Mountain Biking - Do you ride a specific components >What's a repeat upgrade company?

Why?
Odi Ruffian hex off grips rock, easyoff\on, replacement grip.
Ritchey headsets, stems..
Jagwire replace cartridge brake pads...yes v's.
Mosh are o.k economy pedals.
Sticking with DTSwiss spokes.
SDG makes a good saddle.
Blackspire Epic chainring runs well, little wear\ flex.
Pro-Tek bmx helmets..a 2'nd washable pad liner, nice.
IRC tires....good enough, cheaper than some HQ tires.

Sorry, my list is simple. Based on year riding upgrades. The Ritchey components are over 13? yrs old, not upgrades, but I would purchase the same (retrofit).

Azonic Handlebars. - Strong
Azonic Saddles. - Strong, Comfy.
Chris King Headsets. - Will last forever.
Chris King Hubs. - Will last forever, cool loud clicking freehub.
DT Swiss Hubs. (DT HUGI Now) - Smooth, look good.
DT Swiss Spokes. - Strong and light.
Easton Handlebars. - Strong, light and good looking.
Fox Racing Clothing - Fits well, looks good and I can find it on sale!
Fox Racing Helmets - Looks good and Strong.
Fox Racing Gloves - Best fitting gloves I've found.
Fox Suspension Shocks. - Work well, don't leak.
Hayes Hydraulic Disc. - Best modulation, one set-up you don't touch them again.
Gazaloddi Tires. - Good grip, long lasting.
Giro Helmets - Good fit, good looks.
Marzocchi Forks. - Best feel, features I like, VERY STRONG.
Mavic Rims. - Strong and build up nicely.
Maxxis Tires. - Good tread pattern, can find on sale.
ODI Grips. - Easy on and off, Comfy.
Park Tools - The standard to compare others.
Pedro's Lubricants - Work well and readily available.
Pedro's Tools - On par with Park, and have some cool specialty tools.
Profile Racing Cranks. - Indestructible.
Profile Racing Hubs. - Smooth and good looking.
Race Face Cranks. - Strong and good looking.
Race Face Stems. - Indestructible and good looking.
Salsa Saddles. - Very Comfy.
Salsa Skewers. - Hey they work I don't worry about them!
Shimano XT Cassettes. - Best value, last longest, shift best, good weight.
Shimano XTR/XT (NOS) 8-speed shifters. I HATE 9 speed stuff!
Shimano XTR/XT rear derailleurs (non-rapid rise) - Not buying into the rapid rise B.S.
Shimano Deore through XTR for front derailleurs (any work, go cheap) - I run Deore's, LX's and all the way up to XTR's. They all work about the same. My Deore shifts as well as my XTR.
Smith Sunglasses - Interchangable lenses and comfy.
Sram Chains. - Broken too many SHimano's, never a SRAM.
Sun Rims (Rhyno Lites XL's) - Strong and Cheap.
Thomson Posts - Last post you'll ever need. Like the double bolt clamp design. Good looking too!
Thomson Stems. - Looks and the knee saver design.(hidden bolts)
Truvative Cranks. - Look good and work well.
Truvative Pedals. - Look good and great grip.
Velocity Rims. (AeroHeat) - Nice looking and strong.
Wheelsmith Spokes. - DT or Wheelsmith is all I'll use!
WTB Saddles. - Comfy.
WTB Tires. - Cheap and good wear. My fav. tire for my trails.

All the above products I've purchased AGAIN for my various bikes. IOW, I would recommend them to someone and/or would consider buying them again.

I haven't owned (just tried) the new SRAM X.9 shifters and will buy a set for my next build.

I'm not too brand loyal but for pedals i like snafu and grips im really really picky about how they feel but there isnt a specific brand i usually go for. I guess you could say i am a repeat buyer from kenda due to sponsorship but theyre tires rock :)

raceface, marzocchi, SRAM, Michelin-only through sponsorship tho.

My picks
Maxm Handlebars. - Strong
Specialized Body Geometry Saddles. - Comfy.
Chris King Headsets. - Will last forever.
Specialized Helmets - One of the few that fit me properly, well ventilated.
Fox Racing Gloves - I love my old Sidewinders.
Campagnolo Gloves - Pimp Style
Fox Suspension Shocks. - Had one leak ONCE it was replaced without question by the LBS, the new one holds up fine.
Avid Mechanical Discs. - The best Mechs on the market PERIOD
Hope Gothic Rotors - A signature piece for me and they do help braking
Rock Shox Forks. - I have extreme confidence in RS products
Sun Ringle Rims. - Strong The Rhynolite is my standard rim from here on out.
ODI Lock On Grips. - Easy on and off, Comfortable.
Park Tools - Gold standard.
Pedro's Tools - About as good as Park some tools have better handles
Truvativ Cranks. - Strong .
Truvative Bottom Brackets - Strong and smooth
Profile Design Water bottle cages - They don't mark up the bottles, also they don't snap like metal ones
Time Pedals- Best clipless pedals in my (never so) humble opinion
Odyssey Pedals - the best platforms
SRAM chains- Accept no substitute

a2psyklnut, thanks..big list!
Considering the amount of parts you've sourced, i'll keep it all in mind.

