[BrandonNC]

Hey everyone,

Completely new to MTB. Through some odd circumstances I have found myself the owner of a free brand new GT Aggressor. Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven’t even ridden a bike in more than a few years though, and it was free.

I live south of Raleigh, a mile from Legend Park in Clayton. I took the bike out over there earlier today and quickly realized how crazily out of shape I am at 32 years old. Needless to say there isn’t much need to upgrade for a bit at my completely base skill level, relatively poor fitness level, and general uneasiness on 2 wheels, so this may actually work out alright

I am a former Chicagoan, former beer league hockey player, and more recently a kayak fisherman, and I’m excited to dip my toe into a potential new money pit hobby

See y’all at Deep River!

Brandon

 

[TheGweed]

Ride on brother!

 

[Rolltide386]

Hey everyone,

Completely new to MTB. Through some odd circumstances I have found myself the owner of a free brand new GT Aggressor. Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't even ridden a bike in more than a few years though, and it was free.

I live south of Raleigh, a mile from Legend Park in Clayton. I took the bike out over there earlier today and quickly realized how crazily out of shape I am at 32 years old. Needless to say there isn't much need to upgrade for a bit at my completely base skill level, relatively poor fitness level, and general uneasiness on 2 wheels, so this may actually work out alright

I am a former Chicagoan, former beer league hockey player, and more recently a kayak fisherman, and I'm excited to dip my toe into a potential new money pit hobby

See y'all at Deep River!

Brandon

Welcome and you found a good moneypit hobby for sure.

 

[natas1321]

good to have you here.

 

[eb1888]

Your bike comes with a Suntour coil spring fork made for bike paths and smooth trails because of the lack of rebound damping and plastic bushings instead of metal inside. Suntour has a program to swap for a fork designed for trail riding like a Raidon air fork if you get to a point where you need more capability. Cuts 2 lbs off the front of your bike. https://www.srsuntour.us/pages/upgrade

 

[BrandonNC]

Your bike comes with a Suntour coil spring fork made for bike paths and smooth trails because of the lack of rebound damping and plastic bushings instead of metal inside. Suntour has a program to swap for a fork designed for trail riding like a Raidon air fork if you get to a point where you need more capability. Cuts 2 lbs off the front of your bike. https://www.srsuntour.us/pages/upgrade

Oh yeah, I'm aware. I have a tab open on my phone and plan on upgrading to the Raidon. Right now I'm getting exhausted just riding on the street going to get coffee, so I have a ways to go. I also get the feeling I'm going to really enjoy this, so it's entirely possible I skip the upgrade and go straight for a better bike instead as my endurance and skills improve

 

[Rolltide386]

Oh yeah, I'm aware. I have a tab open on my phone and plan on upgrading to the Raidon. Right now I'm getting exhausted just riding on the street going to get coffee, so I have a ways to go. I also get the feeling I'm going to really enjoy this, so it's entirely possible I skip the upgrade and go straight for a better bike instead as my endurance and skills improve

Endurance will come quick if you ride. I just started riding not long ago and within a week I noticed a big improvement. After a month I was well beyond what I thought I would be. The key is get on that thing and ride any chance you get. I ride everyday after work atleast 10 miles on the trails .

 

[TheGweed]

Oh yeah, I'm aware. I have a tab open on my phone and plan on upgrading to the Raidon. Right now I'm getting exhausted just riding on the street going to get coffee, so I have a ways to go. I also get the feeling I'm going to really enjoy this, so it's entirely possible I skip the upgrade and go straight for a better bike instead as my endurance and skills improve

Repetition is key.

 

[BrandonNC]

I work from home and spend just as much time on my hobbies as I do working during the week, so repetition shouldnt be an issue. Looks like my kayak fishing time is about to reduce dramatically haha

 

[BrandonNC]

Also, here's my junk

Like I said I don't think I'll be satisfied with this for long, but for free.99 I'll take it for now

Removed those tacky wheel stickers, ditched the c-clips for zipties, and debating putting different grips and shorter stem on it (that can always be transferred to a better bike in the future?)

 

[Rolltide386]

Also, here's my junk

Like I said I don't think I'll be satisfied with this for long, but for free.99 I'll take it for now

Removed those tacky wheel stickers, ditched the c-clips for zipties, and debating putting different grips and shorter stem on it (that can always be transferred to a better bike in the future?)

If you feel like you need a shorter stem for it go for it and good grips are a must. Even if they can't be swapped over to a new bike they are relatively cheap

 

[tubbnation]

Hey, welcome to the sport, and to the board! I'm in Raleigh, near Crabtree Mall & Umstead Park.

Have fun!

 

[Miker J]

Glad to hear you've signed up.

Remember, the most important piece is the motor.

The more you bike the more fun it will be. Put some hard miles on that rig on some buffed out trails and dirt roads. Build up the motor. Then you'll feel good about upgrades and have a better idea about what you want.

 

[BrandonNC]

Shorter stem and ergo grips are ordered. I think I'll be a little more comfortable being slightly more upright, and my hands are too large for these cheap grips. And of course I had to add pedals to match the accent color.

Don't think it'll be worth doing much more than these things to this bike. But hopefully this helps point me in the direction of what I like and don't like.

The motor is being worked on. Slowly

 

[Battery]

Shorter stem and ergo grips are ordered. I think I'll be a little more comfortable being slightly more upright, and my hands are too large for these cheap grips. And of course I had to add pedals to match the accent color.

Don't think it'll be worth doing much more than these things to this bike. But hopefully this helps point me in the direction of what I like and don't like.

The motor is being worked on. Slowly

What size stem did you order?

 

[BrandonNC]

45mm. Stock looks to be 110mm

 

[Harold]

45mm. Stock looks to be 110mm

Even if the stock one is a bit shorter than that, that's a HUGE change. I have stems ranging from 90mm to 40mm floating around, and I'd never consider swapping from one extreme to the other. It's going to make massive changes to handling and fit, and quite possibly not for the better. A change of 20mm in stem length is generally considered a large, but manageable change. Generally, if you can get away with less, the better.

Also, when it comes to grips, they're basically a wear item. Like saddles. It'll probably take thousands of miles to wear either out, but some like the ESI silicone grips can wear out faster (or get torn up from riding/crashing). Where I'm going is that saddles and grips are generally not the sorts of things you transfer to a new bike, unless the saddle is relatively new and you love it (and you've got something cheap to throw back on the bike to sell it). Even expensive grips tend to be fairly cheap when you consider all the other stuff on the bike, and just aren't worth moving to a new one.

 

[jcd46]

Also, you need to consider bar width when changing stems.

 

[tarheel03]

I lived in Clayton for 5 years and currently live in Raleigh. I rode Legend quite a bit while I lived there. It's a pretty tough trail for a beginner. The Neuse Greenway starts in Clayton and runs about 33 miles to Falls lake. It's a good option to work on fitness. Lake Crabtree Park in Cary and Forest Ridge Park in Wake Forest are probably the most beginner friendly trails in the area.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

 

[BrandonNC]

Thanks for the tips guys. Definitely a lot to digest