The TRUTH about UPGRADING!!!

[@frohrers281]

The reviews like this are great… especially if you throw in opinions based on big/heavy guys… a lot of parts or frames don’t work for people who are around your height/weight… your perspective on that adds a lot.

[@B1KER]

Thanks man!

[@mesha1752]

Is it worth it… probably not😂 I’m still going all in on upgrades… I know a lot of people nowadays don’t watch videos longer than 5seconds but in your videos there’s something special that keeps me watching every second till the end🫡

[@B1KER]

Thanks man!

[@MTBQandA]

Great upgrade vid! I have a size 13 hoof and I'm gonna look into those pedals.

[@B1KER]

Definitely use my link bit.ly/pipedals It doesn't cost you extra and I'll get a kickback. Every time I try something else, I just miss these.

[@hankkauffmann7648]

Great video. I'm working on the hardtail to get it where it's capable enough for any trail I care to ride. The biggest single improvement in manoeuvrability was to lighten up the front by swapping the Suntour Fork for a Fox 36.

[@B1KER]

I hear ya, that fork change is huge.

[@mikejones420]

that was a great video Robert, I am in the midst of doing just that with an older bike from year 2000, upgrading it to new standards, some things work, other things don't.

[@B1KER]

My experience with older bikes is it maybe be better to just ride it as designed or buy a newer bike. I did something like you years ago and it never quite rode that great. It was still fun to do though. 😂

[@timmcdermott815]

Great review buddy. Nice to see somebody with a platform like yours reviewing something other than 7k carbon full suspension bikes. That being said, you went full gucci on the upgrades! lol!

[@B1KER]

Lmao, it was definitely overkill!

[@AngrywolverineMTB]

Love the addition of Cush core ‼️

[@B1KER]

Gotta love the Cushcore

[@joshschaefer4001]

Dude you are really good at these! You should do more! I love your perspective being a bigger guy like me I can relate more. Only woah moment for me was carbon cranks?! You cray. I wouldn’t trust carbon cranks with my big self bouncing over rocks on em lol

[@B1KER]

At my biggest I was 300lbs and I've been riding carbon cranks for years. I've broken one set so far and that's the same amount of aluminum cranks I've busted over the years. I wouldn't worry about it. They are strong!

[@divscifres2674]

I have a warranty claim in for a 7 yo bike -- if they send me a 2024 frame, I'm gonna get to build a bike from scratch, so videos like this are super helpful!

[@B1KER]

That’s awesome man! Glad ya liked it.

[@lenolenoleno]

Glaring flaw in this upgrade is the brakes. Level brakes are for level ground. Could have easily gotten some top of the line Hope Tech 4 E4 or V4 brakes or Hayes Dominions if you'd just gone for a OneUp dropper vs. the Reverb AXS dropper (and gotten more drop). Also FYI push on grips aren't inherently worse (arguably they're better from a performance perspective as they are more rubber per diameter than a lock on which requires a plastic shell underneath = less rubber = less damper) than lock-on grips. There are bad/cheap push ones just like there are bad/cheap lock ons.

[@B1KER]

I couldn’t get more drop because the seat tube is so high. I had a PNW 200 shimmed to 175 and it was still too tall. I also bought the AXS for another project so it worked out. I didn’t do the brakes because I was being lazy and didn’t want to have to bleed the Srams to put them back on after one ride. This was just for fun and the bike was returned to stock so I could sell it.

[@lenolenoleno]

@B1KER AXS 170mm dropper is 235mm from bottom of collar to middle of rail (stack height) OneUp v2 210mm dropper has stack height of 243mm, shimmed 10mm down becomes 233mm. Basically a OneUp dropper in 200mm will leave you 2mm of seatpost showing and give you 30mm additional drop over the Reverb AXS. Brakes are easy since the front is external. Really no harder than replacing a gear cable. Considering the top three items you want to spend $ on upgrading a MTB is brakes, tyres and suspension (on any halfway decent bike) I would say it's a glaring flaw to make a video called "THE TRUTH ABOUT UPGRADING" and proceed to not do the brakes (especially these brakes along with tiny rotors, for your weight, which is probably the worst brake of the big manufacturers). Even some Shimano 2 pistons would have been miles better and they're cheap enough to just leave on to sell the bike. Even just some MTX gold/Galfer green/Sinter green pads would have increased power by 15-25% over stock SRAM pads which are notoriously poor.

[@B1KER]

@@lenolenoleno That's great that you don't believe me. But I had the OneUp in there too. Either way it was too tall. I typically use a 240mm dropper. The way the frame is, is just too tall. Also, the rear brake goes through the frame, hence the reason I didn't feel like cutting the lines to just replace them after a ride.

[@B1KER]

@@lenolenoleno If I remember correctly the 210 OneUp and the 200 PNW were both hitting the bolts for the bottle cage and couldn't go down all the way.

