Or rather the limits of what I'm going to do it, although a pair of DMR flats are on the cards at some stage, as is a re paint to get rid of all BH logos and graphics.
A 12ah battery would also be nice, but I certainly won't be buying one of those.
The full list of mods is as follows.
Pre last mods.
Most recent mods.
This bike is now just amazing to ride (as far as hardtails go) and feels absolutely nothing like the original factory supplied lardy heavy slow steering bike.
The first major difference is weight. The forks alone are well in excess of 1kg lighter and I've yet to weigh the various other components, but the overall package is now one very light bike.
The original front end had some kind of gravity magnet attached to it, whereas now, it's almost hard to keep the front end down. From bad experience, one overly zealous push down on the pedals is enough to loop the bike.
The Pannarace Fire XC Pro tyres offer a hell of a lot of confidence inspiring grip, and their ability to climb out of ruts is superb. They also oddly seem very good on the road.
Changing from a triple chainset to a double has obviously lost on road speed, but this bike isn't about road use anymore. I wanted a good mix of ratio's for when I'm trying to get the most of the bike off road, and I think that this is now about right. The gear changes are now also super slick and precise, which is something that the original Alivio equipment never was. It was a constant battle to keep it set up properly.
The Wiggle ride on the South Downs also showed a massive weakness in the braking department, so hopefully this will now be partially cured with the switch from a 160mm rotor to a 180mm rotor. I've yet to try this out in anger, but first impressions are very good.
Another amazingly impressive and instantly noticeable mod, is the Cane Creek Thudbuster. The bike feels as though you have just perched yourself on your favourite old armchair. The hardtail sting has definitely gone.
The Topeak front mudguard is okay for cycle paths, but show it anything hard and the vibration from bumps, just cracks the mountings. I'm on my second and there won't be a third.
It's a shame about the mudguard as the Topeak mountain Morph pump is brilliant. Having said that, I quite like Topeak products as a whole.
The Fenix BT20 front light was a product that made me bulk at the cost, but this has proved to be an amazing front light for off road use, and has in reality been worth the money.
A decent spec full suspension bike is definitely on the cards, but even with all of the component/reliability issues that I have had with this bike, I won't be selling it as it still makes me grin from ear to ear with every ride. I also understand that BH are in the process of upping their game in relation their previously poor customer support. Obviously this is something that I'd have to see or hear first hand about to believe, but I hope that they do.
If any reading this is intending to or was intending to purchase a NEO Xtrem, the mods that I have carried out aren't essential to the product, I simply wanted more from the bike.
A 12ah battery would also be nice, but I certainly won't be buying one of those.
The full list of mods is as follows.
- Deore 38/24t chainset
- Deore Hollowtech 2 bottom bracket
- Deore 10 speed rear derailleur
- Deore 10 speed set up front derailleur
- Shimano HG62 10 speed cassette 11-36
- Deore 10 speed shifters
- Sram PC1031 10 speed chain
- A2Z 180mm disc rotor
- Tecktro 180mm caliper adapter
- Extended Tecktro brake hose
- Lizzard Skins grips
- Rockshox Reba front forks with pop lock (lock soon to be removed)
- Crankbrothers wider handlebars
- Cane Creek Thudbuster
- FSA headset
- Pannarace Fire XC Pro tyres
- Topeak Mountain Morph pump
- Fenix BT20 front light
- Topeak Defender front mudguard (crap)
- Home made rear mudguard
- Slime inner tubes (sadly added extra weight)
Pre last mods.
Most recent mods.
This bike is now just amazing to ride (as far as hardtails go) and feels absolutely nothing like the original factory supplied lardy heavy slow steering bike.
The first major difference is weight. The forks alone are well in excess of 1kg lighter and I've yet to weigh the various other components, but the overall package is now one very light bike.
The original front end had some kind of gravity magnet attached to it, whereas now, it's almost hard to keep the front end down. From bad experience, one overly zealous push down on the pedals is enough to loop the bike.
The Pannarace Fire XC Pro tyres offer a hell of a lot of confidence inspiring grip, and their ability to climb out of ruts is superb. They also oddly seem very good on the road.
Changing from a triple chainset to a double has obviously lost on road speed, but this bike isn't about road use anymore. I wanted a good mix of ratio's for when I'm trying to get the most of the bike off road, and I think that this is now about right. The gear changes are now also super slick and precise, which is something that the original Alivio equipment never was. It was a constant battle to keep it set up properly.
The Wiggle ride on the South Downs also showed a massive weakness in the braking department, so hopefully this will now be partially cured with the switch from a 160mm rotor to a 180mm rotor. I've yet to try this out in anger, but first impressions are very good.
Another amazingly impressive and instantly noticeable mod, is the Cane Creek Thudbuster. The bike feels as though you have just perched yourself on your favourite old armchair. The hardtail sting has definitely gone.
The Topeak front mudguard is okay for cycle paths, but show it anything hard and the vibration from bumps, just cracks the mountings. I'm on my second and there won't be a third.
It's a shame about the mudguard as the Topeak mountain Morph pump is brilliant. Having said that, I quite like Topeak products as a whole.
The Fenix BT20 front light was a product that made me bulk at the cost, but this has proved to be an amazing front light for off road use, and has in reality been worth the money.
A decent spec full suspension bike is definitely on the cards, but even with all of the component/reliability issues that I have had with this bike, I won't be selling it as it still makes me grin from ear to ear with every ride. I also understand that BH are in the process of upping their game in relation their previously poor customer support. Obviously this is something that I'd have to see or hear first hand about to believe, but I hope that they do.
If any reading this is intending to or was intending to purchase a NEO Xtrem, the mods that I have carried out aren't essential to the product, I simply wanted more from the bike.
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