Besides my rear derailleur being Shimano XT, everything else, front derailleur, shifters, crank, and hubs are the basic Deore. I plan on upgrading these components one at time to the XT line, in what order should I upgrade these components? What makes the most significant difference? Btw, I have a 2007 FSRxc Comp. Thanks in advance!

ps. I'm thinking other components such as handle bars, stem, headset, etc. should come second to transmission components mentioned above?

No problems at all, I'm just already thinking ahead.

Save money and get a better bike.

Upgrade in the order in which they wear out.

+1

I love materialism! Start with the wheels, then seatpost, stem, bar, seat, pedals, cranks/BB, rear derailleur, shifters, brakes then get new wheels again.

put a thomson seatpost on that biatch!

Save stupidity and shut your face. I happen to like my bike and it suits me well. Thanks but no thanks for your lame advice.

He's not the one with a near new bike who's asking how to upgrade the "transmission" for no apparent reason.

He's thinking ahead, but not far enough ahead for a new bike.

Gee .. like Santiago said, I'm just thinking ahead and trying to learn as much as possible about mtb. Can't a guy learn?

Explain to me how you're learning when you call someone stupid for recommending that saving for a bike upgrade over the long term is better than replacing perfectly good parts?

It's a personal decision as to whether you want to upgrade parts or to a different bike. It's just obvious to most of us, that throwing away perfectly good parts is unwise. It's a general concensus around here.

You won't gain much noticable difference with XT but wait till they start to fail and look into wheels and other things before you do. If it makes you feel better about your bike to match everything then go for it. I have read that the RD is most important and does the most movement so it is common to see XT RD with Deore FD etc. Save $ and ride

You can go ahead and waste your money on upgrading perfectly good components if you want, afterall, it's your money. Just remember that as soon as you replace those parts some completely different part is going to break and you are going to have to spend money that you don't have. That's just the way it works.

However, if I was going to upgrade anything I would start with the wheelset. I think you are better off pocketing the money though.

am I the only one who upgrades parts that are working fine just because I want something that works better? Or looks cooler?

To answer your question, wheels/tires will make the most difference in your ride, but wheels are expensive. Start by getting some nice tires.
As far as drivetrain, if you ride a lot your chain will need to be replaced soonest, followed by cassette and chainrings. As those wear out, upgrade them (though maybe not the chain, most chains are pretty much the same). Your rear mech will probably get killed by a tree at some point, so then upgrade that. Crankset is expensive, but can save a lot of weight, so if you have some extra cash I'd look at upgrading that as well. Stem/handlebar/seatpost change the feel of your ride very little (unless you change angles/widths/etc) so those should be last, IMO, but you CAN save A LOT of weight in these areas so if you are going weight weenie then they should be replaced earlier.

Cheers, and have fun with your new ride. Welcome to the world of the technofile

I've upgraded for looks. I snapped this frame and moved the parts to new frame, but the stem didn't match, so I sold it and bought a new one:


To this, some would even consider it a downgrade.

Yeah, I like my bike to look good. Who doesn't? Nobody wants to ride an ugly bike. I don't, for example, change parts just because of color or something, but when changing parts looks does play a part in my decision.

If he wants to upgrade, then good for him! I say let him build the best bike he can. But he has to RESEARCH and find out what he wants and needs first.

Personally, if you are upgrading slowly I would go straight to XTR and skip XT. If you're like me, as soon as you get XT you'll want XTR anyway

Don't be offended Mike09...it seems that the mountain bike forums are a dangerous place to hang. It seems that people get jumped often and quickly 'round here. When one starts, four more join in.

Kind of a turn off but if you have thick enough skin, you can learn a thing or two.

Now get rid of that frizzeakin' FSRxc and spend your hard earned money on a StumpyFSR with XT parts already spec'd. What are you thinkin' ya freakin' newb! Buying a bike that costs less so you can put all the parts that you really want on it just for the sake of learning how to wrench on a bike and have fun in the process.

Hey, wait a minute - - aren't you the "King of Bling?"

You're right, I should be saving up for a nicer bike!

If all his old parts are still near new he could sell them on ebay and make some of his money back.

As far as what would make the most difference, I think the biggest differences would come from new wheels, fork, and frame.
Wheels are rotational inertia, so their weight is amplified against you. "1 ounce off the wheels is worth 3 ounces off the frame" or something like that...
A good fork vs. a bad fork can change the way you ride, like dial up vs broadband.
a better frame can be lighter, fit you better, more forgiving, look better.. etc.

you didn't mention what brakes you have, or if you wanted to upgrade them, but good brakes are nice to have, some BB7's or hydros. I still run V's but may be upgrading to BB7's soon.

those are my arguments for upgrading. I must add $0.02 against it too. 1) its cheaper to get a new bike 2) the "differences" you will get from upgrading your "transmission" parts might not be as big as you expect. (fork/brakes/frame/wheels might have much bigger impact on performance)
3) my bike is all Deore or Acera and i pass people riding XTR all the time
4) i dunno if you are trying to lose weight or anything but my biggest performance increase came from losing 15lbs. (<-- can go up steep hills in 1 & 3rd gear barely tired vs going up the same hill in 1&1 gear and passing out at the top)

however, any part that breaks on my bike would probably quickly be replaced by XTR or X.0 or whatever is top of the line and on sale at the time.