Originally Posted by andywithglasses
My legs are all torn up too, real bad. Little cuts about every half inch up and down my calves! I'd like to upgrad them, but I kind of hesitant to go clipless (which I'd guess to be the next step?) What did you upgrade to?
At 140, you're unlikely to break very many things very soon. If the money is really burning in your pocket, I'd suggest you take the dive on the clipless. Don't worry about falling, everybody does. And you'll fall anyway, that's MTB ;-)
I would recommend against the "1-sided" pedals. You will have too much time clipping in on the trails. Rather, a platform/clipless on both sides is best. Examples of these are the Egg Beater Mallets or Time-Z. You will be happier if you don't buy Shimano pedals. They clog up in the mud making it difficult to clip and unclip.
The other items I would suggest are a cyclo-computer, mini-pump and a Camelbak.
If you have a 2005 drivetrain, you may consider an upgrade to SRAM. X-7 and above are all great. The new Specialized stuff ships with SX-5/SX-4 stuff on the lower end. It's still better than that Shimano Alivio stuff (due to 1:1 actuation ratio), but it still ain't great.