MTBs

[Lozart]

I used to ride a LOT. Then work took over and I got old and fat and horribly unfit. SO now I want to get back out on my trusty steed but lo and behold - sitting in a shed for 15ish years doesn't do a bike any favours. I'm thinking I could (much like pretty much all my airsoft guns) upgrade some bits but it seems that the entire market has moved on apace in my absence.

My bike comes from a time when it was all about cross country riding. It has a tiny frame and a long whippy seatpin, loads of anodised titanium frippery and a mix of groupsets that seem to have have gone the way of the Dodo. So my question is - what would the equivalents be now?

Said parts:

Shimano STX RC (front and rear mechs)

Shimano LX (crankset, chainrings, cassette)

Shimano XTR (Rapidfire SL shifters and V-Brakes)

Shimano XT SPDs (although they are almost definitely responsible for the pain in my knees so probably swapping them for an unused set of Time ATAC pedals I have)

Wheels are good old 26" Bontrager BCX3 rims with Panaracer Smoke and Dart tyres (the beige ones without any carbon because light = good)

Frame is a triple butted 16" Reynolds STEEL (yes, steel) frame that literally nobody seems to make anymore, which is a shame because I like a bit of flex in my frame.

Rockshox Quadra 21r forks.

Inform me oh wise denizens of the web!

 

[AK47frizzle]

29 inch wheel are the norm now, not much for 26 inch left. Although, continental still have good mtb tyres for 26 inch like the raceking, crossking, mountain king etc. I think Panaracer too. Wheels that 2.2 inch+ are common too for offroad. I use 2.2 inch race kings and they seem to be the best balance between speed, performance, and weight but I don't do any crazy trails, just some casual offroad like dirt, gravel, and roots in forests. The theory is that skinnier wheels are faster, which is technically true. But, over the years, it seems people have found wider and bigger tyres to be better because, although the raw speed on flats are lower, the ability to glide over most terrain more than makes up for it.

TPU inner tubes are getting popular too. I run them and it's instant -300 to 400 grams compared to standard butyl. Worth the upgrade. Lots of trail folks run tubeless but they require high pressure output to set up like a compressor. I still prefer tubes because ease of use.

Steel frames are still used by ye, they are harder to come by and usually only available through smaller companies that do custom made stuff.

I don't run clips (clipless, dumb name) so cannot comment on that.

As for your fork I don't know much about that one but air forks very popular now. Cheaper ones have only one side working, more expensive have both sides with suspension and dampers etc etc. 

Tbh, older cranksets and shifters are still perfectly fine. I have a 16 yr old trek 3700 that I've modded to shit through aliexpress but the original gears and such are still there. V brakes are still cool too.

Honestly, your bike is still very capable. Bikes, at the core, haven't significantly changed that much over the years. If all your stuff works, then no real need to change.

With your MTB, I am not sure if there is much worth changing unless you want to splash big on new suspension. Maybe new tyres if current ones have worn out.

Your other option is to turn it into a lightweight gravel bike. I have done that with my trek 3700. It started off at 15kg, and I shaved it down to 10.8kg which made it significantly faster overall, and much nicer to carry around. Changing to a lightweight aluminiun or carbon fork will make a huge difference on its own. After that, you can change smaller things like installing TPU inner tube, carbon seat post, carbon saddle, lighter handlebar and stem. Then you could convert it to a 1x system where is only one chainring (called a "narrow wide") at the front meaning you cut out the front derailleur and shifter, shaving off more weight and making the bike simpler to maintain and use.

But I think you should just ride it first. Maybe ask someone to borrow their 29 inch wheel bike too because, as much as I hate to admit it, 29 inch wheels are just much more comfortable to ride.

