creativepart

OK, I'm almost 62 and pretty much a "Clydesdale". I started road bike riding in April, 2011 and have put in 2,500 miles on the road. I'm loving it. I have a carbon road bike with Ultegra group on it (Felt Z4) -- so I'm used to a "good" bike.

Yesterday, was a day off on the road, so I took my 2004 Gary Fisher Sugar + 4 to a local park with a decent beginners MTB Trail. I had a blast on this thing.

I bought the Sugar back in 2004 when I lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And, did some upgrading -- XTR F&R Ds and shifters. Avid 7 Vee Brakes and such. The Summer's were short so it didn't get much use until we moved to South Texas in 2005. Since moving here it's not been used much at all. I'd bet it has less than 200 miles on it.

The Sugar isn't worth much on CL -- maybe $300. And it seems it would cost $2,000 to get close to that spec these days on a new bike. But the lack of disk brakes and the Black Elite fork worry me some. I have disk compatible wheels and the fork has disk bosses, but the seat stays don't.

Is this bike worth putting anything into it? Or should I just ride it as is and have a bit of fun with it. We're spending the Summer in Durango, and I plan to take both my road and MTB bikes with me in our RV (told you I was a Senior Citizen).

Daspydyr 

First, major cudos on your places to go when you aren't in Texas! Jackson Hole, Durango, very nice places to beat the heat.

You have yourself between a small rock and a kinda hard place. The current bike you have is decent. If the majority of your riding is roadie and the MTBing is for variety then I can understand your hesitation to put much money into the Sugar. (BUT, and this is just my opinion from a distance and your checkbook.) Durango will have some aggressive trails that you will enjoy. Maybe you can pick up a good used suspension fork and some hydraulic brakes. That would (again, IMHO) round your bike out.

But in defense of your current bike, its already set up decently. If the Avid's are holding well on descents, they will probably serve you well. I am 57, weigh 225 and until recently have 7's on an old Hardtail that did everything I ever asked it to. Its just that I feel so much more secure with XT Disc brakes, big difference. I also enjoy a good suspension fork with my weight, shoulders, teeth and back.

You have some good bikes to enjoy life with. Enjoy them a ton, keep your eyes open to good deals and jump on what seems good.

lubes17319

Sounds like it is set up nice as-is.
Keep riding it & save up for something nice after you've ridden some other frames & have a better idea of what you want in the future.


If you really want to try out disc brakes, just get an affordable front caliper (Avid BB7) & run it mullet-style (disc up front/current V-brakes out back).
The fork will do you fine, as I don't think you'll be putting it to through the ringer.

roccobike

+1, I'd go with the recommendation that lubes17319 made. As you know, 70-80% of your braking comes from the front brake. If you still want to boost your rear brake, I'd to with Koolstop salmon colored pads. They will certainly boost your V-brake capability. I had a set on my Rockhopper V's. THey are almost as good as mechanical discs, but they don't modulate as well. If you like your bike, I wouldn't let the brakes influence your decision to keep it. As for the shock, that Manitou you have is a pretty good shock, I'd just get it rebuilt at an LBS and go with it.

creativepart

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I really appreciate it. Let me give that some thought.

Daspydyr 

In thinking back, I used to ride in the Durango area (Hermosa Creek, Purgatory, Spud Lake, Little Molas to Silverton) with HT's and vee brakes that are bricks and dinosaurs by today's standard. We were safe and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Keep us posted.

creativepart

I started doing some research and found an adapter for my rear chain stay, made by Trek, that makes retro-fitting Disk Brakes easy on the 2004 Fisher Sugar's. And it only cost $35. Turns out you can find a couple of these being sold by sellers on Ebay. I got the official Trek version but there is a guy that makes his own too. They were about the same price but the Trek version just looked beefier to me.

Here's the one I got: https://www.ebay.com/itm/180782879163...84.m1497.l2649

Here's the other one that looks good too: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rear-disc-br...item2eba3ed67e

I plan on putting Avid BB7 mechanical brakes on the Sugar. And then I think I'll send off the fork to be rebuilt and call it quits on this bike. It should suit me fine. The more I look online at new bikes the more it seems like it would take $3,000 to even get close to my bike.

Then this Summer when I'm in Durango, I'll check out some newer used bikes in town. I bought my Felt in Durango last year at 2nd Ave Sports (https://www.2ndavesports.com/) and got a very good deal on it. It was a new 2010 model that hadn't sold yet and the 2012's were only a few months away. I know they rent MTB's at their store, so perhaps I can find a good deal on one of those.

Thanks to everyone here for their help. We're headed to The Big Island in Hawaii in a few days so I won't be able to work on this until we get back in Feb. But I'll let everyone know how it goes with photos.

