Hi, I hope this is the right place to ask. I decided to start commuting by bike as it’s only about 15 minutes each way. So I got my first bike and learned how to ride. It’s a cheap Chinese MTB from my country’s version of amazon. This was a few months ago now. Since then I’ve been riding almost everyday and taking longer trips along the river trail near my home.
So I’m thinking about getting a lower end Shimano groupset. But I’m wondering what I’ll get out of upgrading. Will there be a noticeable difference in performance? Smoother shifting? More speed in top gear?
Thanks for any insight you can share :) any essential gear recommendations would be great too!
No. In fact, your cheap Chinese bike will have a cheap Chinese frame, which in turn is basically a death trap. You should get yourself a decent trail hardtail from a reputable brand instead.
Note that these days there are some cheap Chinese bikes that have decent aluminum frames. Don’t know if they are the majority yet or not. It’s safer to bet they’re not. A reputable brand would guarantee a decent frame as you said.
There’s cheaper reputable brands as well, like Ragley for example. Of course prices differ with the regions & import taxes but with Chinese products you typically can’t tell for sure what you’re getting. And a bad frame is really something I would stay away from if you value your own health and safety. If that thing breaks mid ride it can have fatal consequences.
I can’t speak to the doom scenarios (death trap and whathaveyous) but I can share my experience. I was faced with buying what’s considered a new “decent” bike for close to $1K and went the other way - I bought a used one for $80 in sorta OK shape; no idea who made the frame but the majority of its components are of chinese origin.
the rationale was a) to see if I even want the thing - what if I ride it a couple of times and then decide it’s too much bother, and b) I should learn how to maintain it and fix the usual stuff.
three years later, I’ve replaced close to all of the key components by myself - wheels, crank shaft, pedals, front and rear derailleurs, brakes, calipers, cables, chains, tyres, etc. I had no experience fixing anything and got all my education from youtube. some of the gear failed and was replaced, other was upgraded preventively, mostly with shimano’s value line. I’m not blaming the original components for failing, there’s ample wear and tear the way I ride it and I also happen to be kinda oversized for this bike, shoulda gotten an XXL frame.
my advice is, ride the bike as is and replace components as they fail, you’ll learn how to fix stuff in the process and the replacements are super cheap. only then, when you’re a seasoned rider start looking into better alternatives.
Good to hear it’s worked out for you:) this is basically what I landed on after weighing all the comments. If I notice something that makes me think the frame is going to fall apart under me I’ll replace it lol but I’m not really in a place to drop a lot of money on a bike now.
Anyway I’m glad I asked because I learned a lot from this thread alone
There are several points to better bike components (frame, wheels included):
- Durability
- Chinesium (not made in China but crappy Chinese parts) parts are usually less durable. Softer steel on axles, bearings. Softer aluminum on frames and wheels that bend permanently with a bit of abuse.
- Low end Shimano parts, low end reputable aluminum frames and wheels are made from appropriate materials and are significantly more resistant to wear and abuse. They’re often close to bulletproof. Higher end parts up to SLX/105 could be more durable still. Above that weight savings might eat into durability.
- Another component that I’ll ascribe to durability is the ability to retain adjustment. That is to keep operating as adjusted without the need to readjust afterwards.
- Niceness to use
- This refers specifically to drivetrain. Nicer components are nicer to use. The physical feel of the action of control levers feels nice.
- Performance
- Better components shift faster, cleaner, can shift under load. For example there’s dramatic difference in the shifting performance between say Shimano Tourney (bottom of the barrel) and SLX. Both work fine though.
- Better wheels and tires are typically lighter and allow for significantly faster acceleration.
- Reputable brakes can have significantly better performance than Chinesium ones. This directly translates in shorter stopping distance in emergency.
If your bike has a decent aluminum frame and a workable drivetrain, the cheapest thing that would make the most obvious difference is replacing the tires with something light and narrow. Keywords Schwalbe, Panaracer, Continental, etc. Next up would be replacing the wheels too. Mavic Aksium used to be a bombproof and light entry level wheelset. There might be better value alternatives these days. Once you’re happy with the wheels, I’d spend money on comfort - correct saddle for my ass, stems, handlebars so that my riding position is as comfortable as possible. Only then I’d spend money on upgrading the drivetrain.
