Mountain Biking - Worth to upgradea decent frame?

Hi, i was recently interested in building a XC hardtail, and also have a 2001 Trek 4300. This bike is definitley not top of the line with Acera componenets, however rides well and is kinda fast. My question is whether it is a good idea to strip the bike of the parts and put better parts such as Lx or XT. Although the frame isnt superb, its sufficient to do XC riding on it. The parts i would put on it would be used. Since this bike is fairly new, I dont have the heart to tell my parents, "the frame isnt good enough", and spend a few hundred bucks on a new one. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks

Thats a fine xc bike. To save cash it would be worth the upgrade. However make sure to check out new bikes with the same parts you are looking at. Sometimes the whole new bike ends up cheaper :D

Thats what i was going to say Maelstrom.

Anyway, it sounds like your mind is already made up, you were just looking here for affirmation. If it rides well, what your question?

Go for it.

Nothing wrong with upgrading that bike as you can afford it.

Critical upgrade areas with most significant improvements: (Hmmm, I'm feeling another thread topic survey here)

IMO, the most important part of a bike is the frame. I consider it "The Heart" of the bike. I usually try to buy the best I can afford and will skimp on other parts if necessary. However, in your case, I'd stick with the one you've got and get a new one in a few years and just upgrade the other parts, so when you get a new frame down the road, you can just swap over.

The most significant (most noticeable) upgrade will be your wheels and tires. Your stock wheels are heavy, and the bearings are so-so. If you buy a lightweight, and strong wheelset, you will "feel" much faster. The reason is that "rotational" weight is more obvious rather that "Mass"(or static weight) on your bike. Same idea with tires. A lighter tire will "feel" faster.

Then, a good fork will make the bike smoother and perform better, plus cut a lot of weight. You can get a quality Air fork in the 3.5 lb range for reasonable prices.

Other areas of "dead" weight, are bottom brackets, heavy cranks, cassettes, heavy seatposts, stems and handlebars. Manufacturers have to cut cost on lower priced models, and they usually do this in "non-obvious" areas. Most inexpensive bottom brackets are boat anchors and bearings are rough. Upgrade to XT level ($25 -35) and you'll definately notice a difference in smoothness from your cranks.

If your cranks have steel rings (verify w/ small magnet), I'd buy new cranks too. This can be costly, but a good upgrade. I personally like Race Face cranks w/ Race Face rings, and the stuff from Truvative is very affordable. I like the RF Turbine LP's if you want a good quality yet not stupid expensive. If considering the "Prodigy" line, save your money for the LP's. I don't really think it's necessary to spend the extra $100 on the "Next LP's" unless you become "racer-boy".

Cassette's can also be boat anchors for "low-level" stuff. XT's aren't much more money than LX's and significantly lighter, and more precise shifting. I'd NOT get XTR as they're almost TOO light, and more fragile!

Generic seatposts, stems and handlebars can add significant weight to a bike. Get a Thomson Elite post ($60-85) and you'll never have to worry about getting another one!

Stems, I like Thomson, and RaceFace Systems. The new Easton's are pretty nice.

Handlebars. Too many to choose from. My preference is anything with an Easton lable or made by Answer.

Notice I didn't mention brakes. Stick with Vee brakes. No significant gain in performance or weight unless you upgrade to TOP level and that's super costly! As a matter of fact, Deore level brakes weigh LESS than XT's and performance is almost identical.

L8R

Wow A2. Lots'o detail in that post. But I agree with your order of priority...but then again we are in the same weight class and probably break the same parts :D

I'll buy that A2.. (still not giving up the Avid's though):p