NitroPye

Are the crank arms screwed or just the rings? You could get new rings on the cheap.

pyroguy_3

It's an integrated crankset. I don't think the rings come off separately. Low-end is notorious for this, apparently.

Cheeto

Yea, My rings don't come off, thats why I'm thinking of just making the drastic jump to deore, It's just more than what I wanted to spend.
I have less money than I thought I did, So is what I'm going to do is hopefully get hired ( I already applied for a job) building bikes at a dept store (YEA I KNOW what a shame, but atleast the bikes will be able to be ridden out of store) I'm also applying to work at numerous areas at the Base.
I'll set my budget at $275.00 US

No more than 80.00 on the crankset, the rest will go to wheels and if any is left a truing stand and wrench.

So now that I've set ideas and stuff, what are some decent wheelsets and cranks.

Wheel set MUST be rim and disk compatible, and if possible tubeless/tube compatible. Also needs to be able to take a hit.
Yes asking a lot, but hey, I trust you guys/girls opinions and input around here so help me out please.

SO far I've settle on a deore crank, and the wheelset that I picked out is my fall-back option.

I currently have these Matrix 550 wheels with an unnamed shimano hub (which is starting to rust in the center) They cant stay true to save their lives. and mine,..

Fable

Cheeto, check your PM. Have I got a deal for you.

Chris_F

Cheeto, you break more stuff than anyone I know. Perhaps you may want to consider being a little more gentle on the equipment?

Cheeto

I ride hard, sorry lol.
I just break the cheap stuff.
Havn't even scratched my Thomson Post yet.

BlueTrain

As you become a better rider, you won't be breaking as many parts. Still don't quite understand how you "wear out" a crankset on a bike that you've only had for a few months. Kind of a waste to throw a bunch of cash at that bike, but whatever... Anyways, sounds like you're still a bit of a clumsy rider, so I'd go with the Rhyno Lites w/LX hub wheelset that most have for less than a hundred. Sturdy wheel, but rather wide and heavy, which makes getting tires on/off a bit more difficult than the average rim. Are you sure the wheels are truly done, and don't just need to be trued? If they weren't properly tensioned before you starterd riding on them (very likely) they might be able to be salvaged. Also, if you're crankset really is thrashed you might want to factor in a new BB as well. Remember, you have an entry level bike, with entry level parts. It's built for light XC, not hucking or slamming into logs.

the1amradio

How are you possibly breaking all that stuff so soon? I have a Trek 4500 that has been ridden hard for well over a year and I outweigh you by 60+lbs and I haven't had NEARLY the issues you've had with breaking stuff and I certainly don't take it easy when I ride. Are you careful with the bike, or just ram it into stuff and drop it on it's drive side when you stop? Are you riding INTO obstacles or OVER them? My crankset/bb makes a clicking noise when I ride, but it's just a noise and it's not breaking anything yet, so I don't need to replace it. If you're looking at upgrading ALL of that stuff, why don't you just save up a bit more and buy a nice used bike? There is a 2006 Trek Fuel EX9 (i think) at the local Play it Again Sports that looks hardly used and they're asking $550 for it. Also, at 15 I'm not sure why you said you don't have a large budget because of college. Are you in college? Child prodigy? Anyway, with the amount of money you're looking to spend on parts to upgrade your 3900, I would recommend you purchase a nice used push-mower for $75 and knock out 5-8 yards in the neighborhood a week at $35 a pop. If your summer is 9 weeks long, that's $275 - $75 + $35(5*9)= $1775.

dminor 

I think the ultimate solution may be a 44 lb. Transition Gran Mal.

kill.cactus

No... This is more like it

BFG

I'm not seeing any difference................

Cheeto

I didnt wear out the crank, I bent it off a rock, and a log when I first started riding.
I'm not a clumsy rider.. anymore, as I was riding yesterday and people were asking how long I've been riding and didn't belive me when I said.... 4 months.
My wheels are cheap, They work, but dont stay trued. I push the limits on my bike, and thats why the wheels are kinda jacked up.

dminor 

Hey, I resemble that dig!

Of note: after some revamping over the past week, my uofficial bathroom scale weigh-in tells me I've gotten it down into the 41-42 lb. range.

cbchess

you should save your money - start mowing lawns or something and save a bit more - then find a good used bike that will be twice as good as yours.

By the time your are done trying to fix up your bike you will have spent far more. - the best way to save money is to do all your own maintenance - pick up a copy of Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance.

Cheeto

I guess the following sentence: "My parents won't let me get another bike because we move in less than a year, and then after a year there I'm off to college." means nothing.
I've already said I can't get a new bike. I tried, this guy wanted to sell my his Raleigh 8.0 mojave (something like that) with full deore components, a 100.00 seat and a 300+ manitou fork with hayes disk brakes all for 250 just because he has to get rid of it.... Mom said NO!

Zan

Damn, i wish i made that much cutting the grass! I have trouble getting clients in at 110$/month. i suppose everyone is too cheap to fund the local cuttin' kid.

Word up on the wheels. I rode a POS bike for a while. i was a POS rider while riding it (and still am). i didn't have any trouble with my stock wheelset, and my bike was lesser than yours. go buy a spoke wrench. tighten those damned spokes down. i lost my bike slamming into a car. the impact sent me through the air, bent the frame, crushed the fork, but guess what? dem wheel tings still spin and still spin true!

others will prolly gun me down for it, but tighten dem spokes. i keep the spokes tight, and i keep the wheel true (for real, my man). with the way i was riding with the pads just a ***** fur off the rim, the wheels had to stay true. i spent maybe five minutes/week straightening the rims. i only straightened 'em 'cause i could feel the damned pad ticking the wheel in a spot every revolution.

surprised you're such a bang boom kinda guy, you know?

