PGHNeil

I've been riding this bike for 2 years. I've personalized all the touch points and have done a lot with it. I've ridden in the winter in slush and slow. I've ridden early spring in bogs and mud. I've ridden for distance in late spring on the dusty crushed limestone MUPs and roads and in summer I've been riding on the trails. I still do the bulk of my riding on the MUPs doing about 20-30 miles on social group rides where speed isn't a factor but on solo rides I've hit about 28mph with it on the flats.

OTOH, over the summer I've been taking it on single track though and as my skills progress I'm starting to see (and hear) the limitations of the bike. To sum it up, it rattles like a tin can full of nuts and bolts. I've adjusted by treating it like a 1x and sticking to the 30t and I'm focusing on moving around while out of the saddle. To counter the noise I zip tied everything I could, wrapped the chain stay and put on a chain guide. I'm blaming the noise on the Acera 9 speed (clutchless) rear derailleur.

I've been drooling over the 2021 Marlin 7 but wife says that the only new bike will be for her or our 13yo son so it's looking like I may just have to upgrade the drive train piece by piece. Besides, I'd miss those 28mph bursts; the 2021 with its 1x10 Deore is only rated to about 18mph so I'd like to stick with the current gearing. Where should I start though? Is there a reliable 9 speed rear derailleur on the market with a clutch?

qwkteg125

I'm pretty sure clutched derailleurs are only made for 10-speed drivetrains and above. However, you can convert your current bike to 10-speed without too much trouble. Your 9-speed hub will also support a 10 or 11-speed cassette. So you would just need to get a new cassette, right shifter, derailleur and chain. 10-speed parts are pretty cheap so you could get away with everything for $150-200 new, and you would gain an added climbing gear as a bonus.

Darth Lefty 

Tune up. Look for any bearings out of whack. 200 hour service on the fork. Try a softer knobbier tire on the front.

Given that it's a 100mm spaced qr front, you can probably find a pretty inexpensive but much nicer old fork on Pinkbike, like maybe a Reba.

There are some hidden prices for a home mechanic to do a 1x conversion. The crankset probably has to go too, and with it the bottom bracket. Tools or service to go with.

PGHNeil

I found a 9 speed rear derailleur with a clutch on Amazon. It looks like it's not compatible with my existing 9 speed trigger shifter though.

I definitely think my fork needs attention but I'm not looking to swap it out just yet. Down the road I was looking at the Rockshox Recon though.

As for the crankset, I think the bottom bracket is a higher priority as I am going to be riding this winter and the local MUP is crushed limestone which is murder on the drive train. I've made it a point to deep clean the entire bike every other week.

BTW, I've already invested into new tires: Maxxis Ardent 2.25" which are tubeless ready and from what I understand while the stock Bontrager Connection AT-650 32 spoke rims are not tubeless ready others have been able to do the conversion with tape and valves. I'm looking forward to trying it myself. I also have a new 9 speed chain ready to put on; the original has started to show wear.

Darth Lefty 

We are trying to gently tell you not to pour money into this bike unless you plan to keep it indefinitely, and if you replace it, do better than just this year's model of the same thing.

I really like 1x11 and have converted several of my family's bikes but I already had all the tools and none of them had riveted crank rings, so I could reuse the cranks.

The Recon is okay, if you find the Gold not the Sliver version. I'd like to upgrade my own fork, which is exactly one and no more steps better than yours. but I'm saving up my goodwill with the finance committee right now to get a full squish bike maybe in a year or two when my kids are all pedaling themselves and there's no more trailers, and that one will most likely have a Revelation or a Pike or some flavor of Fox 34

PGHNeil

I appreciate that, but I'm invested in this bike for the long haul. My last back served me well for a decade and a half. Besides, my personal finance committee has denied even a trade in so this one will be tweaked over time.