Upgrades

After a few slips on the old pedals and a few new marks in my sheen the best upgrade have been my XTR pedals. (then I had the funny stacks when I couldn't releae the cleats)
And my home made remote lockout for my RP23. (not working at 100% but I can lockon the pro pedal and manually return it)

The most versatile bike I've ever owned!
Ask me again if I'm so keen after I've done the Highland Fling on it!

I've only upgraded 2 components and I love them equally.. ahhh!

Crossmark tyres - heaps faster and a decent amount of grip.
Reducing the stem from a 110mm to a 90mm - Cured my sore shoulders that I got after rides of more than an hour and made the bike more responsive. Took a bit of getting used to but now I prefer the 'twitchiness"

Easily the two best upgrades I made

or ever? I upgrade, downgrade, retrograde and Gatorade on a regular basis.... my bikes evolve rather than get upgraded.

Light wheels and low tubeless pressures are always noticeable!

all this tech talk!

I went to a charity road race back in 2008 and road at the front with the best female rider I could find. I wore aftershave on the bike, I did my hair when I took my helmet off, I even sheltered her in the wind.

Three years later and we are still together, training, racing, recovering, and motivating each other.
There is nothing I could have ever bought for either bike, that would have helped me (or her) go so well.

Of course, I've been super lucky in having a girlfriend that rides like a dude, but the moral of the story - get the environment right for your riding - supportive, understanding, helpful - and you will go faster than any carbon can help you go.

Then, once that is done, add a full carbon, full XX 8.8kg carbon 29er hardtail.....

I feel the best upgrade, that I have done to my Monocog 29er, is the Marzocchi TST2 Air QR15 fork and the Hope QR15 hub. Steering is more positive, smoother ride and the braking is improved.

... to tubeless. The sense of being connected to the track was just so much better.

After that, upgrading to 2010 XT brakes and groupset.

Then, Mavic CrossMax wheels.

Going back over the years

Disc Brakes: Back in the late 90s it was like "wow. I can go faster because I know the brake swill pull me up when I need them too."

Fox suspension. Had an old Giant AC the rockshox Psylos were a great fork at the time (arguably the fork that saved rockshox from bankruptcy, sure the boxxer was the poster child but at the time the psylos sold like hot cakes and had every one talking) but the Pro Delux on the rear was average at best. Throwing in a fox vanilla RC made it feel like a whole new bike.

Then again on a DH rig that originally had a 5th element. These platform shox were heralded as the be all and end all when they came out, and to be honest they were great for a racer who wanted to stay incontact with the ground but for the average joe they just felt dead and sucked the fun factor out of boosting off stuff on the side of the trail. Along comes the fox DHX range. Same solid pedalling feel but gives you that "pop" when you want it.

Tubeless conversions. The infamous Hassans Wall baby heads meant most people ran big tyres and DH tubes filled with slime to try and minimise the pinch flats. Then tubeless came along and eliminated them altogether while reducing the rotating mass and giving better feel

Lights: going from 5w vista sticks to 25w home made jobs that lasted about 1hr up to the 300lu cateyes that lasted 2hr and then onto the k-lites that throw out 1400lu for 3hrs or run all night at 500,..

SRAM 2 x 10. Was worried about lossing the granny but found I was just being lazy because I could be. In fact since going 2 x 10 I find I'm rarely out of the big ring