Upgrades to entry level MTBs and Comfort Bikes



From Post #1.
gclark8 said:
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. ;)
This is where the topic started, the Upand Project. Today sees the end of the project, 12 months almost to the day, Jackie has decided to SELL the Upland!! ;) And replace it with a Giant OCR3.

The bike is now ready for sale, see pix below, for $300, Perth WA only. Thank you all for your interest in this project. Stay tuned for the OCR3 upgrade... :D
 
Today I built the OCR3 in Flat Bar config as the CRX is not available in XXXS-650c sizes.
 
gclark8 said:
Today I built the OCR3 in Flat Bar config as the CRX is not available in XXXS-650c sizes.
I'd like to see you apply this flat bar treatment to a TCR Advanced ISP :D
 
A couple of years back, one of the Giant Dealers here in Perth was doing TCR Flat Bar conversions, this is before Giant brought out the CRX 0 & 1. They used the Shimano Flatbar Ultegra 9 speed Shifters and Levers. ;)

I recently did a Carbon Kestrel, which is for sale, see:
http://www.triwa.org.au/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1310
 
gclark8 said:
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!!
Huffy replacement!

When Jackie sold the Upland, the buyer gave me her old bike, a steel frame Indi Cavalier!

After a good clean, new wheels, bars, V-brakes, in fact, most of the gear I had on the huffy, I now have a shopping bike! :p

I will upgrade the 3x5 gears later.
 
The time has come to upgrade the brakes on my 1995 Malvern Star MTB.

Currently, it has some cheapo plastic APSE centre pull cantilevers, which I can never seem to centre properly.

I've decided to go for some V brakes, and read that Avid are a pretty good brand. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should go for? I want something good quality. My budget is $100 to $120 (including levers if necessary).

Cheers,


Rob
 
Just go for some Tektro or Promax V-Brakes and "matching" V-brake levers, about $50. ;)

I removed all traces of cantilever and put Alhonga V-Brakes and Tektro V-Brake levers on the Indi (above) for about $45.
 
I've done some more reading and it seems that Avid SD7 are pretty widely praised.

Are they available here? How much do they cost?
 
I ended up fitting a set of Avid Single Digit 3 brakes with Speed Dial 5 levers.

They stop much better than the old brakes! :)
 
New bike or fix up the old one?

I'm looking to get a rigid fork MTB alloy bike and build it up into a bomb-proof commuter/tourer.

My Giant Elwood needs the following fixed up :

New BB
Suspension forks replaced with rigid fork (The current ones have no lockout and squeak like hell)
New, more durable wheelset - the current ones are slightly dented and features a 6 speed freewheel.

I think I might be able to sell the Elwood for $150-200 if I fixed up the bottom bracket. Any recommendations for new bikes?
 
I just wanted to share my experience at a failed attempt to upgrade my apollo

i bought a SRAM dual drive hub/velocity rear wheel for my Apollo Himalaya commuter, BUT have found that the shifter unit fouls with my rear rack mount and I can't mount my son's croozer hitch.

So I have ended up buying a strong but cheap rim and stuck with the 21spd setup rather than the initial planned 63spd setup :eek:

So if anyone would like a unique dual drive setup, then ask me, happy to part with it for the price i paid for it
 
gclark8 said:
A new shopping bike for Little Jackie:
Little Jackie's "old" Cyclops Blackwater,
now modifyed and ready for its new owner:

Refit the original wheels, tyres and 14-28 5 speed freewheel.
Replace the 28/38/48 tooth chanrings with a single 40 tooth chainring and remove Front Derailleur and Shifter.
Replace the Falcon Long Cage Derailleur with a Falcon Short Cage.
Total cost of new Chainring and RD, $20. ;)

This makes the bike much easier to ride for an inexperienced girl, one less lever to confuse. :D
 
Two more great looking "maiden's" bikes.

One a 6x1 ($350) the other a 6x2 ($275), both all steel!!
 
My best Single Speed Customer:

Coaster (back pedal) brake hubs replaced,
Training Wheels removed,
Rear Calliper brakes fitted,
2 Single Speed Freewheels fitted :)
 
A couple of recent pix,
Ben's new 20" BMX,
and his old 12" BMX, now modified for track use. :D