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Posts
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I am currently struggling over what to upgrade I currently own a giant stance 2. I want to upgrade either fork and shock, drivetrain to sram gx 1×11 group set, or going tubeless
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Although I love the SRAM gx group, that would probably not be my first choice for an upgrade.
Between fork/shock and tubeless, it depends on what fork/shock you are running and what it would upgrade to. If there’s not a very large difference between your existing setup and proposed new setup, then that should be in last place.
By going tubeless, do you mean a new wheelset or a conversion of your existing wheelset?
Converting to tubeless is going to be way cheaper than a new suspension, but a whole new wheelset could cost as much or more depending on what you get. Tubeless is especially helpful if you ride in an area prone to causing flats (i.e. lots of cactu, goatheads, etc). A new suspension may be in order if you are an aggressive rider who rides a lot of gnar and your stock setup can’t keep up.
In most cases, I would say the new wheelset is the best upgrade.
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<p style=”text-align: left;”>Ok I would be buying a new wheel set then paying the lbs to convert and my current fork and shock is a Rock Shox Monarch no lockout for the shock and my fork is a rock shox 30 sektor gold both are 120mm travel and I would be upgrading to either a pike 160mm or a fox 34 float CTD so a pretty sizeable fork upgrade</p>
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I and not sure you can go more than 120mm on the rear because of the pivot setup on the Stance, and not sure how changing to 160mm fork with 120mm rear would effect handling. But if you feel the need for better suspension the 2015 Stance 0 came with Fox float CTD Evolution suspension front and rear, but it was still 120mm. Personally I am pretty happy with my Stance, but changing to 1×11 would be nice to to get rid of the left shift lever. A friend converted his bike from 2×10 to 2×11 (changed the rear cassette and derailleur but left both rings on the front.) He took off the front shifter and changes front rings by hand depending on the type of trails he will be riding that day.
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Is your bike the 2015 model?
If this were my bike, here’s the order of importance to me:
- Get a dropper post
- Convert current wheels to tubeless (cheaper route) or buy a new wheelset
- Fork – I would not recommend jumping up to 160mm on your bike, max you could likely go is 140mm before you start negatively impacting the handling. Upping the travel is going to raise your bottom bracket height (not always a bad thing) and slacken the head angle, which is good for descending, but if you go too far, it’s going to climb like crap. A Pike is a great fork even if you drop the travel to 120mm. Check with your shop as putting too long a travel fork on some bikes will void any manufacturer warranty.
- Drivetrain
As for your shock, why do you want to replace it? Just because there’s no lockout? In my opinion lockouts are overrated and frankly not needed unless you’re racing XC or riding your mountain bike on the road a lot. But if you’re riding your MTB on the road, you’re doing it wrong 😉 Suspension is supposed to go up and down. And if you’re climbing on singletrack it aids in traction. Too many people have the misconception that suspension is only for descending.
Apart from the dropper post, a good set of wheels and tires is one of the best upgrades you can make over stock. Stiffer, lighter, wider wheels are going to have a positive impact on all aspects of your riding. It’ll be the most noticeable upgrade among those you mentioned.
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Ok thanks I’ll probably go with the dropper post wheel set and tubeless
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Hold on! I’m going to disagree with Aaron and say I would upgrade the drivetrain, but maybe that’s just a personal preference. I have two MTBs: a hardtail and newer carbon FS bike. A few years ago, I realized I was riding the hardtail more than the FS–but I wasn’t really sure why. Did it fit better? Was it more efficient?
Turns out, I really favored the 1x drivetrain on the hardtail. After downgrading (or upgrading, as it were) from 2x to 1x on the FS bike, I started riding it more often than the hardtail.
So I guess the question is, what’s bugging you about the bike as it is now? Which bikes have you ridden that you like better? Why do you like those other bikes better?
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Good points from Jeff. I also prefer a 1x drivetrain, but all that requires is a chainring swap. $30 and boom, you’re done!
If you’re talking about replacing the entire drivetrain, I wouldn’t bother which is why it’s on the bottom of my list.
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Aaron how would I do that 30 dollar upgrade
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I’m with Aaron on the order of upgrades–those upgrades in that order will increase your level of fun on the bike, and won’t require a massive up front $$ commitment.
As for doing a 1x conversion on your current drivetrain, check out this article that Jeff wrote back in 2013 about going from 2×10 to 1×10: http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/converting-a-2×10-drivetrain-to-1×10/
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ducklover3 – Jeff’s article is a little dated. Get yourself a narrow/wide chainring like this one: http://www.jensonusa.com/Race-Face-Narrow-Wide-Chainrings-No-PCKG
- Take off your current rings and replace the middle ring with the new one.
- Remove front derailleur, front shifter, and the associated cable and housing.
- Shorten your chain to the proper length.
- Go ride your bike.
All this of course is assuming you want to go with a 1x drivetrain.
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Could I do it if it’s a 3×9 drivetrain
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Yes, you’d put the narrow-wide where the middle ring was.
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Could that ring get me up big hills I ride a trail system all the time and it has a 4% grade at 3.75 and down steep hills
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I mean it’s 3.75 miles up at the average grade of 4% with the max grade being 7.5%
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That’s up to your legs, not the ring.
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Is it possible to get a bigger cog such as a 38 42 or smaller like a 30 or 28
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