I decided to make my MTB my main bike to keep and modify for my specific needs and wants for commuting and hopefully next year, bikepacking. The gearing on it was kind of bad (I live in mountains and needed more climbing gears), I didn't like the suspension fork, and other mods just naturally happened. Pretty much the only things left of the original bike are the frame and brakes (sans levers). It's my first time overhauling a bike like this and it was a pretty enjoyable experience.
It still isn't quite what I ultimately want, the goal is to upgrade into a new bike altogether (I'm not allowed to have, nor do I have the room for another one). I want to end with a steel frameset (I already have it picked out), so the plan was to upgrade what I could on this frame to get where I wanted, and eventually swap all the upgraded parts to a new frame.
The drivetrain is the newest upgrade, I switched from the stock wheelset and groupset to ZTZ wheels, and a kit off Ali Express containing Ltwoo AX shifter and derailleur, Sunshine 11/52 cassette, and chain. Doing so also required new brake levers as the original ones were combo shifter/brakes. It's riding like a dream, so much range in gears now, and better climbing than the stock setup had. I still need to replace the 3x on the front for a 1x, I'm just waiting on funds for that.
by Chew-Magna