When to upgrade bottom bracket and crankset

I've been riding for about 6 or 7 months now and am considering some local off-road racing
this spring.

I have a stock Jamis Dakar (2002) with a pretty low end set of components. My question is- if I were
to look at upgrading performance, where would I see the most improved performance? It looks as
though I can shave a pretty significant amount of weight if I switch out the bottom brack and
crankset (Shimano Alivio), but does that really get a performance gain?

Thanks,

Newbie

 

In article <[email protected]>, greenoas <[email protected]> wrote:
>I've been riding for about 6 or 7 months now and am considering some local off-road racing
>this spring.
>
>I have a stock Jamis Dakar (2002) with a pretty low end set of components. My question is- if I
>were to look at upgrading performance, where would I see the most improved performance? It looks as
>though I can shave a pretty significant amount of weight if I switch out the bottom brack and
>crankset (Shimano Alivio), but does that really get a performance gain?

No, and you could probably save more weight for less money with some ultralight tubes and
folding tires.

The thing you will learn about riding hard on mountain bikes is that they eat parts. Don't replace
anything that isn't broken, it'll break soon enough. On a 6-7 month old bike there is probably not
much to replace that would yield better function, and lightening a mountain bike piece by piece is
never going to be cost-effective.

Brakes are sometimes an exception especially on cheap mountain bikes - if the brakes are poor
quality you will want some better ones especially on front.

If you get hooked on racing you are probably going to learn a lot more about the type of bike
you want to ride, when you are ready to replace the Dakar you will regret every extra penny you
put into it.

--Paul

 

On Sat, 25 Jan 2003 16:22:27 GMT, "greenoas" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I've been riding for about 6 or 7 months now and am considering some local off-road racing
>this spring.
>
>I have a stock Jamis Dakar (2002) with a pretty low end set of components. My question is- if I
>were to look at upgrading performance, where would I see the most improved performance?

As always, it's mostly about the engine.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

 

Thank you very much - extremely helpful...

Oh, and to John who mentioned "its all about the engine" - I'm working on that as well... The
"engine" needs to shed a few pounds before the spring.


"Paul Southworth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:8CzY9.30390$A%[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, greenoas <[email protected]> wrote:
> >I've been riding for about 6 or 7 months now and am considering some
local
> >off-road racing this spring.
> >
> >I have a stock Jamis Dakar (2002) with a pretty low end set of
components.
> >My question is- if I were to look at upgrading performance, where would I see the most improved
> >performance? It looks as though I can shave a
pretty
> >significant amount of weight if I switch out the bottom brack and
crankset
> >(Shimano Alivio), but does that really get a performance gain?
>
> No, and you could probably save more weight for less money with some ultralight tubes and
> folding tires.
>
> The thing you will learn about riding hard on mountain bikes is that they eat parts. Don't replace
> anything that isn't broken, it'll break soon enough. On a 6-7 month old bike there is probably not
> much to replace that would yield better function, and lightening a mountain bike piece by piece is
> never going to be cost-effective.
>
> Brakes are sometimes an exception especially on cheap mountain bikes - if the brakes are poor
> quality you will want some better ones especially on front.
>
> If you get hooked on racing you are probably going to learn a lot more about the type of bike you
> want to ride, when you are ready to replace the Dakar you will regret every extra penny you put
> into it.
>
> --Paul

 

Not so much for weight savings and performance gain, but a crankset can be a great upgrade to a
cheap bike if the bike came with one of those riveted-together cranks. Geting a crank that lets you
remvove the rings will allow you to take the rings (but not the arm) off to clean them, and allow
you to change the rings in the future if you decide on different gearing.

Bruce

 

"greenoas" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I've been riding for about 6 or 7 months now and am considering some local off-road racing
> this spring.
>
> I have a stock Jamis Dakar (2002) with a pretty low end set of components. My question is- if I
> were to look at upgrading performance, where would I see the most improved performance? It looks
> as though I can shave a pretty significant amount of weight if I switch out the bottom brack and
> crankset (Shimano Alivio), but does that really get a performance gain?

Everything Paul Southworth wrote is true. The one thing you can often upgrade to improve performance
perhaps is tires. Tires can have a big effect on performance and really need to be matched to
conditions, this is much more important than weight. Best thing, favorite tires can be reused on a
new bike. If you do a lot of riding in different locales, you will likely develop a collection of
tires, each best suited to different terrain.

 

"Peter Cole" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Everything Paul Southworth wrote is true. The one thing you can often
upgrade
> to improve performance perhaps is tires. Tires can have a big effect on performance and really
> need to be matched to conditions, this is much more important than weight. Best thing, favorite
> tires can be reused on a new
bike.
> If you do a lot of riding in different locales, you will likely develop a collection of tires,
> each best suited to different terrain.

I'll second that about the tires. MTB tires vary a lot in rolling resistance and handling.

Leave the crank alone, until the chainrings are worn out. That will happen soon enough if you ride
on dirt a lot.

Matt O.

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>I've been riding for about 6 or 7 months now and am considering some local off-road racing this
>spring. I have a stock Jamis Dakar (2002) with a pretty low end set of components. My question is-
>if I were to look at upgrading performance, where would I see the most improved performance?

Upgrade the motor first. That will make the most difference.

>It looks as though I can shave a pretty significant amount of weight if I switch out the bottom
>brack and crankset (Shimano Alivio), but does that really get a performance gain?

Minimal.
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Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)