Daspydyr 

Your Senior Citizen years have me drooling!

creativepart

Just put in 30 years of hard, hard work. That's all there is to it. I've owned my own business since 1987 and that's made all the difference.

lubes17319

Already done that, but I'm still broke....no retirement for me or the mrs.

bwilliams

welcome to the new America...work till you die....

creativepart

I'm not retired, just self-employed and able to set my own schedule. I still have to work on these vacations. Just not very much. I do all my work on the internet. So, as long as I have an internet connection I'm good to go. Being self-employed for 25 years I had to put money away for my retirement or I wouldn't have a pension. But we don't plan on touching the retirement savings for a good LONG time yet. I may sell the business when I get into my 70's but I don't plan on retiring before then. If ever.

I just got lucky. The businesses I started have all done well. I know that's not the case for everyone.

creativepart

OK, I received the adapter and it fit perfect. I actually found the BB7 brakes on sale at Performance Bike this past weekend and bought them. They installed just fine and are working good and are bedding in.

As promised here are some photos of the brakes installed -- plus you can see the adapter on the rear in that photo.



BUT, I've learned it's not a 2004 Sugar+4 but a 2002 model. I bought it new, and I knew it was around 2003 but I couldn't remember. Now I know though this bike is 10 years old not 8. So, this is definitely all the money I'm going to put into this bike.

Daspydyr 

Its a good looking set up and I bet it stops you "on a dime." The make is a solid quality name and the price is smoking. If you are a part timer MTB and primary Roadie, I would think that you are set.

How much does the bike weigh as it sits. No fair taking off the seat and pedals.

creativepart

I haven't weighed the bike. I'd guess close to 30 lbs. I've set my Garmin up for that bike with a guesstimate of 28 lbs. I've read that a lot of Sugar's end up with frame cracks and out right breaks at the lower pivot by the bottom bracket. I have to guess that's from a lot of jumps and drops. Also, both shocks are pretty marginal when it comes to endurance. And, they can be tough to replace.

But for now I'm going to keep riding and see how much of this I do for real.

Daspydyr 

WOW, frame failure, that's scary. Keep an eye on that for sure. Weird creaks usually signal problems early. I thought I was having trouble with my headset from a strange creak. Turns out a bolt had broken in the rear shock arm. An old wrench at the 2nd shop I went to is the one who found it.

How's the weather where you are? Any trail rides coming up?

creativepart

In South Texas the winter is warm and sunny one day and cold and windy the next. We can go from 75 and sun to 45 and drizzle the next day. But usually the cold doesn't last more than a couple of days.

I live 20 miles north of San Antonio and there is a nice beginner trail at a San Antonio Park. You can combine a couple of trails and get as much as 15 miles of single track out of it. There are a couple of more advanced trails at some other parks a bit farther away. But since I'm just learning the beginner trails are challenge enough for me right now.

Here's what the trail is like in McAllister Park in San Antonio. Of course, it's not all like this. It's pretty rocky and lots of roots and such. A few jumps and drops and some light hills:

creativepart

Well, the decade old Fisher has been replaced. I picked it up Sat and then spent Sat and Sun on the singletrack (rock gardens) around San Antonio. Whoo Boy! Some fun.

Here's proof:



It's a Santa Cruz Tallboy Aluminum DXC 29. It may be the cheapest "Tallboy" Santa Cruz makes, but it's still head and shoulders above my decade old ride.

Carloswithac

Nice looking ride.

Daspydyr 

A Tallboy-I want one! Really, I read a couple reviews and decided that when I go 29er I want a Tallboy. It looks awfully clean to have been ridden, I want to see dirt on that Tboy!

creativepart

No mud on our trails lately and the dust has been wiped off. That's why it's clean. Plus it's only 2 days old.

I'm very happy with my choice. I was selecting between the Trek Rumblefish, Trek Superfly 100 and the Giant Anthem X3. Santa Cruz wasn't even on my list. My LBS introduced it to me as a choice and it didn't take much time before I was convinced. After a test ride I did some research and test rode the others and I was hooked. The "D" build that I got is quite a bit less money. Heck, a bare frame with shock is $1899 and the entire bike with the D build is $2,299. That's a heck of a deal.

Pamestique 

I just purchased the 2012 SC Juliana Rxc (BTW I am 61) - I already have a 2006 Superlight Rxc. Even though the Superlights are the "cheap" SC products, My old Superlight has been a great bike - the Tallboy I believe is the 29er version of the bike. Easy to maintain, fun to ride. Good choice.

BTW I bought the new bike on a whim... there is nothing wrong with my old bike. I've probably ride both, just on different trails.

creativepart

Hi, the Tallboy is a VPP suspension bike and the Superlight is a single pivot suspension bike. So, they are not the same. However, Santa Cruz has just announced a Superlight 29ner for about $400 cheaper than the Tallboy. You should take a look.

https://www.santacruzmtb.com/superlight29/

Pamestique 

Yeah yeah now I remember... yes different suspension. I think friends have already corrected me about that - sorry! I got confused (I'm old!).

I like the old 26er platform; not tall enough for a Tallboy even though I know shorties ride them too...

Zephyr11

I feel the same way.

Juliana is the women's Superlight, right?