Best upgrades for XC beginner

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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Jolyon2002
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue May 25, 2021 12:25 pm

by Jolyon2002

Hi,

So, I have a Trek Roscoe 8 with wide (2.8 tyres i think) , 27.5 wheels (tubeless), clipless pedals, 120mm suspension and a dropper. Any ideas for the best upgrades for making it better for XC?

by Weenie


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bikewithnoname
Posts: 1732
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 1:29 pm
Location: Paris

by bikewithnoname

Tyres! Drop down to something in the 2.1-2.3 range, and depending on your surface look at something XC specfic: Racing Ray/Ralph, Rekon Race, Race Kings etc

You'll save some rotating weight and roll faster.

You could lose the dropper, but it does depend on what you're riding as they're useful on the steep stuff
"We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities." Oscar Wilde

Jolyon2002
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue May 25, 2021 12:25 pm

by Jolyon2002

bikewithnoname wrote:
Mon Jun 07, 2021 12:23 pm
Tyres! Drop down to something in the 2.1-2.3 range, and depending on your surface look at something XC specfic: Racing Ray/Ralph, Rekon Race, Race Kings etc

You'll save some rotating weight and roll faster.

You could lose the dropper, but it does depend on what you're riding as they're useful on the steep stuff
Would you recommend 29er wheels as well?

grover
Posts: 1302
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2004 1:06 pm

by grover

Yes the easiest way to make a big difference in overall speed on an XC course would be to put light 29 inch wheels with ~2.25inch tyres. Ensure the wheels use an XD driver rather than HG driver and spend on a GX level or higher cassette. Something with a 10 tooth. It'll be a lot lighter and give you a 10% higher big gear. You'll be going faster so will need it. Also put some ice tech rotors on these wheels for better braking performance.

The next best thing for performance will be the fork. A 120mm SID with 35mm stanchions will give you a much better damper and drop a lot of weight.

Next for me would actually be brakes. Those low end Shimano brakes lack power and modulation, are heavy and are locked into resin pads I think. SLX or XT brakes are great. It's contenscious but I'd actually go with SRAM Guide's. They're quite light for a four piston brake with a lot of power and great feel. You'll probably have to change the rotors no matter what brakes you change to though. I think your stock rotors will say 'resin pad only' on them.

If you're chasing grams you'd change the dropper post for a light carbon post, but I'd be inclinded to keep the dropper. You'll want to keep it for the fun and confidence factor when not racing and it'll be a pain to take on and off, routing internal cables.

After that there's a multitude of smaller things that will mostly be about dropping weight.
- carbon bars (mt zoom)
- light stem (mt zoom or kalloy uno 7)
- light grips (mt zoom foam, esi silicone if you don't like foam)
- light seat (you can often find a fizik antares, specialized phenom, fabric scoop on ebay with titanium or carbon rails quite cheaply)
- lighter crank (raceface next, sram carbon)
- thru axles (get ones that use an allen key - mt zoom again)

xcracer.com is a good place to start

Jolyon2002
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue May 25, 2021 12:25 pm

by Jolyon2002

grover wrote:
Tue Jun 08, 2021 1:18 am
Yes the easiest way to make a big difference in overall speed on an XC course would be to put light 29 inch wheels with ~2.25inch tyres. Ensure the wheels use an XD driver rather than HG driver and spend on a GX level or higher cassette. Something with a 10 tooth. It'll be a lot lighter and give you a 10% higher big gear. You'll be going faster so will need it. Also put some ice tech rotors on these wheels for better braking performance.

The next best thing for performance will be the fork. A 120mm SID with 35mm stanchions will give you a much better damper and drop a lot of weight.

Next for me would actually be brakes. Those low end Shimano brakes lack power and modulation, are heavy and are locked into resin pads I think. SLX or XT brakes are great. It's contenscious but I'd actually go with SRAM Guide's. They're quite light for a four piston brake with a lot of power and great feel. You'll probably have to change the rotors no matter what brakes you change to though. I think your stock rotors will say 'resin pad only' on them.

If you're chasing grams you'd change the dropper post for a light carbon post, but I'd be inclinded to keep the dropper. You'll want to keep it for the fun and confidence factor when not racing and it'll be a pain to take on and off, routing internal cables.

