# new to the mtb world. what are good first upgrades?



## BolognaHammer (Jan 13, 2021)

so I just got my first bike with gears and suspension. its a GT aggressor pro and all I can see now after I bought it is how limited it is for upgrading to fit somebody who will use it to cruise around but also handle some good trails. I wont be downhill or doing big jumps any time soon but having a capable bike to have fun and not fall apart. Im thinking I may need an upgraded fork and would be nice to have a derailluer with a clutch. any recommendations would be appreciated.


----------



## Velorangutan (Aug 28, 2012)

A good saddle and nice riding shorts! Ride this bike without upgrading. If you maintain the itch to keep riding you may find yourself wanting to do a bike upgrade. So put that money into savings for a future bike!


----------



## shwndh (Nov 20, 2004)

I would recommend just getting your seat, grips, and pedals right for you. Not really worth it to upgrade suspension at this price point, but if you're determined to upgrade, this is probably your best bet on an upgraded fork.
Suntour Raidon
will cost you $200-$230 plus  shipping for a brand new, straight steerer, air fork with support directly from the manufacturer. But you'd be better off retuning the bike and getting something better if this bike does not suit your needs.
Either ride it as is and learn on it or return it and bump up your budget For a bike that already comes with 1x drivetrain and air fork.


----------



## Renzo7 (Mar 25, 2015)

Great advice so far! I'll add that getting the right tires for the trails you'll ride is also a worthy upgrade. Having the right tires for the job can dramatically change how the bike feels. 

Sent from my LM-X525 using Tapatalk


----------



## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

Only do tires and rider contact points now. Just upgrade other items as you break things and need to replace them.


----------



## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

sgltrak said:


> Only do tires and rider contact points now. Just upgrade other items as you break things and need to replace them.


This. There are a lot of things to consider when changing out functional parts. Compatibility concerns, what you need vs what you just want, how to use whatever it is you choose to buy, how well the various options will work for how you ride and the conditions you put the bike through, etc. At the very least, you're going to need to learn the bike and decide what you like and don't like about the bike and its components. The last thing you want is to remove something you like inadvertently.


----------



## evasive (Feb 18, 2005)

Skills and fitness. Don’t browse for upgrades until you know they’ll benefit you. When you get to the point that you want an upgrade, you’ll know for yourself what you need.


----------



## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

Tires and fiddling with pressure. Its like with cars. Tires make the biggest diff. You can make all the suspension and engine mods you want, its worthless with junk tires.


----------



## Nick_M (Jan 16, 2015)

Decent helmet, kneepads, riding shoe and trip to local bikepark;

upgrade bike by your feel or components were out;
Invest in your time on pedals


----------



## Tom1352 (Jan 3, 2021)

Yeah I think decent pedals make improve confidence are lot and generally make the bike feel more capable even if it isn't. I would recommend DMR V6s or V8 V2s for value can't beat them and are relatively cheap. Also removing your front derailleur and going 1x up front makes a huge difference in weight and general handling. You can probably use the same cranks and middle chainring from the 3x setup so might not even cost anything. Without upgrading the cassette, derailleur, chain, and shifter the gear range might be a little limiting but manageable and definitely makes a huge difference. After that a would recommend tyres and then suspension, I don't think switching the suspension first would make a particular big difference in handling and would be a lot more expensive compared to these other upgrades.


----------



## {|xDi|} (Dec 2, 2020)

Tires, Fork, Crank+BB, Saddle, Seat post, pedals.


----------



## acer66 (Oct 13, 2010)

evasive said:


> Skills and fitness. Don't browse for upgrades until you know they'll benefit you. When you get to the point that you want an upgrade, you'll know for yourself what you need.


This after safety gear.


