Is this MTB worth upgrading?

[lordrobs]

I've started to get back into my MTB and along with shifting half a stone finding it really enjoyable. My average pace on road has picked up by 2mph and I think I'm averaging 1 to 2mph more over the rough stuff too so my fitness is starting to pick up.

This has got me looking at my kit. I've got a rigid hybrid as a commuter / road bike, that is fine as I'm not really interested in road riding.

My MTB on the other hand is one of these http://velospec.com/bikes/gt/aggressor-2005 which hustles me along the rough stuff ok but I've found a couple of things I'd like to improve.

Firstly the brakes- I ride around Thetford Forest a fair bit and bits of it are like riding through the beach I find that my V brakes get crudded up and with any hint of moisture and go really scratchy. Discs would solve this but my hubs aren't disc compatible. I'm not sure if there are any styles of V brake pad that would help instead of going the disc route?

Secondly the front fork- I have never had a bike with a decent front fork but recently I rode my gf's bike with a near bottom of the range SR Suntour fork and it was smooth as silk. My one doesn't have that smooth action and feels pretty poor in comparison. If I were to upgrade the fork what should I be looking at, the current one has 65mm of travel, can I go for more than that?

So, bearing in mind that the bike, on the whole does what I need is it worth me doing some minor upgrades to improve it or should I just ride it as is and save up for another bike? While this one cost me £175 back in 2005 the equivalent now with disc brakes and a better front fork seems to be in the region of £300.

Any advice appreciated

 

[matt_fsr]

My gut feeling is, no.

If you want disc brakes, you'd need to upgrade the wheels as well with disc hubs - the cost means you may as well get whole new wheels.

That and the price of a set of half-decent brakes will be pushing £200 easily. A new fork on top and you've already spent ~£350 and will still have the same worn drivetrain etc.

See if you can get a test ride on a bike from a local bike shop of something around the £400 mark, and see how much difference you can tell from your GT. There's a massive difference though between a £400 and an £800 bike, but far less (IMO) between an £800 and a £1200 bike (if they're both say, hardtails)

 

[lordrobs]

Thanks for your comments. I think you could well be right. I started costing things up and as you say, you hit big money quite quickly.

I had a quick go (only on road admittedly) of a couple of £300 > £400 (the ones at the lower end of the price range were older models but still good spec) and they did seem an improvement overall on what I currently have.

I think I'll stick with the current ride and save some cash up