The Giant Iguana is my first mountain bike, and whilst I was advised that it is a good bike for a beginner, a guy I spoke to suggested that I might need to upgrade a few parts. Apparently, the following parts have to go because they really suck:
Pedals (generic no-name)
Front derailleur (Shimano Alivio)
Front and rear crank covers (both plastic)
Front and Rear V-Brakes (couldn’t afford the Disc-Brake bike at the time and really needed the bike quickly so couldnt wait)
Any advice on what I should upgrade these parts to? Should anything else change? I plan to take the bike on trails sometime next month, but in the meantime I will use it to get to work.
Thanks in advance for any advice…
If the generic pedals still work, dont fix them. A catastrophic failure of the pedals can occur during a fall. Otherwise they wear out gradually with the bearing requiring tightening periodically.
The Shimano Alivio front deriailler will give you many hours of shifting. My jump/muck around bike has had a similar derailler for 6 years
I’ m guessing you mean chainset covers (front) and spoke protector (rear). Lose them if you want. They are just to keep your pants/trousers from snagging in the chain (front) and to stop the chain from dismounting the top gear at the rear and breaking spokes. This shouldnt happen at all if the rear derailer is set up properly.
V-brakes are a powerful means to stop the bike. OK, not as powerfull as disks but if set up correctly, the are enough to put you over the handlebars. THey are lightweight and easy to maintain on the trail unlike fluid operated disks. If you want to upgrade to disks you need new rear and front hubs aswell as all the mounts for the disks on your frame/fork. Save yourself somemoney here and set up the current V-brakes properly
If I could recomend some upgrades, go for some extra comfort. Your bike is probably an aluminum frame which will shake you bones over the bumps. Invest in a suspension seatpost to take the shock/vibration out of your lower back.
Also for safety and comfort, invest in a front suspension fork that works. Many cheap forks are just a weight burden. A good fork could cost twice the price of your entire bike though
[quote=“dosvog2002”]Some changes I agree with others I don’t
V-brakes are a powerful means to stop the bike.
Also for safety and comfort, invest in a front suspension fork that works. Many cheap forks are just a weight burden. A good fork could cost twice the price of your entire bike though
Hope this helps[/quote]
I have the sad Giant front forks and slightly less sad Giant disc brakes. I had the very sad grip twist shifters and changed them out to Deore.
You certainly appear to know what you are talking about.
A question as such. At 85kg (approx 190lb) I am not exactly a heavy weight but compress the front fork to about half, I think this must be a local Taiwan market spring set up, how could they send this overseas? .
I would rather put money to a new bike later so any cheap fix. I was thinking about pulling the fork apart and adding a 1" spacer to increase the spring pressure.
THe fork should sag a fair bit anyways. The primary function of a suspension fork isnt to absorb bumps and make the ride more comfortable, but rather to assist the tracking of the front wheel. In other words to maintain contact with the ground as much as possible. It’s quite hard to turn a corner or use the front brake when the front wheel is not contacting the ground right?
So to answer your question, the sag that you mentioned in your fork is used to extend the fork into a hollow and thus maintain ground contact. The rest of the travel is used to maintain traction when riding over bumps.
So dont worry about the sag in your fork too much unless you are compressing more than half the travel when sitting on the bike.
Having said all this, if your fork is crap then it’s not going to perform the aforementioned functions. You’re just carrying around extra weight for alittle extra comfort.
If the spacer is an after market add on, then go for it. If its a DIY job then NO NO NO. Dont put the front fork out of working specification unless you really know what you are doing.
[quote=“dosvog2002”]THe fork should sag a fair bit anyways. The primary function of a suspension fork isnt to absorb bumps and make the ride more comfortable, but rather to assist the tracking of the front wheel. In other words to maintain contact with the ground as much as possible. It’s quite hard to turn a corner or use the front brake when the front wheel is not contacting the ground right?
Enjoy[/quote]
Yes, we are at around the half way mark. I close the valve thing on good roads so it stays fully extended.
Also, I have this endless arguement with a Chinese buddy where he tells me my 21.5" Scott frame should be a 23" I am 6’3" and have the seat all the way back so figure this is okay.
I even got this message again while lying on my back winded from hitting a car that came out of nowhere as I was exiting a fast gravel downhiill onto black top.
Yeah, that 1 1/2" would have got me out of trouble for sure.