 

[Lozart]

29 inch wheel are the norm now, not much for 26 inch left. Although, continental still have good mtb tyres for 26 inch like the raceking, crossking, mountain king etc. I think Panaracer too. Wheels that 2.2 inch+ are common too for offroad. I use 2.2 inch race kings and they seem to be the best balance between speed, performance, and weight but I don't do any crazy trails, just some casual offroad like dirt, gravel, and roots in forests. The theory is that skinnier wheels are faster, which is technically true. But, over the years, it seems people have found wider and bigger tyres to be better because, although the raw speed on flats are lower, the ability to glide over most terrain more than makes up for it.

TPU inner tubes are getting popular too. I run them and it's instant -300 to 400 grams compared to standard butyl. Worth the upgrade. Lots of trail folks run tubeless but they require high pressure output to set up like a compressor. I still prefer tubes because ease of use.

Steel frames are still used by ye, they are harder to come by and usually only available through smaller companies that do custom made stuff.

I don't run clips (clipless, dumb name) so cannot comment on that.

As for your fork I don't know much about that one but air forks very popular now. Cheaper ones have only one side working, more expensive have both sides with suspension and dampers etc etc. 

Tbh, older cranksets and shifters are still perfectly fine. I have a 16 yr old trek 3700 that I've modded to shit through aliexpress but the original gears and such are still there. V brakes are still cool too.

Honestly, your bike is still very capable. Bikes, at the core, haven't significantly changed that much over the years. If all your stuff works, then no real need to change.

With your MTB, I am not sure if there is much worth changing unless you want to splash big on new suspension. Maybe new tyres if current ones have worn out.

Your other option is to turn it into a lightweight gravel bike. I have done that with my trek 3700. It started off at 15kg, and I shaved it down to 10.8kg which made it significantly faster overall, and much nicer to carry around. Changing to a lightweight aluminiun or carbon fork will make a huge difference on its own. After that, you can change smaller things like installing TPU inner tube, carbon seat post, carbon saddle, lighter handlebar and stem. Then you could convert it to a 1x system where is only one chainring (called a "narrow wide") at the front meaning you cut out the front derailleur and shifter, shaving off more weight and making the bike simpler to maintain and use.

But I think you should just ride it first. Maybe ask someone to borrow their 29 inch wheel bike too because, as much as I hate to admit it, 29 inch wheels are just much more comfortable to ride.

Thanks for that man, I'm sure the bike I have is fine (although it's getting a bit worn out). I have a tendency with all my hobbies though to look at what I have, identify an excuse a perfectly valid reason why it's not good enough and then go buy a new one. I've actually been looking at a Rockhopper Comp but a lot of my confusion was trying to work out what the current equivalents to my existing groupset is. To get the level of kit that has developed on my bike with a steel frame it looks like a £2k+ spend though so that ain't happening!

 

[hunter511]

Slightly late to the party but if you're getting into MTB'ing again "Zinn and the art of mountain bike maintenance" is a fantastic source of info for overhauling and reconditioning bikes. Buying it has probably saved me a few 100's worth of maintenance done by shops.

 

[Lozart]

Slightly late to the party but if you're getting into MTB'ing again "Zinn and the art of mountain bike maintenance" is a fantastic source of info for overhauling and reconditioning bikes. Buying it has probably saved me a few 100's worth of maintenance done by shops.

Noice! Now sat on my Kindle...

 

[Mik3F]

I too also ride MTB's. although mine is a ebike

Just fitted a replacement Magura Dropper post after it refused to extend any more and was replaced under warranty

 

[hunter511]

Noice! Now sat on my Kindle...

Ill be honest mine lives in the garage by the bike tools and has many greasy thumb prints.

@Mik3F  I fitted a fox transfer I picked up for stupid cheap off flea-bay and was amazed at the difference it made. Now I'm on fleabay looking at pump-track/dirt-jump bikes......

 

[Mik3F]

I ride my bike as much as I can, and on the gnarlier trails the better.

Have to say Im tempted to buy a new bike with the DJI motor in it, but this one cost me almost £7 grand 11 months ago