Mountainbike upgrades

[MinisterofDOOM]

I've been wanting to get back into riding more, but my old KHS (which is about 9 years old now) is too small for me. I bought it when I was barely over 5' tall as a kid, now I'm 6'4''.

I swapped out the stock, rock-hard Kevlar stock seat with a modern split-saddle seat (supposedly doesn't strangulate your balls as bad ) and put that on top of a new 400mm seatpost (replacing the stock 300mm post).

Top of the seat is just about perfect now at 44'', which puts my leg at just the right extension at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

I also swapped the stock level handlebar stem with a new, higher quality riser stem, adding some height to match the seat. The old stem had a NASTY ugly weld on it, the new one looks much better, which is a nice bonus.

And a couple weeks earlier I replaced the stock tires (9 year old tires, the rear tread was basically gone except at the edges) with some new CST Copperheads for better on-road manners without sacrificing trail capability.

The bike rides like a whole new machine now. Far more comfortable (largely due to the added seat height) and it looks a lot better, too, with a lot of black parts replacing the old chrome.

Pics now (don't mind my stack of car, bike, and computer stuff):

[David C]

I don't see that frame living very long with that seatpost out that far. With a frame that is obviously FAR too small for you, you should probably think about picking up a new bike.

[MinisterofDOOM]

With a frame that is obviously FAR too small for you, you should probably think about picking up a new bike.

Would be the ideal solution. But I can't really justify buying a new bike at the moment. $70 for a new seat, post, and handlebar riser is a lot cheaper than hundreds of bucks for a decent bike.

The frame also isn't quite as small as it looks. Next to my dad's bike, the frame is nearly the same size. The way the upper bar drops and the rear suspension works makes it look smaller than it is. My dad's as tall as I am, and his frame only sits a couple inches higher. So the frame is too small, but not horribly so.

With these upgrades, the bike is very comfortable to ride. I did a 15 mile ride last week and the difference was astounding. I didn't fatigue much at all, and my arms and legs didn't get nearly as tired. The crank stroke is just right. I don't weight much (maybe 160lb soaking wet) so I don't think frame durability will be an issue with me riding it.

[subhunter]

Read Mountain Bike Action they have tons of ads with blowout prices.
This sale was just run again sale ends 10-4-2010. They may run it again next weekend.




also
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/ ... me+09.aspx

[mwh_photo]

^^

+1 for JensonUSA..

We have a lot of "OE" components that you can get a pretty good deal on. It's basically new stuff that's come off a complete bike but never been ridden.