c_man7

Hey all I recently came into a free mountain bike. It's a genesis v2100 26". I traded my friend a case of beer for. He just bought a new Kona and wanted me to ride with him. He did a few upgrades since he bought it mostly from parts he upgraded on his other bikes. The front end looks to be upgraded. SR Suntour XCM fork, Shimano disc brake, promax sealed headset, alloy stem and handlebars. promax rear vbrake, kalloy seat post, wtb saddle. Has it dropped to a 1x7 front with a 36t narrow wide.

Anyway He said I should upgrade to a 1x10 drive train. I dont mind putting a little into the bike since it was basically free. I have money for a better bike, but I havent really rode much since I raced bmx about 7-8 years ago.

I was looking on jensonusa and found the following.
Rear Derailleur- Shimano SLX M670-$19.99
Chain- Shimano HG54- $14.99
Cassette- HG81- $19.99
Shifter- Shimano SLX- M670-$10.99

I have a coupon code as well. My only problem is the rear wheel has a freewheel hub not cassette. So anyone know a cheap rear wheel with a hub and v brake, preferably black. Anything else I would need.

I know I should get a better bike but like I said I haven't rode in a while and don't want to sink $500-600 on a bike I'd never ride. At least if I do this I can upgrade the frame since most of the parts are of good quality.

FrozenK

That bike is a piece of **** not worth upgrading. Sorry to be harsh, but that is the way it is.

You can waste money bolting parts on a crappy frame or spend that money on a decent bike.

c_man7

I already knew that getting in. But like I said it was free, I'll use it when we ride and if I find I enjoy it then I have no problem buying a better bike. I had over a grand in my intense I build when I raced. I'm basically looking to use this as a test the waters bike. Like I said it will have full shimano slx drive train, race face parts, promax, sr suntour, etc. Basically if I decide to upgrade I just need a frame. This will most likely be the case. I could spend the $150 for additional parts then upgrade the frame in the future or buy a $500 new bike with low end shimano parts. I'd prefer a better light weight frame and transfer the parts over.

Bikernator

I think what he means is that even if you just upgrade the frame later the parts you're transferring over won't be worth transferring over. You can of course upgrade things as you go, but while it seems like it's cheaper, it is more expensive in the long run than just buying a complete new bike with decent stuff (typically). The fact that you may very well need to replace every single thing means it will be costly.

What I did: rode my buddy's Walmart bike a few times out (something else broke literally each time I rode it), decided I liked mountain biking, bought a used entry level bike for $300 (I was in college and relatively broke). Rode the piss out of that bike and dealt with the obvious inadequacies, and when I was in a position to spend some more money on a bike upgraded to a used higher end hard tail.

Craigslist is your friend.

c_man7

I get what you are saying but how are the parts not worth transferring? Especially when they are way ahead of what you get on an entry level set up.
Just take a look at this. I was originally looking at the Diamond back recoil on nashbar

I'll put the diamond back part first and my bikes part second to compare.
Frame- 6061 T-6 Aluminum -6061 T-6 Aluminum (of course the diamond back frame is better no arguing there.)
Fork- Sr suntour XCT- Sr suntour XCM- My bike
Rear shock- Kindshock Coil- DNM air shock- Close tie
Headset- Zero Stack Ahead- Standard Promax Sealed- tie
Crankset- SR Suntour XCC 42/32/22T- Shimano SLX w/ Raceface 36t narrow wide- My bike
Bottom Bracket- Sealed Cartridge- Sealed cartridge- tie
Shifters- Shimano Altus M310- Shimano SLX M670- My Bike
Levers- Tektro- Promax- My bike
Handlebars- DB SL318b aluminum- Raceface Ride Low Rise- Probably close
Stem- DB AL6061 Ahead aluminum- Raceface Ride- Probably close
FD- Shimano Altus- n/a
RD- Shimano Acera 8speed- Shimano SLX 10speed- My bike
Cassette- SHimano 8speed- Shimano SLX 10 speed- My bike
Wheelset- DB SL7 rim and hub- Sun Rhyno Lite w/ Deore Hub-
Brakes- Tektro front and rear mechanical disc- Shimano Front mechanical disc/Promax vbrake rear-
Tires- Schwalbe Rapid Rob- Kenda Honey Badger
Saddle- DB Saddle- WTB Pure
Seatpost- DB aluminum- Kalloy

So as you see for the $550 I could pay for that bike vs the case of beer and maybe $100-150 I'd put in this bike to get it to 1x10. I dont understand how these parts aren't worth transfering? Now if it was me I wouldn't have bought any of the other parts to upgrade this walmart bike but seeing as I got it for free with a bunch of parts on it why not just spend a little more ride for a while then get a new frame?

Like I said I get what you are saying about upgrading a walmart bike, but if I were to take all those parts and put them on a $300-400 frame the diamondback would still have better parts?

bmthom.gis

I honestly don't think it's worth the money. Even if you move parts over, just wait until you get a decent frame and get new parts on it. I'd rather spend that money on a better fork than a 1x10. You're still stuck with craptastic wheels

c_man7

What would my best bet for a bike no more than $500?