Would you recomend a new headset for XC racing. I have a Giant Iguana, so i think it has a Crane Creek headset on it

SDG saddle...I like mine alot and for the price I'm looking into another one made by them.
Hayes Brakes...they stop me quite well. I might try avid on my next ride, but for now these will work.

SRAM chains and cassettes i will always buy. the PC69 in particular.

Thomson Seatpost forever
WTB Saddles
Marzocchi and Manitou forks
Sram (95% of the time I will run sram from now on, but shimano seems to be smartening up and I may rebuy them sometime if I need a whole drive train)
e13 chainguide (god himself made them ;))
Sram chains
ODI lock w/ any odi based grip

Thats really it. Anything else is up for grabs. I would be hard pressed to buy anything but FSA Vdrive cranks or fsa bb's, but I could be convinced.

Things I will never buy
Hayes Mechanical brakes
any other seatpost (they all suck)
Shimano dual shift system or any other system based off of road bikes
RST, Suntour etc...:)
I will not buy any product distributed through Norco. No matter what the product, I will find a way to avoid them
9mm front axle anything
Nothing less than xt quality rear hubs

I would like to add DT swiss. I have used their spokes for both of my builds. And their 240's. One thing i like is that its quiet! On the XT or just about every rear hub it seems thers this tick tick tick that drives me nuts, i block it out eventually. With the 240 its smooth and quiet.

Things I will never buy
Hayes Mechanical brakes

Shimano dual shift system or any other system based off of road bikes
RST, Suntour etc...:)
I will not buy any product distributed through Norco. No matter what the product, I will find a way to avoid them
9mm front axle anything
Nothing less than xt quality rear hubsI'd drop to LX hubs for a commuter bike, but that's me. The rest I can agree with.

Marzocchi
Time pedals
scram chains
selle Italia

I'd drop to LX hubs for a commuter bike, but that's me. The rest I can agree with.

I destroyed the freewheel on LX. I don't seem to have much luck with freewheels (or whatever they are called)...the hub itself was fine :)

I would like to add DT swiss. I have used their spokes for both of my builds. And their 240's. One thing i like is that its quiet! On the XT or just about every rear hub it seems thers this tick tick tick that drives me nuts, i block it out eventually. With the 240 its smooth and quiet.

I love CLICK...haha. I have a hadley and it drives everyone around me nuts.

It scares away the wildlife.

For me

Titec - for the handle bars. Strong and Light
Kenda - I can accquire these cheaply.
Selle Italia - These seats are just comfortable no matter how hard they are
Shimano - Only for cranks.
F.U.N.N - Burly components. Have the levers, looking to purchase the stem

Everything else... it doesn't really matter.

i have to say, for me My Alex Rims that came stock on my Hardrock are holding are really well so i like Alex rims...

Dianese
661
Magura
DMR frames, not pedals
Specialized Tyres
Schwalbe Tyres
FSA headsets..
Giro Helmets

oh yea speaking of rims i would have to say Sun rims. I think thery make a very high quality rim at a good price.

Originally Posted by Maelstrom
Things I will never buy
Hayes Mechanical brakes



Hayes mech. brakes aren't all that bad, but I have heard that Avid mechs are much better. I'm sorta new, so how do you quote other posts?

There is a button at the bottom right hand of each post called, reply w/ quote.

Ahh, thank you

Shimano, Mavic, Easton and Panaracer are my fave repeat upgrades, stick with what u know ;)

What kind of tire would you recomend for XC racing?

I really like lizard skin grips and Maxxis tires. Maxxis is located in Georga so they do a lot of R&D in the Pisgah area where I ride so they rock for me.

WTB Logo Grips
661 Shoes
Panaracer Fire XC Pro
SDG Bel Air saddles
Smartwool socks are a must

I destroyed the freewheel on LX. I don't seem to have much luck with freewheels (or whatever they are called)...the hub itself was fine :)
Freehub bodies are cheap and easy to replace.

Freehub bodies are cheap and easy to replace.
I had to replace mine after I rode that trail.

Freehub bodies are cheap and easy to replace.

Not that cheap. 40$ around here. I did it a few times in a matter of months.

Not that cheap. 40$ around here. I did it a few times in a matter of months.
Still cheaper than a new wheel or having a new hub built in

Not really. I replaced it 4 times. Thats is no cheaper than building a quality wheel with a better freehub. I haven't replaced it since. investment wise my hadley hub has paid for itself 2x.

Not really. I replaced it 4 times. Thats is no cheaper than building a quality wheel with a better freehub. I haven't replaced it since. investment wise my hadley hub has paid for itself 2x.
Fair enough, but for those who don't tear though them like they were cheeze whiz replacing them is cheaper.

For sure...:D And now that I am smoother and a better pedaller, I don't tear through them like I used to (although I still only use xt or boutique)

I basically don't have anything i will definately use, i am willing to try new stuff. The stuff i am fond of though is Maxxis tyres and tubes and Mavic rims.