Decathlon sells the st 540 s with the same frame and an xfusion rear air shock that is really cheap but good enough. I got mine for 60 euros, I think you can find it cheaper. I got also a cheap Rockshox recon rl air damper(straight headtube and 120 mm air shock). Some shops are getting rid of them, everybody wants a tapered headtube. It makes the bike much lighter and tighter.
I have been considering at least a rear shock upgrade. There seems to be plenty of inexpensive options for that. I will probably leave the fork alone as I don't want to spend a lot on this bike.
i've been looking for someone doing something like this to one of those. They are super common here, I find some second end for not too much and was always curious to turn one into a cheap project bike.
Hello from Romania 🫡 I have the same bike recently replaced the stem from a 80mm stem to a 70mm which i had in the parts bin its not much of a difference but she sure stears better Only issues i had in the past were that i somehow blew the BB and the shock screws didn't had locktight on them, Better check yours as well in cause the same happened and thats pretty much all Recently replaced the pedals to some red Cube RFR's and im thinking of replacing the grips, Bottom bracket to hollowtech and the rear wheel took a beating so i might replace that fully, Maybe later down the line ill replace the fork
here in romania this bike is very common, you should be careful with it tho, in my country a lot of those bike crack and the rear shock just snaps in half...
I will keep an eye on it and inspect it regularly. It is a little worrying that more than one person has warned of this type of failure. I hope it does not happen, but it's a cheap enough bike that I don't care all that much .
Yes because people see it as high end mtb and start jumping and going down the stairs so it breaks. Also the most entry level bicycles are not for heavy people but for 50 up to 90kg and thats all.
Hey, today i got the same bike, i think im hearing the same clunking sounds from back suspension. Did you find any solution to it or its nothing to worry about ?
I have a 2nd one of these and it makes the same noise. I think it's just the nature of a cheap coil rear shock. Everything seems to function fine, so I'm considering it normal.
@@aaronbehindbars Thanks for the reply, lets hope its functioning normaly. Well now only thing left to do for me is to fix gear changing because they are not shifting smoothly.
@@velk00s68The derailleur hanger may be slightly bent. Rough handling in shipping can cause those to get slightly bent in which will make tuning the shifting difficult.
The angle of rear shock is kind odd. The rear triangle also goes slightly up towards the pivot point for the shock, also the fork for the other joint for reat shock seem thin. Dont know why but this geometry and angle of the rear coil just feels like its break ready so for sure it isnt for any jumping or agressive ride. Good lookin, best for its price but nonsence in some details.
I don't think it's that weird. The layout is pretty similar to a Santa Cruz Superlight. I'm not an engineer, but the upper/forward shock mount looks like it spreads the load along a wider section of that top tube. Additionally, under the compression, the load forces going into the shock are going to be more or less parallel to the top tube, so you probably don't have a tone of shearing forces that would try to pull those shock mount tabs down and break away from the top tube. I will concede that the overall construction of the rear triangle and those forward shock mounting tabs are fairly light. This is not an all-mountain/enduro/aggressive trail bike. It's for XC and lighter trail use which is what I'm doing with it. I have Specialized Stumpjumper and a Specialized Levo for when I want to ride more aggressively. I ride single track and keep the bike close to the ground. It's designed for that usage and I don't have any real concern that it will not hold up to that usage. Anything is possible and I am ok with tossing the frame in the bin if it fails. Thanks for watching and I appreciate the discussion.
I'm no structural engineer, but I can't imagine the frame would crack from this shock. It has a little bit of abruptness as the shaft reverse direction from compression to rebound, but it's just making a little noise. I'm 99% sure it's just the way it is on a cheaper damper mechanism like this. I am considering an air shock upgrade down the road if I decide to hold onto this bike. I mainly bought it to experiment with, but I am kinda getting attached to it...time will tell. Thanks for watching!
this bike is great but it breakes alot on the rear triangule, so is very dangerous to buy second hand as you can get a cracked one and they are easy to crack...... i think they are a looker but i find it better to just get a premium older bike.... in any case is risky
These bikes are all the rage in Turkey. Dont relly on the frame too much if you are not a welder. I have seen heard and seen a lot of these530s full squish rockriders crack in the rear triangle. İ cant say how overcrowded the second hand market is with these bikes and their parts. İ hope you didnt get the doomed lot. Cheers none the less
Decathlon sells the st 540 s with the same frame and an xfusion rear air shock that is really cheap but good enough. I got mine for 60 euros, I think you can find it cheaper. I got also a cheap Rockshox recon rl air damper(straight headtube and 120 mm air shock). Some shops are getting rid of them, everybody wants a tapered headtube. It makes the bike much lighter and tighter.
I have been considering at least a rear shock upgrade. There seems to be plenty of inexpensive options for that. I will probably leave the fork alone as I don't want to spend a lot on this bike.
How much is it ? Here în Romania is 540$ on sale from 691$
i've been looking for someone doing something like this to one of those. They are super common here, I find some second end for not too much and was always curious to turn one into a cheap project bike.
