Mountain Biking - Opinions wanted on upgrade parts

Im going to be upgrading my mtb. 03 GT avalanche 3.0. Everything is basically stock except for the tires and chopped down bars. I would like to seriously upgrade the drivetrain, brakes, and peripherals(seat post, bars, and stem) Its going to be a slow process since i want to use the best of the best. First thing is going to be the brakes. I know i want to go disc. What brands and models of the above do you all suggest and for what reasons? Thanks for the opinions. (positive only please)
)

Brakes - Shimano xt trail - pre-bled, install in about 6 minutes, feel amazing, awesome overall.

Drivetrain - SRAM, X-9 or better. smooth shifting, no problems, overall amazing.

Handlebar - haven, 711mm wide. more control, great bar.

Tires - ask at the local shops and see what works best for your area. i swear by continentals, that's just me.

after all this, it would be cheaper and simpler to save up the cash and just by a new bike. seriously. you say it's gonna take time, use the time to save up enough cash and get a sweet bike.

WHat Pablosnazzy said. It's way cheaper to upgrade all at once. That said, if you're an incurable upgrader like I am, GO USED. Our 05 base Rockhopper now has XT/LX mix, a Fox F-100, Shimano HollowTech cranks and Avid BB-7's and Mavic disc wheels. All of it was purchased used. The total cost of upgrades was about $500 and it was sort of cool to buy a part and put it on the bike. But at the end of the day, I still had an older model Rockhopper. I finally stopped upgrading the old bike and moved up to a newer Stumpjumper with a better frame and better parts.

Awesome! Thats exactly what i was looking for. Tires im going with Panaracer FireXC pro's red and black. Been on those tires for 6 years plus and i love em, plus they look cool! I have no plans of buying a new mtb any time in the future, this ol girl has gotten me thru living in 5 cities in 2 states and ive had her since a day after she came off the truck. I may buy a new one in the future, but i'll never replace Gunther

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll286/750chop/100_2727.jpg

i may buy a new one at some point. Not in the next few years though. I love this bike and as impractical as it may be, im going to upgrade her until everything on it is the best i can afford. What sort of forks do you recommend? the garbage forks on it siezed up years ago and i also need a new saddle.

rock shox fork, reba or better.

i like wtb saddles, they have been the most comfy for me, but saddles are a personal choice. make sure a saddle fits, it needs to support your sit bones. some shops (whoever carries bontrager saddles) have a cool thing you sit on to measure your sit bones.

understand...any recommendations i make are things that work for me and how i ride and where i ride. i could set you up with the perfect bike, for how and where i ride, and it might be overkill for you and how and where you ride.

for example...i would say get a lyrik fork, but you live in IL, chances are you don't need all that travel. i love xt trail brakes, you might not need them, you might be quite happy with slx. etc etc.


one more time about upgrading....

for the price of a good fork, you might be able to buy a brand new hardtail bike that will be the perfect bike for you. hell, for the price of a new drivetrain you can buy a whole brand new bike that is waaaaay ahead of what you ride now.

just sayin....

Ive rode a rock shox before on a friends bike, i like them. We do have some pretty decent trails around here, including one with an unmarked 1/4 mile downhill bomb through the woods.

I understand about different needs in regards to seats, forks etc. Im more trying to re-familiarize myself with brands and the different levels of parts. Think 16 year old girl at the Summit Racing store

about the new bike :) ....Its more a sentimental thing, kinda like the 87 dodge van in my back yard that ive dumped enough money in to buy 3 more running vans just like it. Im a recycle/upgrade type of guy. Thank you for your input. Its been very helpful

Can you give us some ballpark numbers on what you want to spend, as well as some description of where you're riding? You're saying "best of the best," but you can literally pour thousands and thousands of dollars into this bike, where it would probably cost less money to buy a $6000 bike, strip all the components and put them on your current frame, and then sell the other frame to recoup some costs...which is entirely impractical. But seriously, you can pour over $200 into pedals alone.

Pablo's given you some good suggestions on some nice upgrades, where you're starting to approach the point of diminishing returns. Understand it's not the "best of the best," but it's likely good enough.

I really like my Fox fork. Definitely another company besides RockShox to consider. Make sure it fits your headtube.

