my jeep mountain bike - opinions/help please

[John]

sorry ahead for the longer post...

Ok I know what 99% of mt. bikers think of Jeep, however I got this
bike a few years back and well didn't have the money for say a
Kona/Trek. Anyhow I think its a 99 or 2k model, Jeep TSi. Only front
suspension (make of forks NO CLUE, probably crap) and its bright
orange. I love the frame and i think its pretty cool lookin. The
bike is light enough for me to pick up over my head and walk with it.
But don't know exact weight. Has shimoo rapid fire shifts, breaks (v
breaks) and belive shimoo gears.

I am thinking of joining a local mt. bike club and don't wana be a
laughing stock. with college and just getting married buying the new
trek is not going to happen. SO for entry level racing how would this
fair up? I was thinking of going to the local bike shop and maybe
getting a quality set of front suspension forks put on. It has alloy
rims, but I need new tires. Would moding this bike make it much
better? What other mods pieces would I want to update and would it be
entry level race worthy?

Sorry to bring back a subject that has probably been talked about a
lot, but I love to ride, and I am looking at getting into better shape
and have though that getting into mountain bikeing seriously would be
a great start. always wanted to get into it, so no better time.

I can take a pic and email you it if you wana be more anilitical about
it. But i fugured if i could keep the frame (already added better
peddales as the plastic crap that come with it broke on my first
longer ride) so figured with some mods and just starting this could
be a cheap way to get into it, and learn about the sport and not get
laughed at. :-) And have a semi decent starter bike. Also at the
time I just needed it for rec and get from point A to B.

BTW: the club and competitions i would consider would be
hardtrail/xcountry

thanks and feel free to email.
Cheers,
John

[Stephen Baker]

John says:

>sorry ahead for the longer post...

You will be... ;-)

<snip questions>

John, if you like it, ride it. If you get laughed at in the races, then you
just have to beat a few people on expensive bikes and they'll shut up. The
main thing is that you like the bike, and enjoy riding it. Anything else is
just icing on an already sweet cake.

Steve

[BB]

On 1 Aug 2003 15:46:39 -0700, John wrote:
> sorry ahead for the longer post...
>
> Ok I know what 99% of mt. bikers think of Jeep

Then you already know the reaction you'll get riding one in a race.

> Has shimoo rapid fire shifts, breaks (v breaks) and belive shimoo gears.

So do most bikes at Wal-mart. The brand itself means nothing.

> I am thinking of joining a local mt. bike club and don't wana be a
> laughing stock.

Ride with some smaller groups first & get some idea of your relative
speed/ability. Personally, I find that large groups just turn into a
cluster f*ck most of the time. If they're your friends, you don't mind
waiting for them; but when they're strangers, its an annoyance.

If you show up with a Jeep bike and they have to wait for you at every
steenkin' intersection, you'll definitely be the irritating "Fred" that
everyone talks about in future meetings. If you're in the middle of the
pack, people will still joke about your Jeep bike but will have to face
the fact that you're still just as fast as they are. If you're in the
FRONT of the pack, there's not a whole lot they can say, is there?

> Would moding this bike make it much
> better? What other mods pieces would I want to update and would it be
> entry level race worthy?

Usually those kind of bikes need so many things replaced that its not
worth it.

If you really want to get into racing, get reasonable equipment or plan on
looking the fool. Just riding around with friends is really a lot of fun
anyway (and a lot of exercise).

> BTW: the club and competitions i would consider would be
> hardtrail/xcountry

Depends on the trails you plan on riding. If you find the bike doesn't
cause you any problems on the trails you want to ride, just find some
riding buds and RIDE. For the majority of us, that's what mountain
biking is all about.

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

[[email protected]]

Send me a pic and I'll let you know.

Fire up MTB 03

[bomba]

John wrote:

> Ok I know what 99% of mt. bikers think of Jeep, however I got this
> bike a few years back and well didn't have the money for say a
> Kona/Trek. Anyhow I think its a 99 or 2k model, Jeep TSi. Only front
> suspension (make of forks NO CLUE, probably crap) and its bright
> orange. I love the frame and i think its pretty cool lookin. The
> bike is light enough for me to pick up over my head and walk with it.

And I can lift 200lbs above my head, but doesn't particularly mean I
want to...

[...]

> I can take a pic and email you it if you wana be more anilitical about
> it. But i fugured if i could keep the frame (already added better
> peddales as the plastic crap that come with it broke on my first
> longer ride) so figured with some mods and just starting this could
> be a cheap way to get into it, and learn about the sport and not get
> laughed at. :-)

The phrase, 'you can't polish a turd' springs to mind...

The frame is crap, and adding on nice parts will just amount to putting
nice parts on a crap bike. Better to save your money and buy yourself
an entry-level machine when you can afford it.

> BTW: the club and competitions i would consider would be
> hardtrail/xcountry

It's all about tools for the job. Sure, you can race your Jeep bike,
but it wasn't designed for that, and there are serious questions about
performance and durability.

