Originally Posted by
pjcampbell
^^^^ That wasn't me (the original poster). I like the bike and I don't want to get rid of it. Just need to figure out what to do with it. Part of why I do want to upgrade it is because I don't really want it hanging on a wall collecting dust. No real sense in that to me. Feels like the best course is the RockShox Rekon silver TK with the brake bosses. Then I can ride it and enjoy the upgraded fork and decide what to do next.
Tempted to get the Markhor fork, hydraulic front brakes, but it is a little bit of a can of worms. I'd need a new front wheel and new front shifter since the shifters and brake levers are integrated. Planet actually has a decent $99 old stock 26" front wheel which is disc compatible.
https://planetcyclery.com/component/...em-whl1425-146
If you like the bike, and it fits, just do what is needed for now and wait until some deals come along.
Its a bit of a rabbithole if you want all new all at once.
The saddle is easy as it is transferable bike to bike. Tires are consumables.
Bars are tricky. If you find some that fit fine but you may wind up needing to recable your brake/shifters if you go too wide. Also, does it have an older quill integrated steerer/stem or more modern threadless and is it 31.8mm bar diameter? All can be worked around but need to be considered- and how that changes if you go for a new suspension fork. Why a new bar?
You begin to get into another quandary when converting to disc. A set of mechanical brakes is a pretty cheap upgrade but the accompanying wheelset is not.
If you keep your eyes out for a donor bike for a suspension fork it may come with a disc compatable wheel. Or, worse case, you buy a front disc wheel and keep the rear V brake.
There is really no sense in buying 1x. You can convert your 3x by just using the middle ring and taking off the other two plus the front derailer but if you have rf type shifters the brake/shifter may be integrated. In the end you get no benefit over the current 3x so converting should be low on the need list.