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Bike Overhaul

1095 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Cole Stewart, 
C
Hey everyone!

I'm pretty new to mountain biking so I'm largely unfamiliar with bike components and proper maintenance. I've had the same HT for almost seven years now and I was looking at upgrading to a new bike soon. A thought that came across my mind, though, was that I could potentially tear my bike all of the way down to the frame and build it back up with proper parts. By doing this, I figured, it would be a good way to get myself acquainted with my bike's workings and structure. The only thing that concerns me about doing this would be, of course, the old XC frame. I mostly ride trails and dirt jumps with my bike now and the bike seems to be able to handle it well enough, so I'm not sure how big of a difference a frame built to handle those conditions would make.

If it helps, the bike is a mostly stock 2014 Specialized Pitch. I think the only things that have been changed are consumables like the derailleur hanger, tires, and the wheels themselves (don't ask how that last one happened). Specs can be found at the bottom of this page. Hopefully, I was able to provide enough info.

Any feedback would be appreciated,
Thank you!
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E
If it works ok for what you ride now I'd just continue maintaining it.
The normal path is to start doing demos. If you ride a bike you like more or like the brakes or fork more think about a change. Get a new bike or put the better fork on your bike.
But demo days are not around much right now.
A fork would be a bid improvement. . . but it looks like you've got a straight not tapered head tube. Maybe an outboard lower headset bearing could let you run a tapered fork. Let the service guys at your shop look at it.
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eb1888 said:
If it works ok for what you ride now I'd just continue maintaining it.
The normal path is to start doing demos. If you ride a bike you like more or like the brakes or fork more think about a change. Get a new bike or put the better fork on your bike.
But demo days are not around much right now.
A fork would be a bid improvement. . . but it looks like you've got a straight not tapered head tube. Maybe an outboard lower headset bearing could let you run a tapered fork. Let the service guys at your shop look at it.
Click to expand...
Okay, thanks! I’ll have to run by my LBS and see if they’re offering demos.

The reason I was looking to upgrade is because the bike is near falling apart. I wasn’t good about maintaining it in the past because I wasn’t into MTB and I didn’t know what I was doing/needed to do to maintain it. Right now, it’s mostly drive train and fork issues, but that being said, that’s most of the bike.

But thanks again for the LBS advice! i’ll definitely be running by them soon.
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pushie
I'm not sure it would make financial sense to rebuild that bike unless you can source some (maybe used) parts very cheap. Certainly not worth spending money on top end parts, just get a new bike instead as the parts are cheaper when they all come with a complete bike.

It would be a fun project however. Worth it if you are interested in learning how to build and maintain bikes. You might need to get some tools too.

Manitou Markhor 100mm air fork - straight steerer and QR axle - 230USD
Deore 1x10 M4100 - Shifter, derailleur, cassette, chain - 120USD
SRAM Level Hydraulic brakes front and rear (one of the cheapest hydros, might want better) - 130USD
Deore M5100 crankset - 80USD
Bottom bracket - 20USD


Is it worth sinking $450-600 into that bike? It would certainly be a lot better to ride with modern 1x and adjustable damper in the fork. You could put that into a new bike and get better value though.
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pushie said:
I'm not sure it would make financial sense to rebuild that bike unless you can source some (maybe used) parts very cheap. Certainly not worth spending money on top end parts, just get a new bike instead as the parts are cheaper when they all come with a complete bike.

It would be a fun project however. Worth it if you are interested in learning how to build and maintain bikes. You might need to get some tools too.

Manitou Markhor 100mm air fork - straight steerer and QR axle - 230USD
Deore 1x10 M4100 - Shifter, derailleur, cassette, chain - 120USD
SRAM Level Hydraulic brakes front and rear (one of the cheapest hydros, might want better) - 130USD
Deore M5100 crankset - 80USD
Bottom bracket - 20USD


Is it worth sinking $450-600 into that bike? It would certainly be a lot better to ride with modern 1x and adjustable damper in the fork. You could put that into a new bike and get better value though.
Click to expand...
That’s some really valuable insight — thanks! Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to has said the same thing that you just did, so it’s probably a much better/safer option to just save that money for a new bike.
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