[@lenolenoleno]

@B1KER then a 180mm OneUp would have worked, more travel than the AXS at 1/3 of the cost with more travel if you're looking at insertion dims online vs. AxS at 170mm.

[@joppek77]

Good video! Pretty much mirrors my own experiences, even though I'm a very small dude. =) Contact points, wheels/tires and suspension are generally good upgrades. Drivetrain and droppers are generally not unless you're having real issues with them. Also good advice on not putting makeup on a pig. If the bike doesn't fit you and you're overall not happy with it, it's probably not worth throwing money at the problem.

[@B1KER]

Right on man! I think it’s easy to think you can just put the parts on and it’ll be great.

[@mtbtv777]

Cool Video Man! i m going to try the Carbon bars do you need to have a carbon stem to?

[@B1KER]

No, I just used the OneUp stem but you could just use the stem on your bike currently. You just have to know if you have a 35mm handlebar and stem or the older 31.8. If you are upgrading to 35mm you’ll need a new stem.

[@mtb7018]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥👊👊👊👊👊👊 love upgrades🍻🍻🍻🍻

[@B1KER]

🙌🙌🙌🙌

[@GokkunGuru]

Awesome upgrades and explanations. How were you able to integrate the DUB Wide 55mm chainline XX T-Type cranks with the original AXS setup?

[@B1KER]

Ijust put the spacers in for the crank that the website says for 68/73 bb cuz the 12 speed transmission and AXS is the same spacing. I figured it would work. The deraileur shifted fine. I used an AXS chain not a transmission chain, but the chainring was a transmission chainring.

[@alwinsauer6857]

I saw this video, now I am a believer.

[@B1KER]

Sweet 🙌

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

I can feel the flex in the crankarms of sram SX and some shimano ones too, heck you can even see it flex putting a feet and body weight on one side, I can feel cheap cranks when I climb. Whatever people say that's extremely annoying, Descendant carbon are pretty cheap if you compare to XX but they feel the same.

[@B1KER]

That's good to know. I'll have to try them sometime.

[@JogieGlenMait16]

it's all good upgrades. but they are just not price matched to the bike frame. the blue accents is also good looking.

[@B1KER]

Totally

[@pepeanza6187]

That geo is totally outdated you should try one of the new agressive hardtails you be amazed how they ride, and 27.5 for a guy of your size?, nobbody is riding hardtails whit 27.5

[@B1KER]

I have a Santa Cruz Chameleon too. I just tried this cuz it was cheap. Then moved my parts over

[@BlackMan614]

Great video. In my experience, tires, Pike Ultimate, carbon bar work. Carbon wheels... meh. Think I wasted $1k. I honestly do not notice the difference. Drivetrain/brakes. I am XT level so why bother??

[@B1KER]

The wheels make a huge difference to me. Especially the higher engagement hubs. I think brake wise, the only way to know your brakes suck is to get better ones. 😂 Joking aside. XT’s are a great mix of price and power.

[@edgartokman4898]

Some people are very strong if you let them use a bike for 3 months it will show the bikes weakneses...one of the pedals might need to be replaced or a seat starts wiggling ..some bikes last a long time

[@B1KER]

You’re totally right - the truth is they’re made to be used!

[@Kattbirb]

I love the reality check you bring to the discussion. I've been upgrading a 2022 Rockhopper and I've come to mostly the same conclusions. At first, I wanted to "perfect" the bike, and came to a whole lot of dead ends that would have been very costly to work around, so I rode the bike more and took note of what I really needed and have gone from there. I ended up with upgrading the sest, bars, brakes, shifters, derailleurs, crank and cassette; and I didn't reach for the "premium" parts, as those seem to be more about weighing less than delivering more. Now the bike is a joy to ride weither it's a commute or a trail.

[@B1KER]

Glad to hear you're loving your upgrades!

[@adventure_scapes5039]

only time 'upgrading' is worth it if you have a old bike worth modernizing also good entry-mid range have been on sale lately deore upgrade kit are about $150 for 2x10 11-42, tiagra are 250 but changing the wheelset/tires are all you really need in most cases , just don't go carbon 😂 waste of money

[@B1KER]

Personally I’m a fan of carbon. But honestly it’s not always best. I prefer my aluminum Hardtail more.

[@adventure_scapes5039]

@@B1KER same, I do prefer alloy as well.. but I meant the carbon wheelset is not worth the upgrade on an old bike, would be nice but for the price not really, unless you just buy the rim and build the wheel yourself

[@idhvew8]

Modern day money pits ;-) I see a sitcom/reality show with broke residents and $8K mtb's 🤣🤣🤣

[@B1KER]

😂😂😂 I’d watch that

[@babyrabies]

ure basically building a bike twice while retaining a dated frame. Kinda pointless IMO

[@B1KER]

I was just seeing testing what the changes feel like. I hear ya though.

[@dmmfilm]

Mountain bike KZbinrs are really struggling for content these days. Just rinse and repeat the same content as everyone else. 😴

[@B1KER]

What would you like to see?