----------



## 86 Keg (Oct 4, 2020)

i'd say some basic tools but more important is understanding the components of your bike and how they are supposed to operate, to at least help identify problems sooner than later even if you'd rather have a shop do repairs. as this goes, there are lots of vids on the youtube and you can probably find operation and service info specific to any major component on your bike,.. and how to select tools relevant to your usage; whether it's shop, or carry-along.

if you think you might be looking to the big upgrade, i.e., a new bike before real long, i'd suggest that less money spent on replacing components of the existing bike will probably allow for a better margin of return. at the same time, money spent on direct, real improvement in your riding experience might be considered money well spent, and the margin of return be damned.

safety gear, pedals, proper-grip shoes, tools - all may be kept upon upgrading an entire bike if that happens


----------



## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

I wouldn't upgrade the fork on a bike like that you'll spend a lot of $$ relative to the value of the bike itself. Just ride it and replace parts as they break. If you are having comfort issues with the saddle/grips/bars it can be worth replacing, but I wouldn't spend any money unless you actually find you have a problem. Buying tools and riding gear are worthwhile investments if you are itching to spend money, but again you don't really need anything fancy to get out and ride. 

The best thing you can do is just get out and ride the bike. Improving your fitness and skills will deliver far more benefits to your enjoyment of riding than any bike bling you buy. After you have done a good chunk of riding you'll also have a much better idea where to spend your money wisely.


----------



## fredcook (Apr 2, 2009)

evasive said:


> Skills and fitness.


This! If it's your first bike, upgrade your body before anything else!


----------



## BolognaHammer (Jan 13, 2021)

thanks for the advise, I did order a shorter stem since the stock one seems super long to me and metal pedals. I was more concerned with losing a chain off an impact and bottoming out the fork just from what I read other peoples experience with this particular bike. Ill see how she goes the way it is and invest in some better tires when I feel the stock ones start losing traction. eventually Ill likely look into a a full sus bike but Im not to that point yet lol


----------



## 2sharp7 (Aug 29, 2013)

On a bike of that level, don't upgrade any major components. An upgrade to tubeless is always worth it, and if the grips, pedals, and saddle suck upgrade them. A dropper post is a awesome upgrade that you can possibly move to your next bike.


----------



## trulede (Sep 12, 2018)

I mean this in the nicest way ... replacing the whole bike would be the best upgrade.

Or checkout Ebay and see if a frame comes along that is interesting ... and then move all your parts over. Why? Upgrading parts on an entry level frame is just burning money, however if you have a good frame, then upgrading parts over time is more sensible. Cool steel hardtail frames with modern geometry are one fun starting place (i.e. Stanton).

Otherwise, if you ride trails, then suitable tyres would make a difference.


----------



## TooTallUK (Jul 5, 2005)

Don't upgrade anything. Replace things when they wear out. We rode bikes without clutches for decades and still enjoyed riding. Ride it and have fun and learn. You'll know when you hit that point between replace and upgrade, but it isn't yet.


----------



## {|xDi|} (Dec 2, 2020)

Velorangutan said:


> A good saddle and nice riding shorts! Ride this bike without upgrading. If you maintain the itch to keep riding you may find yourself wanting to do a bike upgrade. So put that money into savings for a future bike!





TooTallUK said:


> Don't upgrade anything. Replace things when they wear out. We rode bikes without clutches for decades and still enjoyed riding. Ride it and have fun and learn. You'll know when you hit that point between replace and upgrade, but it isn't yet.


This is good advice. Ride the bike without upgrading it. It will allow you to learn the bike and if/what you might want to upgrade. You'll have a better feel for it, and be able to make a better decision as to if it is worth spending x amount of money on x upgrade(s) or not.


----------



## rangeriderdave (Aug 29, 2008)

I would add the only value to upgrading is to you and your enjoyment. When trying to resell ,most parts don't add any value to most buyers. They mostly will only pay the going price of a stock bike. It's also not a great idea to think that you will move parts over to a new bike, that doesn't happen much . The parts that you might move are saddle and peddles, almost anything else will be a upgrade from what you already have plus it will be new.


----------



## {|xDi|} (Dec 2, 2020)

Do you care about the weight of the bike? Or does it not matter how much it weighs? Cause that would make a difference in what first upgrades I would recommend.


