Choosing parts/choosing what I want to do

[lachie-roberts]

Hey all,

I have a work in progress bike ('06 DMR Trailstar II) and I've been gradually swapping out the (awful) parts from my old bike, a Giant Thermo 2.

So I've got to the point where I've swapped out the frame, the brakes, the rear wheel, cranks and BB for better parts and chucked an SS kit on it (probably temporary, to save money on buying gears) but the forks, front wheel and a few other bits and pieces are still terrible (e.g the RockShox Dart 2's on there) and I need help deciding on the type of riding I want to focus on, and therefore the parts I get.

I love riding the trails around the Yarra, (Dights Falls area), a tad of DJ and when I've got a car license I'd probably want to travel to do some harder stuff (All Mountain, maybe a bit of hardtail DH) but I'm not sure if the Trailstar is good for all of that.

Any advice on what to do/what parts to get/what riding style to focus on with the bike I have would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Lach

 

[cookieman1717]

If you want to do some DJ and some al mountain/downhill you probably want more that 100mm of travel. I recomend something along the lines of a rock shox pike or fox vanilla. These forks will be great on XC trails and fine for the occaisonal DJ or DH. The 140/150/160 mms of travel will eat up the bighits while maintaing good small bump performance for XC. When selecting wheels make sure they are eyleted. Its a small metal ring aroung the whole where the spokes enter the rim. The eyelet will mean that the wheel is of good quality. Just make sure you keep the spokes tight. IF not eyeleted just keep the spoke tight and the rim true and it will be fine. Hope this helps.