It's a great project bike! Best of luck with yours when you get one!
Hello from Romania 🫡
I have the same bike recently replaced the stem from a 80mm stem to a 70mm which i had in the parts bin its not much of a difference but she sure stears better
Only issues i had in the past were that i somehow blew the BB and the shock screws didn't had locktight on them, Better check yours as well in cause the same happened and thats pretty much all
Recently replaced the pedals to some red Cube RFR's and im thinking of replacing the grips, Bottom bracket to hollowtech and the rear wheel took a beating so i might replace that fully, Maybe later down the line ill replace the fork
here in romania this bike is very common, you should be careful with it tho, in my country a lot of those bike crack and the rear shock just snaps in half...
I will keep an eye on it and inspect it regularly. It is a little worrying that more than one person has warned of this type of failure. I hope it does not happen, but it's a cheap enough bike that I don't care all that much .
Yes because people see it as high end mtb and start jumping and going down the stairs so it breaks. Also the most entry level bicycles are not for heavy people but for 50 up to 90kg and thats all.
@@sluzbazaorganizacijucentra4050 The rear shock has settings for rider weight up to 105 kg, so I expect it's good up to that weight at minimum.
DNM air shock, Rockshox Silver TK air fork, TransX dropper post and MT 200 Shimano brakes and you a have a decent bike .
I have 2 of those 4 things already...a 3rd is on the way
Hey, today i got the same bike, i think im hearing the same clunking sounds from back suspension. Did you find any solution to it or its nothing to worry about ?
I have a 2nd one of these and it makes the same noise. I think it's just the nature of a cheap coil rear shock. Everything seems to function fine, so I'm considering it normal.
@@aaronbehindbars Thanks for the reply, lets hope its functioning normaly. Well now only thing left to do for me is to fix gear changing because they are not shifting smoothly.
@@velk00s68The derailleur hanger may be slightly bent. Rough handling in shipping can cause those to get slightly bent in which will make tuning the shifting difficult.
The angle of rear shock is kind odd. The rear triangle also goes slightly up towards the pivot point for the shock, also the fork for the other joint for reat shock seem thin. Dont know why but this geometry and angle of the rear coil just feels like its break ready so for sure it isnt for any jumping or agressive ride. Good lookin, best for its price but nonsence in some details.
I don't think it's that weird. The layout is pretty similar to a Santa Cruz Superlight. I'm not an engineer, but the upper/forward shock mount looks like it spreads the load along a wider section of that top tube. Additionally, under the compression, the load forces going into the shock are going to be more or less parallel to the top tube, so you probably don't have a tone of shearing forces that would try to pull those shock mount tabs down and break away from the top tube.
I will concede that the overall construction of the rear triangle and those forward shock mounting tabs are fairly light. This is not an all-mountain/enduro/aggressive trail bike. It's for XC and lighter trail use which is what I'm doing with it. I have Specialized Stumpjumper and a Specialized Levo for when I want to ride more aggressively.
I ride single track and keep the bike close to the ground. It's designed for that usage and I don't have any real concern that it will not hold up to that usage. Anything is possible and I am ok with tossing the frame in the bin if it fails.
Thanks for watching and I appreciate the discussion.
you should change the rear shock because if you dont change it your frame can be crack if you can buy a air shock I recomend it
I'm no structural engineer, but I can't imagine the frame would crack from this shock. It has a little bit of abruptness as the shaft reverse direction from compression to rebound, but it's just making a little noise. I'm 99% sure it's just the way it is on a cheaper damper mechanism like this.
I am considering an air shock upgrade down the road if I decide to hold onto this bike. I mainly bought it to experiment with, but I am kinda getting attached to it...time will tell. Thanks for watching!
@@aaronbehindbarsI hope it doesn't crack, but my friends had that problem with this bike. but they don't ride in the off road they are urban riders
y can fit 29" rims
@@MatrixReptilian It is designed for 27.5 only. 29 inch will not fit.
this bike is great but it breakes alot on the rear triangule, so is very dangerous to buy second hand as you can get a cracked one and they are easy to crack...... i think they are a looker but i find it better to just get a premium older bike.... in any case is risky
These bikes are all the rage in Turkey. Dont relly on the frame too much if you are not a welder. I have seen heard and seen a lot of these530s full squish rockriders crack in the rear triangle. İ cant say how overcrowded the second hand market is with these bikes and their parts. İ hope you didnt get the doomed lot. Cheers none the less
I'll hope for the best. This bike is very low cost for me, so I can afford to scrap it if it fails.
@@aaronbehindbars Hi, tell me is these rear shock absorber - damper only with oil? Or oil and gas?
@@Przebudzony It's a DNM AOY-36RC and according to the user manual, it's a nitrogen charged shock oil damped shock.
@@aaronbehindbars No i ask about the original one.
@@Przebudzony My apologies for the mistake.
I don't know, so I won't venture to guess. I do know it's a sealed, non-serviceable damper.
:-)