jätte bra tips, en riser bar ska kanske fungerar mycket bättre för mig! Jag tänkte nu på 740, med 40mm 'rise'. Eller är det lite mycket? Styren finns också med 25mm 'rise'...
( http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/se/en/gravity-gap-riser-bar/rp-prod75360 )

Och jag tänkte detta ska fungerar bra med en 40mm stem. Eller är 40mm 'rise' med 50mm mindre stam (användar nu 90) lite för mycket? Eller spelar de inga roll om man sitter mer tillbaka OCH mindre hög.
( http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/se/en/truvativ-hussefelt-stem/rp-prod67683 )


@DanielW
Oi detta visste jag inte! Bra att du sa! Då väntar jag lite med min Reba, och ska se först hur de t fungerar med alla andra upgraderingar.

Jag ska också försöka med lågare dryck i däckarna.


Jag ska tänka på dina tips rund min cockpit när jag ha ny styren.
Jag har redan quick release, jag vill inte längre stoppa varga gång. Hittade en billiga seat post med bra reviews, 800 SEK ^^

Kan inte vänta på att köra med min 'Trail Hardtail'! :D



PS: Förlåt om jag gjörde era ögon ont just nu

 

[Cwarren79]

Hey Dutchman! I'm looking to do similar upgrades to my ht for the same reason, have anything to report? Do you find the upgrades, if any, helped you? Thanks!

Carson

 

[jofahjalm]

I would not go as short as a 40 mm stem on that bike considering that you are so tall. Do you think you go over the bars to easy with the 90 mm stem? Perhaps a 60 mm stem or something would give you better handling without making the short bike even shorter. And I would also go wider than 740 mm bars considering that you are so tall.

Jag var lite sen på bollen här...