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Since my budget isn't that great, and I wish to get a full suspension MTB(due to local road conditions, which are rocky trail like for kilometers together). Would you recommend buying a mid range full suspension MTB, and then upgrading some components over time as funds become available?

For example, in India, the GT Verb Elite(https://www.trackandtrail.in/cycles/gt/verb-elite-27-5/) is available here for INR 84K, while the Firefox Raptor(http://www.firefoxbikes.com/BikeDetails.aspx?BikeId=177) costs INR 26.6K. The GTVE has a great frame, great suspension and forks, and also a good drive train. The FFR has extremely basic suspension and forks, but has Tourney front derailleur and Acera at the rear. The rear shock is a fairly basic KS-261, and SR Suntour 75mm travel front forks. Would it be OK to buy a good enough platform such as the FFR and then after a while, upgrade the shocks and fork, and then the drive train? I understand that a very upgraded FFR will never equal a bike like the GTVE.

These bikes are only mentioned as an example, and this not a question about merits of buying one of these bikes over the other.

Edit: I go for 20-30 kms rides on weekends. There is a main road (state highway) going through my town, with lots of car traffic, and no marked divider or lanes, which makes cycling a hazard. So, the rides are on back roads which run through rural areas, and the roads are atrocious. Many places, there is no tarmac, and dust and rocks mark the path. Which makes hardtails a bit of a PITA, literally.

ATG
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  • Why do you need a full suspension bike? For participating in some race events or just commuting? – k102 Dec 14 '17 at 11:35
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    You need a full suspension for riding roads? – paparazzo Dec 14 '17 at 11:40
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    I'd say that the GT you've linked is the lowest low you should go for a new FS bike, the Firefox wouldn't be considered a bike by some people, it's your basic BSO with slightly more modern frame geometry than the usual.

    Also, an example/photo of you local roads might help.

     – Klaster_1 Нет войне Dec 14 '17 at 11:42
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    To explain this, No, not racing or participating in events. I go for 20-30 kms rides on weekends. There is a main road (state highway) going through my town, with lots of car traffic, and no marked divider or lanes, which makes cycling a hazard. So, the rides are on back roads which run through rural areas, and the roads are atrocious. IN many places, there is no tarmac, and dust and rocks mark the path. Which makes hardtails a bit of a PITA, literally. – ATG Dec 14 '17 at 11:53
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    So, I'd use a hard tail bike. I ride a 26" gt avalanche (quite outdated now) and have really no trouble with it when commuting. After all, it can be used (and is used) for xc races. – k102 Dec 14 '17 at 11:58
  • https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WS9NZCJ6nZpvlOx6WrgAVN7xIlnwzKPk/view?usp=drivesdk – ATG Dec 14 '17 at 12:02
  • Sorry, thats a link to a pic of the trail, with a pic of my old MTB. – ATG Dec 14 '17 at 12:03
  • This is not a "trail" imho. I consider this a good road - much smoother than trails I like riding – k102 Dec 14 '17 at 12:06
  • Yes, I understand. This is the pic I could find. While uts a pure dust road with few pebbles, some places, theres paved roads with potholes about a few metres wide, and a drop of 4-6 inches. It turns into a ridge of the same height when going from dust / pebbles to tarmac again. Thats the reason for dual suspension. – ATG Dec 14 '17 at 12:22
  • @Klaster_1 would this mean that I should take the GTVE as a basis and upgrade those components later? – ATG Dec 14 '17 at 12:23
  • I ride a road bike down roads worse than that. Its all in your technique, where you place your wheels. – Criggie Dec 14 '17 at 19:28
  • @paparazzi I've seen some back roads in India. I can see why peeps would want full suspension for getting around on them. On a hardtail (or even rigid forks) it would become a fairly technical ride. I'd pick a hardtail and learn to tackle things properly. – Chris H Dec 14 '17 at 19:29
  • 75mm forks on a full sus?! That doesn't sound like it was specced by someone with a clue. – Chris H Dec 14 '17 at 19:30
  • @ChrisH If a 4x4 truck can handle it then I can ride it on my rigid. – paparazzo Dec 14 '17 at 19:51
  • @paparazzi me too (tourer) but the hardtail would make it easier especially if there's traffic preventing me from picking the best line. And OK, the picture of that road is better than I expected when I replied to your comment. Tourer all the way – Chris H Dec 14 '17 at 22:25
  • @ChrisH thats the 2nd world to you. The GTVE is almost 3 months of paychecks rolled into one for us. The FFR is one month's. – ATG Dec 15 '17 at 00:40
  • @ATG I wouldn't spend much into upgrading that GT, maybe get better forks (XCR air is still a basic model) later and some comfort-related customization. I went the route of upgrading a cheap bike into something else and would do that again, but you should be aware that it's usually not the cheapest options overall. You pay more, but also experience all the related, possibly fun, things like learning to service stuff and intricate details about bike parts (enough to answers like in OP yourself). – Klaster_1 Нет войне Dec 15 '17 at 03:35
  • @Klaster_1 which cheap bike did you upgrade? Its not that I am looking for a cheap solution, I don't mind spending equivalent of $2500 over a year or two. Can't spend it all at once on a bike which has everything to begin with. – ATG Dec 15 '17 at 03:47
  • @ATG I've upgraded a 2012 Merida Matts TFS-100D from Acera/Tourney level components to XT/XTR/XO and other expensive parts, the weight went down from ~14kg to sub 10kg at it's lightest. There's nothing bad at all with such upgrades, but only when the frame is of decent design to begin with (which Firefox is definetely not, don't ever think of upgrading it). For 2500$ you can build a budget carbon fiber XC FS bike, though, or get a used one. If you are willing to spend that much, that's a useful perspective to have. – Klaster_1 Нет войне Dec 15 '17 at 04:08
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    @Klaster_1 I believe then, that I should rather go for a quality hardtail at the moment, and then save up for a better FS bike in the future. – ATG Dec 15 '17 at 04:28
  • @ATG I know what you mean, but for the same money I'd rather have a hardtail with decent forks than a half baked full sus. You can upgrade the drive train (and it's not ridiculous money to do so if you wait until some parts are worn) but you can't upgrade the frame without buying a new bike. – Chris H Dec 15 '17 at 08:13
  • @ChrisH so, obviously, I cannot make a FS out of a hardtail. Thus any recommendations of basic FS MTBs, which will give me a good frame to upgrade later on? – ATG Dec 15 '17 at 08:27
  • I meant you can't make a decent FS out of a rubbish one – Chris H Dec 15 '17 at 09:11
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    Cool, Hardtail it is then. – ATG Dec 15 '17 at 09:13

1 Answers1

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The basic issue is that with most any new bike, if you were to add up what it costs to buy all the components and a comparable frame individually, you get a total much higher than the bike's price tag, even without including costs associated with getting those parts installed. Parts bought at retail get a whole different level of markup. That makes it hard to recommend buying a bike with the plan to upgrade it as you go. People usually get better value by buying in at a level of bike that's well-matched to their actual needs.

The other thing with full suspension bikes in particular is that the suspension designs are far from all being created equal, and the cheapest forks and shocks are extremely mediocre to actually ride. There are a lot of bikes out there where you're more buying the idea and look of full suspension than anything else - watch out for those, because no amount of upgrading really makes sense on such bikes.

Nathan Knutson
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  • Thank you for this. The idea is to upgrade it over time. Not immediately after buying the bike will I be after upgrading stuff. I get your point. At the moment, I am actively looking at a hardtail, keeping the full suspension bike idea aside. – ATG Dec 14 '17 at 18:34