Cheeto

I have a Lawn Mower... But guess what?!?!?!? I live on Military base Housing-Not allowed to solicit, and they contract a landscape company to mow the whole neighborhood once everyweek,
They do it all, They mow, edge, weed and clean up... they even replace our pinestraw around the trees and bushes everyyear.
I'm out of lawn work.
Besides, im 16, I'm trying to get a real job, But this town is hard to get hired in, unless your 18.

Cheeto

Yea I've been debating getting a truing stand and a wrench, but I would still like the better Hubs/rims/spoke combo that is disk ready.

the1amradio

Okay... I'm not sure what kind of job you're considering "real" but places like Kroger will hire every 15 year-old who applies. Why is it that you can throw money at your current bike yet you cannot sell it and buy a different bike? Regardless, I have a friend who rides a bike with a Wal-Mart frame, horrendous fork and bottom-of-the-line components from the LBS and as long as he tunes up all his stuff after beating on it, it serves him fine. I'm not sure what you did to bash your wheels up so that they are "screwed," just ride straight into the log? I weigh a lot more than you and have been beating on my bike a lot longer but I've still not found any need for new wheels and can't imagine the 3900 and 4500 having much different wheels. Did you buy the bike new or used? How are you riding it so often (nearly every other day you say you went for a ride) if your chainring is bent? Also, in one post you say that the chainrings are worn out, but then you later say that they aren't worn out; which is it? It sounds dumb, but are you sure it's not in need of simple cable tension tweaking? You've got to have at least 2.5 years before college, best bet is to work on the parents on that new bike or wait until failure of components to replace. However, I wouldn't worry about college so much with grammar like "Hows these upgrades sound," "everyweek," and "everyyear."

TuCsaT

How about bagging at the commissary? you can earn cash pretty quick doing that and you only have to work when you have time or want to. I always throw a couple of bucks to the bag kids and one I was talking to earlier this week told me he pulled a little over 50 bucks cash a day on the weekends for about 5 hours of work. just an option

other than that I feel your pain on wanting to upgrade. i recently bought a haro flightline sport and am pretty much kicking myself in the ***** for not just getting the comp. if you want to upgrade I say go for it just make sure your not kidding yourself into thinking that your stuff is more busted up than it is.

ProFail

I knew you were from Canada before I even looked at your location.

Cheeto

There is over a 2 year waiting list to become a bagger. The Kroger here hires at 16, I've already checked.
But they are currently NOT Hiring,
My wheels are maybe not as bad as I say, But I've had them tuned up twice and they dont stay trued well... what really did them in was the sideways drop I took I think. Messed up a bit when I was still getting used to CLipless. My crank doesnt shift for its life, and the outter ring is bent, and smashed up a bit. from a Rock incident. Not to mention since I want to start winning races I need better comonents anyway

The1, I can't believe your going to tell someone to not go to college because of my grammar on an internet forums.
I have almost all A's and am Applying for the United States Air Force Academy, Kindly don't tell me what to do with my life after High-School.
Thanks.

All I wanted to know was how did my 3 upgrades sound?
The crank and wheels, and then the fork?

Are they good enough for a budget rider or is there some other budget parts that are better?

From what I've gathered so far They are a good choice for budget riders, I jsut wanted to double check here first.

kramnnim

Man...if there was a way you could convince your mom to let you buy that Raleigh, take the parts off, and sell the rest...you'd still be ahead...

I'd wait on the truing stand, and save the money for the fork...you can use your brake pads as a guide to true the wheels...

the1amradio

Incredible, I've never heard of a Kroger not hiring! Gez, here they do hire at 15, and they go through employees quicker than produce. Look at local businesses for jobs, at least here in VA small businesses don't have to abide by certain criteria for hiring that larger places would.

I can't think of that many jobs around here that require you to be 18 aside from jobs driving delivery vehicles, with some sort of substantial liability, or serving alcohol. Anyway, check out like a local ice cream parlor, deli, etc, etc... Maybe things are a bit tighter in GA, but when I was 16 I worked in a climbing store and a bakery and I had loads of friends who worked as hosts in restaurants. Is there much close by off base?

And as for the grammar: applying isn't a proper noun... same with kindly, high, and school. Oh, and the comma between Academy and kindly either needs to be a period or a semicolon; take your pick. Actually, I was just bustin' your chops about the grammar thing, I wasn't being serious at all... this IS an online forum, after all. I guess my tone was not quite conveyed well across the internet.

Applying, getting into, and going to are pretty different. I applied to Yale, I got into UVA. I go to Roanoke. Difference? Oh, yeah. Again, I'm just busting your chops.


To really answer your questions, I've looked at the truvativ cranks and they seem okay for the price. My BB is on it's way out, so I need to think of something to replace it with when failure hits. If I just needed a crankset, I would pick up the Race Face Ride Isis from jenson ASAP. Check it out: https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...+Crankset.aspx That's a deal.

For wheels I would probably CL/ebay them.

Oleanshoebox

I have those wheels cheeto. They are solid-though a tad heavy, and have been trouble free.