Not sure if you need disc compatible wheels. If you have the money to blow, Industry 9 wheels are bling. Make sure they fit your fork's axle.

If I were buying a seatpost now and had money, I'd go dropper, no question about it. Someone on here will be able to point you towards whichever one is least likely to break on you.

Once you get your fancy new drivetrain...no more cross-chaining! :p

Really though, just keep that bike as is if it's for sentimental purposes, and buy another bike. It'll save you money in the long run.

......

If I were buying a seatpost now and had money, I'd go dropper, no question about it. Someone on here will be able to point you towards whichever one is least likely to break on you.

.....

gravity dropper. least expensive and most reliable.

realistically i would say my limit will be near the $2k mark. my wheelset is garbage and the 3rd one ive had on the bike. i beat my first two to the point that the freewheel was broke and the rim more resembled the letter s than a functional rim. those will need replaced with a disc compatible wheel, the ones on it are so heavy that the bike is noticeably more sluggish. I ride a good deal on pavement and the trails here are hardpacked single track trails, lots of roots and creek crossings. not alot of rocks or major downhill. I'd say its a 60/40 split on road and off road. Thankfully my LBS is very helpful when i go to pick out parts that they make sure im buying something that fits. Thank you all so much for the great advice. My main goal is to drop weight and make it perform better, looks are a little important too, i wont lie!

WOOooo weee, just checked out those I9 wheels on ebay. thats a tad bit out of my range at 1500 a set. i still need to invest in some lighter nicer wheels that are disc compatible. its nice to have an idea what to shoot for though.

Im going to be upgrading my mtb. 03 GT avalanche 3.0.


realistically i would say my limit will be near the $2k mark.

Dressing up mutton to look like lamb.

For $2K you could get this (http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCProduct.jsp?spid=62048&scid=1100&scname=Mountain) or another nice bike for a lot less.

I know what I'd do if I was in your situation and had $2K to spend.

buy higher end used bike, then strip the parts to keep this frame. Do you have disc mounts on that frame?

yes it has disc mounts.

Dressing up mutton to look like lamb.

For $2K you could get this (http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCProduct.jsp?spid=62048&scid=1100&scname=Mountain) or another nice bike for a lot less.

I know what I'd do if I was in your situation and had $2K to spend.

This is why i said "positive comments". In order to buy a $2k bike i have to spend $2k today, all at once. Respectfully, i know what 99% of you would do with 2 grand and none of you would upgrade a 10 year old bike. Im aware, but thats not the reason for my thread, my purpose was to solicit the advice of mtb'ers with more parts knowledge and experience than me to help with upgrading MY bike. Ive said it once, twice, three times, im not interested in a new bike. Now buying an older used high end machine to pilfer parts from, thats a decent idea, and probably a cost efficient one too. Thank you again for your help guys.

buy higher end used bike, then strip the parts to keep this frame. Do you have disc mounts on that frame?


This is a good idea i may look in to.

Buy American.:thumb:

http://paulcomp.com/

http://www.sevencycles.com/accessories/

http://chrisking.com/

http://bikethomson.com/

http://www.twenty6products.com/index.html

http://www.wheelsmith.com/index.html

http://whiteind.com/home.html

http://www.arrowracing.com/home.html

hey guys he just want to upgrade parts only !!!
i'm sorry with my lame English
my suggestion is buy shimano xt group set or if u want spend more you can go for xtr group set why im not suggesting you go for x9/x0 sram because what im personaly seeing hard to do maintance if you do it yourself and cost more $
also in my place a lot spare part from shimano could be found

about fork i dono know if your 1" or 1 1/8"
if 1 1/8" should be a lot of brand

fox teralogix
rox shock sid xx carbon
suntour axon carbon
etc

headset mmmm
chrisking is very durable
fsa is cheaper for normal steel bearing or can go for ceramic option
across
etc

i dont know about your bottom bracket type
is it outer???

once again sorry my poor english
hope is helping mate :lol::)

Buy American.

http://paulcomp.com/

http://www.sevencycles.com/accessories/

http://chrisking.com/

http://bikethomson.com/

http://www.twenty6products.com/index.html

http://www.wheelsmith.com/index.html

http://whiteind.com/home.html

http://www.arrowracing.com/home.html