Page 8 - Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

06-04.-2007, 04:37 PM

#106

gclark8

Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Perth (Basso), West Australia

Posts: 3,480

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by gclark8

A couple of small projects underway at the moment, until the Wheeler is sold.

Upgrade the drive train on a new Black CRX4 for a 6'+ young lady for daily commuting and the occasional triathlon:
Leaving the cassette, a HG50-8 12-21, until later,
we are changing the Crankset to a Triple, Alloy, 30/42/52 with 175mm crank arms, a 118mm alloy bottom bracket, a Shimano FD-R443 Front Derailleur and a higher quality KMC Z92 chain. She has on (permanent) loan a pair of Michie Pro Race red/black tyres, the bike looks stunning!

See Below:

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__________________
Cheers,
George.

29-04.-2007, 05:07 PM

#107

eldavo

Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2006

Posts: 9

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxamr_corpxx

Not sure if this counts as an upgrade, but I've put panniers onto my road bike for commuting. It's a huge step up from backpacks, I sweat a lot less, and it's significantly more comfortable. It may well be the best $25 I've ever spent.

I found that out commuting to work several years ago, even when it was cooler weather, having the straps in direct contact and bearing weight. Makes even non-comfort bikes more comfortable!

PS: I am considering reviving the old Giant Sedona AL for future Munda Biddi segment day trips. Have to still get into commuting to work to increase fitness, probably get the project underway late July for regular weekend riding in Spring.

Last edited by eldavo : 29-04.-2007 at 05:23 PM.

30-05.-2007, 07:33 PM

#108

NELLY64

Registered User

Join Date: May 2007

Posts: 2

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

A friend of mine has given me his road bike

. I was going to get a hybrid. Are the changes much the same ? I'm thinking of changing handlebars, brake levers and not much else.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gclark8

From time to time I am asked to do minor component/performance upgrades on entry level bikes. I will add the details of each project here as they happen.

Today's example:
Giant Upland Ladies XS 14" http://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/03...007&model=10105
Fit Conti City Contact 26x1.5 Tyres and Presta Valve Tubes.
Swap Cassette to Sunrace 11-24 7 Speed.
Swap Crankset to 28/38/48 with 152mm Cranks.
Swap Pedals to alloy MTB and fit Strapless Toe Clips.
Swap Seatpost to Suspension Post with a reversable head.
Swap Stem to 90mm adjustable.
Cut bars to 540mm, fit Foam Grips and adjust lever reach.

The bike ends up lower, lighter and fitting a sub 5' lady rider very well and is considerably faster than the original at a fraction of the cost of a road bike.

30-05.-2007, 09:30 PM

#109

artemidorus

Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: Sydney, Australia

Posts: 1,993

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by NELLY64

A friend of mine has given me his road bike

. I was going to get a hybrid. Are the changes much the same ? I'm thinking of changing handlebars, brake levers and not much else.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Are you sure that you want to do that??

Which road bike is it? While a Giant OCR would be suitable for conversion to hybrid, a Cervelo TT bike might not be.

__________________
"All that we see and seem is but a dream, within a dream..."

30-05.-2007, 09:52 PM

#110

gclark8

Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Perth (Basso), West Australia

Posts: 3,480

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by NELLY64

A friend of mine has given me his road bike

. I was going to get a hybrid. Are the changes much the same ? I'm thinking of changing handlebars, brake levers and not much else.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am doing several Drop to Flat Bar Conversions at the moment.
Esentially:
Flat bars and Grips
Longer Stem to suit flat bars, (25.4mm x 100mm-110mm)
Flat Bar-Calliper Brake Levers, Shimano BL-R550
Flat Bar Shifters, SL-R440/443/A depending on 8,9 speed or a Double / Triple chainring
Flat Bar Front Derailleur, FD-R440/3/A/F depeding on 8/9 speed, Double/Triple Crankset, Braze/Clamp on mounting.

A typical current project below:

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__________________
Cheers,
George.

30-05.-2007, 09:57 PM	#111
gclark8 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Perth (Basso), West Australia Posts: 3,480	Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes A 30 year old 10 speed road bike converted to 12 speed flat bar: Attached Thumbnails __________________ Cheers, George.

01-06.-2007, 09:53 AM	#112
xxamr_corpxx Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 328	Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes Does it have indexed shifting? __________________ 2004 Trek 1000 2005 Giant Elwood ACE Folding Bicycle

01-06.-2007, 10:00 AM

#113

gclark8

Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Perth (Basso), West Australia

Posts: 3,480

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxamr_corpxx

Does it have indexed shifting?

Yes,
new Sunrace 6 speed 14-28 spin-on Freewheel
and Sunrace 6 Speed Thumb Shifters.

And a KMC Z51 Index Chain.

__________________
Cheers,
George.

12-06.-2007, 10:54 AM

#114

gclark8

Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Perth (Basso), West Australia

Posts: 3,480

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by gclark8

An update on the upgrade:

Jackie has asked for some comfort adjustments,
Velo Ladies Saddle with cut-out,
A longer, 100mm, adjustable stem,
Alloy Flat Bars.
In the performance department,
I recently fitted a 12-24 tooth 7 speed cassette, with 2 tooth jumps, Jackie says its much nicer to ride.

