Worth Upgrading-Mongoose

[kev0]

Hey guys,

 

I bought a Mongoose Rockadile Al a few years ago back in 06 (pic attached), I rode it around the block a few times and took it on holiday etc but never really got into Mtb.

 

Recently a mate of mine was looking for a bike and it sparked my interest in the sport again. I've also been looking at a few mid range bikes as I know mine is pretty much entry level.

 

Would it be worth to upgrade? or try sell it and get another one, how much would I get for it?

 

I was thinking of disc brakes for starters, dunno what else to look at/do, I remember my suspension was very bouncy

[kev0]

BUMP

[patham]

my 2c worth is that this bike looks as though it needs a lot of items added if you are going to get into the sport properly. And then, after a while when you want to upgrade to a dual-suss, you are back to square one. Ride it as is for a while, see if you are going to stick to MTB this time, and see if you can trial a mates dual suspension bike. If you are tempted to go for a duallie, then go for that straight away as that wil be your cheapest long term plan.

If a hard tail is right for you, then just buy a second hander with specs that you like.

 

In terms of a sale price, I doubt you will get much for it, its probably worth more as a back-up bike for when your new one drops you

[Wedge]

Hi, I was in the same predicament as you. I also had a bike that I wanted to upgrade. But at the end of the day, its not worth it.

 

From the pic I can see that there are no mounts for disc brakes, so you'll need a new fork to some discs, but you'll only be able to use discs up front.

Then you'll want to upgrade that drive-train to a 9spd setup. Lastly it would be good to upgrade the wheels, you need to if you want to run discs anyway.

So if you've been doing sums, you would notice that it would be too costly. Even after all the upgrades, you'd still be stuck with a heavy frame. Just sell it, work out a reasonable budget and pick something in the Classifieds that already has the components you want.

 

I dont want to sound like a negative nancy, but I've tried this in December and it didn't work out.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Cheers

Wedge

[traaidmark]

Start slow. Don't just go and buy a new bike, and have the same happen to it than your current one. Ride the one you have, get fit, and when you really start to enjoy riding (ie, when you don't die on the hills anymore) then go and get yourself a new bike. It's what I did, and it was the best thing I could have done.

 

As for your question regarding, upgrade or new. Get a new bike. Invest in a good frame, even if it has lower specs. Then you can slowly build up to your dream bike with small upgrades here and there.

 

You can pick a pretty decent specced bike for not a whole lot these days. Best bet, figure out how you want to ride and go ask a reliable cycleshop for some advice.

 

Hope it helps mate.

[kev0]

Coool, thanks for the advice, did a bit more research and yeah upgrading the brakes cost more then I thought it would!

 

Just gonna stick with the bike for a bit and then make a decision from there in a few months, as like you guys said I dont wanna make the same mistake again!

 

Shot

 

Kev0

[Lamber]

Coool, thanks for the advice, did a bit more research and yeah upgrading the brakes cost more then I thought it would!

 

Just gonna stick with the bike for a bit and then make a decision from there in a few months, as like you guys said I dont wanna make the same mistake again!

 

Shot

 

Kev0

 

Hey Kev,

 

It just so happens that I also started off with Rockadile (2007) and had it for about a year. As you know its still got a coil suspension, so that was the first thing I upgraded on mine. Look out on the hub for a nice 2nd hand RST of Suntour hydrolic suspension- shouldn't break your budget at about R500, and its an easy DIY job.

 

Once you're rolling a bit smoother on the suspension side- keep the bike standard and if you feel like it- do small upgrades like a smaller stem to fit your setup and maybe nice extras like bar-ends. If you enjoy riding for more than a year- its time to leave the Goose and move on!

 

Hope it helps- have fun!

 

PS duno how technical you are, but put as much work into the bike yourself- its an awesome bike to learn from- how stuff works