Mountain Biking - $500 into 04 Schwinn Mesa?

I just got this 2004 Schwinn Mesa and would like to upgrade it a bit. How do you think I should spend $500 on this bike? Is this a good platform to start building on or I should get a better frame/bike?

I like to have a wheel set that make the bike look a bit different :D You know what I mean right? And better derailleur and possibly discbrakes.

Thanks. Help the newbie.

Isn't that a $500 bike to begin with?

So you want to invest $1,000 in a $500 bike and are asking if this is a smart move?

I'm guessing..............NO!

If you've got $500 to invest, sell the Mesa for whatever you can and buy a new bike!

L8R

I just got this 2004 Schwinn Mesa and would like to upgrade it a bit. How do you think I should spend $500 on this bike? Is this a good platform to start building on or I should get a better frame/bike?

I like to have a wheel set that make the bike look a bit different :D You know what I mean right? And better derailleur and possibly discbrakes.

Thanks. Help the newbie.
If you're in it for looks you're in it for the WRONG reason. Like A2 said If you had a grang to spend you should have bought a bike that was worth a grand. It's cheaper for the companies to upgrade spec that it is for you.

you can probably get new wheels and a new fork if you shop wisely. otherwise just a new wheelset would cost you 5 bills. like the crossmax. or if you don't want to do that you could go disc for 5 bills. i wouldn't do it to a schwinn mesa but if that's what you want, go for it. plus on some $1000 bikes they still don't always come with the parts you want, at least this way you can spec it how you want.

EVeryone is talking like a Schwinn Mesa is a low end bike. Last I checked almost all the mainstream frames by a company were the exact same and components were what made the bike. So now do we really suggest to him to lose money on the sale of a used bike to buy a higher end bike that still might not have everything he wants so he can put more money into it?

There really isn't much to a bike and there aren't many bikes I would buy that I wouldn't replace a couple of things. Seems like upgrading isn't always a question of the original retail value it is more things like how old is the frame?, Will it accomodate disc brakes if you want? and most importantly does it fit you well?

Trey

Okay, since he's most likely NOT going to sell his bike and get a new one, I'll say right NOW to not be hard on it. Which means no more dorps than 3 feet I would think. The fork is crap. Get some discs, get better front derailler. You'll know the difference when you start seeing your chain slip off on the wrong sides of your front chainrings.

So priorities are probably
1) Deraillers.
2) Brakes.
3) Fork.
Not in order.

Actually my Mesa is the base level of the Mesa. It's "lower end" compare to other Mesas. It has the same frame, however, that's why I would like to make it the base to upgrade.
I definitely want a new wheelset which mostly for the looks and spare wheels, front/rear derailleur and then fork and disc brakes as suggested. (Had I not read your comments and posts on this forum, I would never think of upgrading the fork, :D ). Highest drop I had on the bike is around 1.5ft only, so no problems, correct?

I (for some reason) use mostly my front brake, I like to do endos much better than dragging my rear wheel on the ground. When pulling endos I can still move forward 3-4 ft on the front wheel so the frontstock brake is still good, but disc would be nicer, right?

The problem is that Manufacturer's can buy components at a much better price than you and I as mere consumers can. Therefore, an $850 NEW bike will be better equipped than a $500 bike with $500 worth of upgrades.

I didn't trash or bash the quality, just a mere fact of economics.

L8R

True A2 but I really haven't seen a bike spec'd with stuff I would ride anyway. If we were talking $850 for full XT maybe . . . But even then I'd rather have SRAM pieces :).

Don't get me wrong I hear what your saying but your talkin to a guy with a $2,800 hardtail. I love to customize and tweak it and the economics of it weren't my biggest factor. Not really a factor at all.

yeah man no matter how expensive the bike was originally, there's always room for upgrades =]