Mountain Biking - Dusting Off The Iguana

I was big into mountain biking back in high school (at least I though I was at the time!) but then I sold out to the road/fixed gear world. I would now like to get back into mountain biking. I still have my old Giant Iguana and I would like to spend some time this winter upgrading it for the spring. New tires will be one of the first upgrades, but I also remember never being happy with the saddle and the bar/stem setup. How do I go about upgrading these items on the cheap? I don't really know enough to know what I want. I just want to try something new. Is used gear the way to go? Any advice that will get me back in the dirt again would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Tom

used gear if you can find good stuff is great. if you want to upgrade too many things, it might end up being cheaper to just buy a whole new (or used) bike. craigslist, thrift stores and garage sales are where the treasures are hidden. FWIW, i got an almost brand new WTB saddle, which i love, for $3 at a thrift store.

what year/ components does it have on it now?

Forgive my childishness, but when I read "Dusting off the Iguana" I laughed my @ss off. Never heard it called that before.

Used components can save a decent amount of money, but purchasing one wrong or incompatible part will wipe out your savings. Know what your looking for, be patient, and the previous post contains much wisdom.

reading the title I thought this is going to be a thread about ************





apparently you can say master bayshun here

Thanks for the input. Yes, the title was intended to be attention getting! :)

I am unsure of the year and component details. The bike is at home and I am at school. I'll be home next week and that is when I will really get down to business... dusting off my iguana that is...

And another thing I've learned is that it's easy to change components, but not always so easy to make an improvement.

make sure you lube the fork while you're dusting off the iguana.

Ya know, getting a shorter stem for it was one of the first things I wanted to do, but suddenly performing a stem reduction procedure on my iguana doesn't sound like something I want to do anymore...

182843

That Iguana's not fully rigid, is it? Maybe that's the upgrade it needs, unless you prefer riding something squishy.

I'm scared of used bars and stems, especially bars. I'm always afraid they've been mistreated and might snap at any second. I'm less skeptical of saddles, seems like they're less likely to fail catastrophically.

Price Point has some decent bars in the $15-25 range from Easton, Race Face and Truvativ.

It's the 2004 model. (http://www.mtbr.com/cat/bikes/xc-hardtail/giant/iguana/PRD_363497_1527crx.aspx)

Yeah, I've been scoping out Price Point. I think I might try the Race Face Evolve bars and stem.

It's the 2004 model. (http://www.mtbr.com/cat/bikes/xc-hardtail/giant/iguana/PRD_363497_1527crx.aspx)People still ride those? I think I saw one in the Smithsonian a while back.








:D

That looks like a pretty decent bike. I don't think buying a new $600 or $700 bike is going to get you that much of an improvement. I think your plan to upgrade the tires is good. As has been said before, buying used saddles can save you a lot of money. However, saddles are a very personal thing. What someone else thinks is the greatest, you may think is the worst. My ATF MTB saddle is the upgraded Specialized Body Geometry saddle. I have no trouble finding them used because others buy them then decide they don't like them. The most I've paid for a $80 saddle is $10.
Here's something to consider, go to an LBS that allows you to use a demonstrator saddle for a couple of days (usually requires a deposit or purchase of the saddle that is fully refundable). This way you can try a few saddles, then buy a the one you like, new.
If the Iquana was my bike, I wouldn't replace it, I'd put that money into a used (or new) upgraded fork.

Thanks Rocco. I know everyone seems to look down on it's soft fork with limited adjustment options, but I think that that upgrade is still a ways off for me. I don't feel like I've ridden it enough yet to know what I'd be looking for in a new fork. That said... any advice on what to keep in mind when looking into a fork upgrade?

The Manitou Six on your bike is a pretty decent entry level fork. IMHO, if you're going to upgrade, you're going to have to spend some serious bucks. Most entry level spring forks with no rebound control are going to be a step down from the yours. ( I believe you have rebound damping in your fork, my Six LT does.) When it comes to upgrading forks, I have my own plan that I've used on both bikes. I buy used Fox F-100 forks from reputable dealers off of ebay and I buy them in the off season, like now. The Rockhopper and FSR XC have F-100's, the FSR-XC has a F-100 with Terralogic. I spend around $250 with shipping and have them rebuilt by a guy in town who is a pro at FOX shocks then install them myself. For less than $300 per bike I'm riding on Fox F-100's. What can I say, they're great.
If you decide to upgrade your fork, consider something really good quality, but maybe a used fork. Only buy from a reputable ebay dealer if you buy used (some only sell used forks after they rebuild them). Consider installing it yourself, then be sure to KEEP your old fork. If you decide to buy a new bike, sell your old bike with the original fork and keep the replacement fork. If it's a really good quality fork, you may want to put it on your new bike.

I hate to keep bumping this thing, but mine has a RockShox Pilot C on it.

Smithsonian ready 1988 Iguana:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2690/4543956927_a55c6d96a2_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesterofpuppets/4543956927/)

looks like your iguana is too small, lester.
XD

Way too small for me, even though the bars are a little high and the seat's still not high enough, but I couldn't pass it up for $17.50 at the Salvation Army. Hopefully unload it in the spring.

Way too small for me, even though the bars are a little high and the seat's still not high enough, but I couldn't pass it up for $17.50 at the Salvation Army. Hopefully unload it in the spring.

man, i would hate to wait for spring to unload my iguana.

this thread is awesome.

i would nominate this as a sticky, but dusting off the iguana doesn't excite me that much.

i would nominate this as a sticky, but dusting off the iguana doesn't excite me that much.

it may eventually get sticky. but i'm not holding my breath. waiting is the hard part.

Glad I didn't start this as a "Dusting off my Hoo-Koo-E-Koo"...

Glad I didn't start this as a "Dusting off my Hoo-Koo-E-Koo"...

there are no women on the internet.
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2009/12/5/129045330896628960.jpg