After that there's a multitude of smaller things that will mostly be about dropping weight.
- carbon bars (mt zoom)
- light stem (mt zoom or kalloy uno 7)
- light grips (mt zoom foam, esi silicone if you don't like foam)
- light seat (you can often find a fizik antares, specialized phenom, fabric scoop on ebay with titanium or carbon rails quite cheaply)
- lighter crank (raceface next, sram carbon)
- thru axles (get ones that use an allen key - mt zoom again)

xcracer.com is a good place to start
Thanks for all the info. You have any recommendations of disc break, Qr rear wheels, as the front is a boost 110 and the rear is a QR.

grover
Posts: 1302
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2004 1:06 pm

by grover

I'm not sure what your budget is but here's a few suggestions.

First wheels. Your frame is quite unique. It uses boost quick release 141 which is quite rare. You will be best to look for a boost through axle 12x148, which has QR end caps available. Such as DT Swiss 350 or 240. A lot of other brands use DT Swiss hubs.
These specialized wheels use DT Swiss hubs and would work for boost quick release with an end cap swap. Note I'm in Australia so pricing might be Australian on this link.
https://www.specialized.com/au/en/roval ... 00&size=29
A cheaper aluminium wheelset from DT Swiss that will still save you considerable weight.
https://www.dtswiss.com/en/wheels/wheel ... 700-spline

Or go to any custom builder and ask them to build you something using boost hubs front and rear, then swap the end caps on rear to QR.

Jolyon2002
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue May 25, 2021 12:25 pm

by Jolyon2002

grover wrote:
Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:44 pm
I'm not sure what your budget is but here's a few suggestions.

First wheels. Your frame is quite unique. It uses boost quick release 141 which is quite rare. You will be best to look for a boost through axle 12x148, which has QR end caps available. Such as DT Swiss 350 or 240. A lot of other brands use DT Swiss hubs.
These specialized wheels use DT Swiss hubs and would work for boost quick release with an end cap swap. Note I'm in Australia so pricing might be Australian on this link.
https://www.specialized.com/au/en/roval ... 00&size=29
A cheaper aluminium wheelset from DT Swiss that will still save you considerable weight.
https://www.dtswiss.com/en/wheels/wheel ... 700-spline

Or go to any custom builder and ask them to build you something using boost hubs front and rear, then swap the end caps on rear to QR.
Thank you. Will keep those in mind. In the short term, which tyre width do you think I should go to instead of 2.8"?

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Cheers!
Posts: 1483
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2006 2:29 am
Location: Mountain View, California
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by Cheers!

Get a road bike and cross train to get your base endurance up.

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JayDee81
Posts: 403
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:45 pm
Location: Czech Republic

by JayDee81

Cheers! wrote:
Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:41 pm
Get a road bike and cross train to get your base endurance up.
No need to buy a road bike for that. Just choose routes without steep climbs for your mtb.

MC356
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:22 pm
Location: Los Angeles

by MC356

Best upgrade I made on my xc bike is a light carbon wheelset.
I bought mine from www.BTLOS.com They have been great for almost 2 years now, still straight and true and no issues at all. They have a lot of size,hub,spoke options so you can build exactly what you want for a great price!
BMC TMR01
Niner Air 9 RDO

Jolyon2002
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue May 25, 2021 12:25 pm

by Jolyon2002

Cheers! wrote:
Wed Jun 09, 2021 7:41 pm
Get a road bike and cross train to get your base endurance up.
Already have a road and tt bike so base fitness is keeping going.

elzilcho
Posts: 41
Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2016 7:39 pm

by elzilcho

I would seriously question the advice in this thread. Given the MSRP for the Roscoe 8 I would change the tires and then any parts that end up failing. The upgrade list given by grover is a good list to follow, but not for this bike. Putting a SID on there is going to cost half of what the whole bike is worth, and the same goes for the other parts listed. Before you start upgrading parts due to weight, invest in a lighter, more capable frame as the base. The biggest difference is going to be some faster tires and then your fitness. Have fun riding this bike and then decide if you want to sink more money into this hobby.

by Weenie


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Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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Jolyon2002
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue May 25, 2021 12:25 pm

by Jolyon2002

elzilcho wrote:
Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:39 pm
I would seriously question the advice in this thread. Given the MSRP for the Roscoe 8 I would change the tires and then any parts that end up failing. The upgrade list given by grover is a good list to follow, but not for this bike. Putting a SID on there is going to cost half of what the whole bike is worth, and the same goes for the other parts listed. Before you start upgrading parts due to weight, invest in a lighter, more capable frame as the base. The biggest difference is going to be some faster tires and then your fitness. Have fun riding this bike and then decide if you want to sink more money into this hobby.
Which frame would you recommend?

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