--
a.m-b FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/ambfaq.htm

a.bmx FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/bmx_faq.htm

[fireflyer]

> The frame is crap, and adding on nice parts will just amount to putting
> nice parts on a crap bike. Better to save your money and buy yourself
> an entry-level machine when you can afford it.

> It's all about tools for the job. Sure, you can race your Jeep bike,
> but it wasn't designed for that, and there are serious questions about
> performance and durability.
>


totally. a good fork runs you 250. maybe you could sell your ride for 100
and have 350 in the bank. add 2-400 more and buy a used ride off of eBay.
thats what i did. it does not pay to upgrade the jeep. until you are riding
frames in the upper 100's/1000's, keep selling and buying new bikes.

ride it hard, ride it till it breaks. it may just never.

btw. your shocks are "monroe" elastomer types. similar to entry level judy
tt's on entry level treks et al.

[Pete Jones]

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 09:49:42 GMT, "Mr. E. Mann" >
blathered:

>flex on the frame recently and will probably replace it soon
>best part is that all I have to do is buy a new frame and
>shifter/brake cables and possibly a new bottom bracket and I will have a
>very sweet ride.

Hmm - and possibly a new front mech, seatpost, stem and (in worse case
scenario) forks, depending on the relative headtube lengths. Changing
frames can be an expensive business.


Pete
----
http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/

[Mr. E. Mann]

Pete Jones > wrote in
:

> On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 09:49:42 GMT, "Mr. E. Mann" >
> blathered:
>
>>flex on the frame recently and will probably replace it soon
>>best part is that all I have to do is buy a new frame and
>>shifter/brake cables and possibly a new bottom bracket and I will have a
>>very sweet ride.
>
> Hmm - and possibly a new front mech, seatpost, stem and (in worse case
> scenario) forks, depending on the relative headtube lengths. Changing
> frames can be an expensive business.

Ok, probably a seat post too, but I built this bike up ready to be
upgraded. I put on a flatter stem and left the the forks extra long so I'll
have plenty of room for even the longest head tube.

>
> Pete
> ----
> http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/
>

[Pete]

"Mr. E. Mann" > wrote in message
...
> Pete Jones > wrote in
> :
>
> > On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 09:49:42 GMT, "Mr. E. Mann" >
> > blathered:
> >
> >>flex on the frame recently and will probably replace it soon
> >>best part is that all I have to do is buy a new frame and
> >>shifter/brake cables and possibly a new bottom bracket and I will have a
> >>very sweet ride.
> >
> > Hmm - and possibly a new front mech, seatpost, stem and (in worse case
> > scenario) forks, depending on the relative headtube lengths. Changing
> > frames can be an expensive business.
>
> Ok, probably a seat post too, but I built this bike up ready to be
> upgraded. I put on a flatter stem and left the the forks extra long so
I'll
> have plenty of room for even the longest head tube.

Let's get this straight.

You bought a Jeep bike, with the intention of upgrading it.
You're going to get/have gotten a new:
frame
BB
seat post
stem
front mech

What part will still be "very sweet ride" Jeep, again? Generic rims, rear
der, and handlebars, maybe?

Pete

[Mr. E. Mann]

"Pete" > wrote in
:

> "Mr. E. Mann" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Pete Jones > wrote in
>> :
>>
>> > On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 09:49:42 GMT, "Mr. E. Mann" >
>> > blathered:
>> >
>> >>flex on the frame recently and will probably replace it soon
>> >>best part is that all I have to do is buy a new frame and
>> >>shifter/brake cables and possibly a new bottom bracket and I will
>> >>have a very sweet ride.
>> >
>> > Hmm - and possibly a new front mech, seatpost, stem and (in worse
>> > case scenario) forks, depending on the relative headtube lengths.
>> > Changing frames can be an expensive business.
>>
>> Ok, probably a seat post too, but I built this bike up ready to be
>> upgraded. I put on a flatter stem and left the the forks extra long
>> so
> I'll
>> have plenty of room for even the longest head tube.
>
> Let's get this straight.

To do that you would have to go back to the beginning of the thread. I
don't have a Jeep Bike. :') BTW, the flex I was mentioning was all coming
from the crankset. I replaced the Specialized Strongarm with a set of 03 XT
cranks and the difference is unbelievable. NEVER buy a set of specialized
cranks. They Suck!

> You bought a Jeep bike, with the intention of upgrading it.
> You're going to get/have gotten a new:
> frame
> BB
> seat post
> stem
> front mech
>
> What part will still be "very sweet ride" Jeep, again? Generic rims,
> rear der, and handlebars, maybe?

As I said above, I don't have a jeep.

> Pete
>
>
>

[Stephen Baker]

Mystery Man says:

>NEVER buy a set of specialized
>cranks. They Suck!
>

Mine have been good for 3 years now. But then again they are the cheaper
version (Armstrong) so they are prolly heavier ;-)

Steve