Gallo

sounds like you already made your mind up. So why ask the question? I would agree what ever time and money you spend on upgrading this bike is a waste of time and money. Your friend might have got the better end of the deal with a case of beer. It is not us being snobs the quality of the bike from top to bottom is simply not worth upgrading. These bikes were designed with cost only in mind. They are not really fit for off road riding. They will be fine on a smooth trail. I can honestly say i do not hate bikes like this as they are a bridge for some to get into the sport. Your buy in cost was fine in spite of my sarcasm above. Any cash invested in this bike beyond your case of beer is a waste of money. I suggest you ride it as is and save all funds toward a new bike. It is not just the drivetrain that is poor quality. It is a top to bottom issue

Given that you raced BMX I do not see the bike really holding up under you for very long. Ride it till it breaks and find another bike.

here is a link to a pro taking same quality bike on an advanced trail. Given most would never put a bike through paces like this. A quick look on craigslist this morning and I found 6 bikes in my local listings under 200 bucks that would be fine at the bottom of the trail.

ride it like you traded it for a case of beer


Good luck

bmthom.gis

Craigslist would be your best bet. 500 is a pretty good chunk of change when it comes to finding a good used bike. It won't be the latest and greatest, but it will be worlds better than what you have. I'd just donate that bike to a co op and take the tax write off when you do find something.
Just stay away from Cannondales with headshocks. Old proprietary stuff is a *****.I had a coworker who was able to get his rebuilt but it cost a pretty penny.

c_man7

I get what yall are saying so what if I just get a new frame now transfer all the new parts on it. Then spend the extra on finishing other parts. I get what yall are saying about not upgrading the walmart bike. Trust me. I had all intentions of getting a better bike. But compared to the entry level bikes available you can't argue the parts that are on the bike are better than those of entry level bikes.

My main question is would it be better to upgrade to a higher end frame and transfer all the parts or start over with a entry level with parts way below what I already have. I never intended to ride the walmart frame for long it was basically free with a few hundred dollars worth of parts. Or would I do better looking on craigslist for a decent bike and transfer parts onto that. Seeing as you can't get SLX level parts until you get to the $750+ level bikes, which as of now is out of my range.

c_man7

I get what yall are saying so what if I just get a new frame now transfer all the new parts on it. Then spend the extra on finishing other parts. I get what yall are saying about not upgrading the walmart bike. Trust me. I had all intentions of getting a better bike. But compared to the entry level bikes available you can't argue the parts that are on the bike are better than those of entry level bikes.

My main question is would it be better to upgrade to a higher end frame and transfer all the parts or start over with a entry level with parts way below what I already have. I never intended to ride the walmart frame for long it was basically free with a few hundred dollars worth of parts. Or would I do better looking on craigslist for a decent bike and transfer parts onto that. Seeing as you can't get SLX level parts until you get to the $750+ level bikes, which as of now is out of my range.

Gallo

Find a friend knowledgeable about bikes for $ 500 you can find a very good old technology bike you might have to shop for a while for the right deal that fits

none of the example bikes listed below are holy grail type bikes but they should hold up to the trail if in good working order. They too are a bridge type bikes that do not bust the budget. The key to CL and any used bike is one that is ride ready and not a project

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/5903963212.html

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bik/5901325348.html

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/bik/5921169309.html

c_man7

They have a rockhopper on craigslist here in new orleans. Now since I already ordered the drivetrain. Do you think I should transfer those parts to the craigslist bike? Most of the parts are new or only used a handful of times from my bike.

bmthom.gis

Dude - honestly just forget about transferring the parts. Get a solid used bike (whole) on CL. You should easily be able to find a mid level bike for your stated budget. Even if you do the parts transfer, you're gonna be stuck with crappy wheels and a wet noodle of a fork. Those are the two priciest things that matter. Pretty much any Shimano drivetrain above the Tourney level works really well.

Just ride that thing as is until it breaks if you aren't sure you want to sink $500 into a bike right now. Don't spend a dime on it. The first thing that goes will probably be your rear wheel

mrv 

if you have a bike, and your patient, you can spend $500 or less building up something decent.
i had access to a powder coating booth and lucked into a set of nice parts, so i sent out feelers on a local MTB classified for an old, beat up, steel bike frame & fork. ended up with a Gunnar Rock hound complete for a bit under $400. and had the pleasure of customizing it.

- details here: https://www.bikeforums.net/mountain-b...e-project.html
since the original poster has a bike to ride, plenty of time to find a nice used bike.

Bradleykd

What new parts did you already buy, and what is your remaining budget?

roothopper

Ok this is the reasons not to upgrade this:
1.when you upgrade it, its not worth it because its gonna break soon because it has other crap parts like a walmart bike.
2.Why upgrade it when the geometry is really bad and how they put the rear suspension is really like a mongoose ledge.
3.Its a really bad company.
4.I would rather choose this as my temporary commuter bike.

Just go to the trek website and find some good mtbs there.