Upgrading old MTB. Parts suggestions needed.
12-25-08, 05:50 AM
#26
Senior Member
WOW, sounds like you've never ridden on properly set up cantilevers. A set of salmon Kool Stop pads on properly set cantis is hard to beat. The change, notice I don't say upgrade, to V-brakes won't make a huge difference.
Upgrading any older bike is like doing a plumbing job. What starts as a simple upgrade always mushrooms into a bigger job than anticipated. Your cantis don't work right. So, you decide to use V's. So you need to buy brakes, brake levers and cables. If your shifters/levers are integrated then you need new shifters too. Is it really worth it when you could have cleaned the rims for free. Or just flushed out the old casings with brake cleaner, a couple of bucks max. How about new brake pads $10 -$20. Sometimes you can use sandpaper or a file to take the glaze off the original pads, cost=free, and they work like new.
The cost to retro-fit your bike to disc is way more than Bikesdirect will charge for a new disc equipped bike. Good luck
Upgrading any older bike is like doing a plumbing job. What starts as a simple upgrade always mushrooms into a bigger job than anticipated. Your cantis don't work right. So, you decide to use V's. So you need to buy brakes, brake levers and cables. If your shifters/levers are integrated then you need new shifters too. Is it really worth it when you could have cleaned the rims for free. Or just flushed out the old casings with brake cleaner, a couple of bucks max. How about new brake pads $10 -$20. Sometimes you can use sandpaper or a file to take the glaze off the original pads, cost=free, and they work like new.
The cost to retro-fit your bike to disc is way more than Bikesdirect will charge for a new disc equipped bike. Good luck
12-28-08, 12:37 AM
#27
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Quick update: I finally got back home and checked out the headset, and it is a 1 1/8" head tube, so I'm now looking for a 1 1/8" threadless fork to replace the current one. cs1 makes a good point that the brakes don't need to be replaced, but I'm planning on finding a fork with disc tabs so that I can slap some discs on there in future possibly.
There's an awesome LBS nearby that carries alot of used parts, including a pile of old MTB forks. They vary in condition and price, but most will fit what I'm trying to do. Do you guys have any advice on looking for a used fork? Is there anything to watch out for? Are used suspension forks even worth considering? Any quick information about what brands make good forks, and what forks they make that are worth using?
My knowledge of suspension forks is limited to know that Rock Shox and Marzocchi are major maunfacturers. I hardly know anything outside those facts, so please give me some basic education on suspension forks.
Thanks again.
There's an awesome LBS nearby that carries alot of used parts, including a pile of old MTB forks. They vary in condition and price, but most will fit what I'm trying to do. Do you guys have any advice on looking for a used fork? Is there anything to watch out for? Are used suspension forks even worth considering? Any quick information about what brands make good forks, and what forks they make that are worth using?
My knowledge of suspension forks is limited to know that Rock Shox and Marzocchi are major maunfacturers. I hardly know anything outside those facts, so please give me some basic education on suspension forks.
Thanks again.
