Got back into riding about 2 years ago.  Bought a Trek x-caliber 8...felt like it was a good entry to get riding again.  Question now is what makes more sense.  Upgrading bike all together or can I stick with that frame and do component upgrades?  I'm not racing or anything crazy, just like riding (WWC, Sherman, NM, LNSP, etc) and getting in the miles in the woods.  Have demoed a couple full suspensions but not sure that's what I want to do either.  I know there are probably lots of different opinions on this but I would appreciate all the help.  Thanks!

Replace wear and tear items.

Keep trying demo bikes till you find one that you cannot live without.

tuckerlkn wrote on 11/14/16 at 7:53pm:


I agree, better tires are always a good investment.

As for upgrades.. If it's not broke, why fix it?

Better to save the money for something better down the road, while you ride this one into the dirt.

Upgrade 
1) Tires
2) Rims (I normally do 1 & 2 together) 
3) Brakes
4) Shifting

Get quality components then when/if you get a new frame move the components to the new frame.

I am currently having the same train of thought.  Bought a rockhopper last march and realized, very quickly, i should have spent about 500 more dollars on a different setup.  My first upgrade was the pedals which was a great improvement and now I am waffling between the fork and drivetrain.  I am leaning toward getting a 1X setup before the fork and going with the deore XT, then onto a rockshox with 120 mm travel.  Can't wait to get the upgrades but honestly it has been fun running these components into the dirt as well.  Just really great to be out on the trails.  Good luck and post pics of the upgrades you go with!

aasnowrider wrote on 11/18/16 at 4:26pm:


Depending on what you currently have, I would probably recommend the fork upgrade before the drive train. (I have done both upgrades before)

The difference between a coil sprung fork with steel stanchions and little or no damping and an air sprung fork with aluminum stanchions and proper adjustable damping (at least rebound) is night and day. Huge performance benefits, more comfortable, controlled, and confident ride. Plus significant weight savings to be had. The first time you have to muscle the front end over an obstacle on a technical climb, or float the front end off a drop, you will definitely feel the weight difference.  

Don't get me wrong, a proper 1x drivetrain upgrade is definitely nice, but the benefits are more of convenience and simplicity, than an all out step change in performance. There is some weight savings to be had, but less significant than with fork option, and you would probably add some unsprung / rotational mass with the bigger cassette. Shimano XT 11 speed stuff is crazy affordable right now though. Clutch derailleur is nice if you hate a noisy bike, and/or drop chains a lot. 

In general I agree with what most others have said. But I would keep cost in mind as well. Do the most affordable bang for buck items first. 

1. Tires - i.e. tubeless - spec tread based on riding style and trail type
2. Contact points (grips, pedals, saddle) adjust as necessary to personal preference
3. Brakes - as long as you have a decent set of hydraulics, you're good. 
4. Wheels -huge benefits to be had with unsprung/rotational weight, hub POE, wider rims, etc.  but also can be hugely expensive. Unlike suspension, high likelihood you can carry over to next bike. 
5. Suspension - Like brakes, midlevel components will do just fine. Like wheels, huge potential benefits, but at huge cost.
6. Drivetrain - Decent benefits to be had, but midlevel components will be 90% as good as top end kit. Expensive, especially for a wear item. 

I put suspension and drivetrain at bottom, because generally you should consider those more when buying the complete bike, and spec the bike such that you won't have to upgrade the suspension. Drivetrain should only need replacement/upgrade when worn out. 

::Edit:: Cannot comment on dropper post, as I haven't gotten mine installed yet.

I had the same bike, an X-Caliber 8 and bought it as my entry bike.  The frame wasn't bad considering what you paid for the whole bike but obviously there are better ones.  I chose to upgrade to full suspension, but if you keep the X-Cal then upgrade the fork and tires first.  I put Maxxis Ardent tires on my X-Cal and it was incredible the difference they made.  The stock fork is also just spring coil so going to an air suspension will make a big difference

I would upgrade to this...

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)