If the frame is garbage, then I’d start with a new (could be second hand) bike that has a decent aluminum frame and low end Shimano (Ideally Alivio/Acera) and if possible with Shimano/Tektro hydraulic brakes. Those usually come with decent wheels too and sometimes even with decent tires.
the cheapest thing that would make the most obvious difference is replacing the tires with something light and narrow
Apparently, the racing people have recently decided that wider tires are better these days.
Before looking at groupsets, look at weight.
You always start with weight. Buy a light frame, be amazed, and then start upgrading other parts later.
Tyres are normally next and for a commuter bike that’s MTB style I recommend you’re using 27.5 (if you like jumping around and swerving) or 29" (if you like speed and ease), with tyres like Big Bens or many of Continentals ones similar. Low rolling resistance, very durable for punctures, super grippy on seal, dry grass, and dirt.
Already at this point, you will have more speed, ease, and response than getting new gears put onto an Amazon bike.
But if you want to go further, then you start looking at decent affordable gearing like Shimano’s Deore. You won’t need anything beyond that unless you start getting hardcore.
But better yet, just buy a good setup based around the frame. Like any Giant Talon, Rockhopper, Big Nine, and just upgrade bits and pieces later. Though most bikes like that will come with Deore groupset versions and you’re good to go. If the Deore packages are too much, just get what’s in your budget with good tyres—it’ll ride way better than what you have—and slap a better groupset/derailleur on later if the cheaper one feels too clunky.
I was once like you and I learned the hard and expensive way
This is really helpful! Thanks! From what you and everyone has said I think I’ll skip the gearing for now. If it breaks or something it’ll be a fun project to replace them later. So will big tires change the turning radius? I have 27.5 now. I’m interested in trying 29s but I do sometimes have to avoid cars and pedestrians as I don’t have many bike lanes lol
Yes, turning becomes harder and if you’re not snappy enough with your bike yet, getting through pedestrians at low speed is definitely more challenging. However, the pay off is getting up to and maintaining speed and absorbing bumps.
Sticking with 27.5 is fine. MTBs used to be 26, then 29ers came out, then 27.5 came out as an in between of speed and smoothness of 29, but agility of 26. I have both and prefer my 29er for commuting and light trailing/cross trail, and prefer 27.5 everything else. I used to commute 27.5, but had a lot of uphill and funky obstacles and shortcut sections over around 32 min trip. Once I moved to a flatter and more open town, I switched to 29 for the cruising. They are faster, but more of a handful.
What is your original bike? As long as the frame is solid and the standards aren’t weird you should be ok to upgrade part by part.
What type of riding do you do? Trail riding will have different needs than full on downhill racing. My first recommendations for upgrades on a lower end bike are pedals and cockpit. A new handlebar and stem will change the most about your riding and new pedals will make you stick to your bike over rough terrain. Also a new saddle isn’t a bad idea if you’re riding for long distances. make sure you measure your seat bones in order to get the right size.
The brand is called tragen and the drivetrain is all sunrun. After some googling it seems like a knockoff of a brand called sun race.
I’m just commuting through the city mostly. I figured a mountain bike would be most beginner friendly and good for going over curbs and speed bumps and the like
If you’re just using it to commute you won’t get a lot out of replacing the drivetrain. You’ll just end up paying more to maintain it. Replace the drivetrain when it breaks.
New tires and hubs/wheelset are going to get you the most bang for your buck. If you can find a local wheel builder you can upgrade your wheelset for fairly cheap by buying a new hub, spokes, and rim. Better quality hubs will make your bike roll much faster and you’ll notice it immediately. If you want to splash some cash or can’t find a wheelbuilder you can buy a whole wheelset with better quality parts.
As for tires I would suggest something fast rolling like a Maxxis Pace or Ardent. That will have a little bit of tread in case you want to go roll on light trails but it will still roll really fast on pavement.
I would also suggest upgrading the handlebar and stem as that can also improve your comfort and maneuverability.
If you’re just commuting & riding flat, even-ish trails, you maybe don’t need a MTB at all. You’ll get much bigger changes in handling/comfort/speed from changing the style of bike than the marginal gains from upgrading individual parts.
What are you hoping to gain from a drivetrain upgrade? It might make more sense to look at changing the type of bike you have, rather than trying to transform a MTB to act like a hybrid/gravel/road bike