With 48-12 gearing she still tops out over 50Ks!

__________________
Cheers,
George.

27-06.-2007, 09:23 PM

#115

gclark8

Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Perth (Basso), West Australia

Posts: 3,480

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by gclark8

Yesterday I was given a 10 year old Huffy, complete with the K-Mart sticker.

It has a road frame, 43cm seat tube, 54cm top tube,
side pull caliper brakes
24" wheels with wide rims
14-28 6 speed spin on freewheel
28/38/48 one piece 140mm crankset.

Apart from some surface rust on the rims the bike is in good condition, so the plan is to mod it for a spare bike to for "Little Jackie" and her friends.

First thing is to service all the bearings and cables and then fit:
152mm one piece crank arms,
small strapless toe clips for the pedals,
foam grips for the bars,
24x1.5 Duro City Tyres and tubes,
Suspension seat post, 25.4, with reversable clamp,
Ladies Velo saddle.

More later as the parts arrive...

Jackie has lent me the Huffy!

See Posts 62-68 for original story and pix; http://www.cyclingforums.com/t-363004-15-4.html

Now that's a dangerous thing to do to a bike mechanic:
First, remove all Huffy stickers, replace with K-Mart Stickers.
Remove 24" wheels and Tyres, replace with 26" wheels and 85psi tyres.
Change brake callipers to 60mm drop.
Change the flat bars to 580mm bars with a 30mm rise.
Change brake levers to the four finger variety.
Remove the stand and steel bracket (angle grinder) from the chain stay, the 26" wheel now fits in easily!
Change 152mm One Piece Crankset to 170mm.
Change 28/38/48 chainwheels to 36/42/48 teeth.
Change the seat to a Selle Italia comfort saddle.
Fit Alloy Front Rack. (looking for cane basket)

See new pix

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__________________
Cheers,
George.

Last edited by gclark8 : 27-06.-2007 at 09:38 PM.

27-06.-2007, 09:54 PM	#116
robalert Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Eastwood, Sydney, Australia Posts: 390	Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes Sad to say that my Apollo will no longer be an upgraded bike.. The parts are to soon live on a DMR Switchback.... Reynold DB 520 frame... YUM! Keeping the front wheel of the apollo new rear wheel from Cellbikes - Sun Blackeye with Novatech hubs soon to put together complete X9 shifters/derailleur SRAM990 cassette XT Vbrakes R7 Manitou front fork EA70 stem, EC90 flatbar XT crankset BB from Chainreaction cycles Crossmarks for MTB riding, Contisports for commuting 26.8 Canecreek Seatpost with Specialised Alias seat So essentially the old part from the Apollo will be the front wheel... does that class as an upgrade __________________ Rob www.bikenorth.org.au '07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2 '06 Giant CRX1 '96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks. '04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD

04-07.-2007, 12:36 PM

#117

gclark8

Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Perth (Basso), West Australia

Posts: 3,480

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by gclark8

Jackie has lent me the Huffy!

Found, a cane basket:

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__________________
Cheers,
George.

04-07.-2007, 02:46 PM

#118

artemidorus

Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: Sydney, Australia

Posts: 1,993

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by gclark8

Found, a cane basket:

A bike with a cane basket should have full mudguards, no gears and be very heavy.

__________________
"All that we see and seem is but a dream, within a dream..."

21-07.-2007, 11:03 PM

#119

gclark8

Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Perth (Basso), West Australia

Posts: 3,480

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by gclark8

Jackie has lent me the Huffy!

More Huffy mods:
New Longer flat bars, 620mm
New 3 finger brake levers
7 Speed Shimano twist grip shifters
7 Speed Shimano 11-28 MF-HG50 cassette
7 Speed KMC Z51 Chain
Change rear drop out to 133mm.

__________________
Cheers,
George.

06-08.-2007, 06:24 PM

#120

gclark8

Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Perth (Basso), West Australia

Posts: 3,480

Re: Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes

Quote:

Originally Posted by gclark8

Jackie has lent me the Huffy!
See Posts 62-68 for original story and pix; http://www.cyclingforums.com/t-363004-15-4.html

Now that's a dangerous thing to do to a bike mechanic:
First, remove all Huffy stickers, replace with K-Mart Stickers.Remove 24" wheels and Tyres, replace with 26" wheels and 85psi tyres.
Change brake callipers to 60mm drop.
Change the flat bars to 580mm bars with a 30mm rise.
Change brake levers to the four finger variety.
Remove the stand and steel bracket (angle grinder) from the chain stay, the 26" wheel now fits in easily!
Change 152mm One Piece Crankset to 170mm.
Change 28/38/48 chainwheels to 36/42/48 teeth.
Change the seat to a Selle Italia comfort saddle.
Fit Alloy Front Rack. (for cane basket)
New Longer flat bars, 620mm
New 3 finger brake levers
7 Speed Shimano twist grip shifters
7 Speed Shimano 11-28 MF-HG50 cassette
7 Speed KMC Z51 Chain
Change rear drop out to 133mm.

Well, she came back, spat her dummy and I had to take all my bits off and fix it up for her.

Don't you just love those K-Mart and Huffy people:

NEW STICKERS!!

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__________________
Cheers,
George.

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