Cheap hardtail almost trail ready

[DE Naude]

Hi, guys. I thought I 'd share what I've done to my cheap bike to make it ride better. It started its life as a shimano tourney 3×7 drivetrain with the worst tyres ever. The shifts were so violent that I often slipped off the pedals. And the tyres started ripping from the side. I got a lot of wrist pain from the unresposive fork, but the esi grips took that away and gave me too much confidence🤣

I had to buy a rear wheel with a HG freehub, since the previous wheel was only compatible with freewheels. Not to mention the fact that the axle had to be replaced like 3 times due to snapping. Yes I abused the bike a lot. I used to be a student at NWU in Potchefstroom and I liked riding like a hooligan😅 Used it for all my transport needs. 

The new rear wheel has proven to be reliable and still true, albeit some unknown Chinese brand naned Shunfeng🤣. 

I had to upgrade the mech brakes and drivetrain simultaneously because the brake lever and shifter were one piece. I had to buy a basic bike toolkit first and learn from youtube how to install a drivetrain. 

So I bought a 1×10 shimano deore from the previous gen with the onboard derailleur hanger. But the cassette was too large for the derailleur to accommodate so a long screw had to be used to make it work. Which lived bending. Not to mention the chain moving to a smaller gear from the biggest when back pedaling. I took the single chainring crankset off and installed an overkill shimano slx crankset. Which made it pop. But I didnt want such a great cimponent to not enjoy its full potential.

Eventually sold the slx and bought a 1×11 sram nx groupset. Which has been great so far. I love the locking mechanism on the derailleur. And it shifts much better.

There are more upgrades needed when funds becime available. I'll update when that happens. Any suggestions?