----------



## Ogre (Feb 17, 2005)

If the bike doesn't have a dropper, get a dropper. Bar none, the single best "optional" upgrade you can get on any mountain bike. After that, it depends largely on what isn't working well for you. Aside from that, ride the hell out of it and the rest of the upgrades will become obvious or you'll just break things like I did.


----------



## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

BolognaHammer said:


> so I just got my first bike with gears and suspension. its a GT aggressor pro and all I can see now after I bought it is how limited it is for upgrading to fit somebody who will use it to cruise around but also handle some good trails. I wont be downhill or doing big jumps any time soon but having a capable bike to have fun and not fall apart. Im thinking I may need an upgraded fork and would be nice to have a derailluer with a clutch. any recommendations would be appreciated.


You might've already caught the gist of it all through what people have already said: the GT Aggressor Pro is not worthy of substantive upgrades. Basically, you don't want to spend $10k on a turbo kit on a Civic LX. It it best used as-is for its intended design purpose, which is okay given that your primary use is to just "cruise around".

["Good trails" is meaningless since it is 1) completely subjective, esp. given that you are a beginner; and 2) suitability is totally dependent on how your approach on the ride. Some people can even ride highly-technical trails on a gravel bike (which are basically road bikes), but they sure-as-heck aren't riding in a smashing/charging style. Point is that even modest bikes can handle a broad range of "good trails" depending on _how_ you choose to ride it.]

The only things you might want to consider changing-out are contact points, i.e. grips, saddle, and pedals. People generally don't regard these things as "upgrades", but rather customizations to better fit your specific needs, assuming the stock ones are lacking. But they may not be; they may work just fine. In the latter case just use them until they need replacing.

Same with geometry parts (i.e. stem and handlebars). Most-likely if your bike was initially sized-correctly for you, and you don't have freakish proportions, the stock parts should work just fine. You change these only to solve a specific problem that you (or better, an expert) have identified.

The other "contact points" are your tires, might be considered to suit the particulars of the terrain you usually ride. Sometimes that means less-aggressive tires that are better-suited for mild bike paths. And sometimes that means more-aggressive tires for more aggressive terrain (which often come at the cost of both being harder-to-pedal, and wearing-out quicker). More-often-than-not your bike probably came with jack-of-all-trades tires that will work sufficiently for most circumstances. Use until you need to solve a specific problem. Your local bike shop and local riding riding buddies can probably give you better advice on that.

The best thing to do is to understand that the GT Aggressor Pro is not what would be considered a good (or even decent) mountain bike for the riding that most people in this community consider normal. But it is a fine (and possibly even preferred) bike for casual neighborhood riding, and maybe even a little dirt. Its design and componentry work fine for that purpose as-is. Swapping out substantial components (eg. the suspension fork) will probably yield small gains that ultimately won't be justified by the limitations of _the everything else_ of that bike. So your best approach would be to 1) see if the bike has issues that need to be addressed to suit your specific needs _within the confines of what the bike was ultimately designed/spec'ed for_, and 2) put your money away so that you can start out anew from a more-serious out-and-out mountain bike should you find that's where your inclinations start heading.


----------



## twharpe (Jan 27, 2021)

I just want to say thanks to everyone that has made a comment on this post. The information you all have provided has been really exceptional. I was in in a similar situation as the OP. I bought a Kona Lava Dome and had many of the same questions and concerns. It took me a while to learn that I needed to just enjoy the bike I had, ride the piss out of it and learn as much as I could, and upgrade to a better bike when I needed to. Nothing wrong with a starter bike. I didn't know what I didn't know. Now I know more but I had a hell of a good time in the process.


----------



## Retire (Jan 11, 2020)

Yep. Don’t know what it is about getting a new bike and falling into upgrade mentality. I felt a strong desire to do exactly the same thing when I rejoined the mtb club last year after being away for a bunch of years. Fought it and fought it. You just gotta let that desire pass and ride the bike! Great advice given out in this thread.


----------

