First upgrade?

IME wait until you break and/or wear stuff out.

And maybe for winter a spare (better) set of wheels, so you can run different tyres for different conditions.

After 10 years...

What will I see the biggest benefit from improving and what should I get?

A day's worth of coaching from someone decent. I'm sure someone could recommend a good coach in your region. Then tyres appropriate to the trails you ride.

edit - actually just noticed the comment below mine. Yeah, a dropper seatpost would also be an excellent choice.

1. Fit a dropper seatpost if it doesn't already have one.

2. Upgrade the fork to something like a Revelation with 34 mm stanchions if you can afford it. It will be much stiffer and better damped than the Judy.

Dropper post.

Contact points. Seat, pedals/shoes, tyres/wheels.

I was going to say dropper but looking at the spec it seems to have one? The other answer is as tthew says, have some coaching, it is the most impactful thing I have ever done for my riding outside of fitness work. That leads me quite nicely to fitness, if, like me, you are not naturally a racing whippet or hill slaying beast then a fitness plan like the MTB Fitness programme will make your enjoyment of riding increase.

Looking at that bike for me the first thing would be a high rise bar. Apart from that though, nothing. Save your money and put some miles on it. You'll soon figure out what you need to change.

Tyres. Good tyres make a bike.
Contact points are worth looking at if you don't get on with what is there at the moment.

Upgrade the frame to something with around a 65° head angle 😉.

1. Dropper.

2. Pedals+shoes. If clipless, the basic shimano M520 pedal + the nicest shoe you can/wish to afford. If flats, again, spend the money on shoes. There was a STW video recently on flat pedals.

3. Tubeless conversion to the tyres if they arent already.

+1 for ride it until something really needs replacing.

+1 for a dropper post, Brand-X are cheap and just work (and if/when it does die, is cheaper than the service cost of more expensive posts).

+1 for finishing kit like bar, saddle, grips, pedals etc if you have a personal preference.

They're an awesome looking bike, albeit a very entry level spec on a very nice frame. So it's certainly worth upgrading in the future to really make the most of it.

Wheels and tyres - these are always the biggest bang for your buck on an XC race bike (or probably any bike for that matter).

The Judy fork is ...... cheap. Rockshox SID 35mm would be the most obvious upgrade.

The drivechain ...... Deore is great, just a bit heavy. XT or GX would be the obvious choices for gears and shifting (maybe with an XTR or XO1 shifter).

Cranks are often an overlooked upgrade, especially as they last basically forever so a nice set can be shifted across to future bikes. Keep an eye out for sales on old models of things like FSA carbon cranks which tend to get discounted really heavily.

BUT..... Wait for something to break or wear out first. There's nothing more irritating than spending £600 on a new fork only to pringle the wheelset the next month. If you'd waited a month you could have spent the £600 on some lightweight wheels! Same with the drivechain, put the money to one side, ride it into the ground, then upgrade it at the same time as the wheels (because you might want a different freehub).

As above, dropper, and riser bars to take some of your weight off the front - unless you're a seasoned XC racer of course. Might improve comfort and might reduce likelyhood of faceplants!

Lovely looking bike that.

As said above, I'd have a few rides on it first and see what you feel it is lacking or what is holding you back. Until you get to a stage where your fitness and ability isn't what is holding back, you'd probably be better holding onto your funds for a bit.

However, the first and one of the lowest cost upgrades is a subscription to Singletrackworld 🙂
https://singletrackworld.com/membership/

Magura HS33 green frogs which were amazing obvs.

Oh ! Misread title as what was your first upgrade lol

Tubeless set up for both wheels, then consider tyres, grips and saddle

As Reeksy said, look at the areas you need to tweak for personal preference, saddle is a big one, stem can be another, pedals again are a personal choice.

I'd not do anything major until you get the feel for it, it's an XC bike, so the Judy's will be good enough for now, in 20 odd years i've not really felt a huge difference in a 200 or 1000 fork on an XC bike, bar the weight!

Dropper post above everything else IMO.

Those tyres (Barzo) are good allrounders. I'd only swap them if the terrain you're riding on merits it (e.g. rough and rocky).

Tubeless next.

Tubeless isn't an upgrade as far as I'm concerned, it's a requirement, like a saddle or brakes.

Presuming you can't fit anything more than a 150mm, the brand X dropper posts are 90 quid at the moment. Get one bought.

Looking at the specs, you might be limited in what dropper posts it can take. I think the carbon BMC frames use a D shaped seatpost and BMC make a bespoke dropper post for them. The specs say the seatpost is "BMC MSP03 - 272 mm - 0mm Offset (D-Shaped Insert)", which I think means a 27.2 mm post. You can buy 27.2 mm dropper posts, but they are limited in their travel. BrandX do a 105 mm travel post, I think you can get a 120 mm post from other manufacturers.

100 mm is probably fine for XC riding, but that weird seatpost design would be a deal breaker for me. Once you get used to dropper posts, there's no going back and 120 mm isn't enough drop for rough descents.

tubeless is a ballache that adds little value and a huge amount of faff. if you're able to ride appropriate tyre pressures (low 20s for most folks) without flatting all the time tubeless adds almost nothing to your riding.

I'd agree with a dropper post

Cheers for the input so far!

Already gone tubeless - all my other road and gravel bikes are so a doddle to do and was done before the first ride.

Already gone tubeless – all my other road and gravel bikes are so a doddle to do and was done before the first ride.

Excellent - re the dropper it's a shame it's a 27.2mm post, but even then, 120mm is way better than nothing.

Already gone tubeless – all my other road and gravel bikes are so a doddle to do and was done before the first ride.

In that case, fit a dropper, and ride it till somethings broken/worn out (assuming the contact points are comfy).

One of the guys I ride with at work has the model a few steps up with the SID and X01, it's a very nice looking bit of kit, he seems to have taken every off-road KOM within a 15 mile radius off the office on it! So I can't see it holding you back if you've got the legs (and a few quid for upgrades will make it very nice if you can afford/justify them).

Excellent – re the dropper it’s a shame it’s a 27.2mm post, but even then, 120mm is way better than nothing.

I think this get's over egged slightly, 100-120mm is fine, I could squeeze a 170 into my bike, but have a 120mm post. Unless you have really short legs or plan on taking it to the dirtjumps I've never felt much more offered a tangible advantage. I'd go as far as saying more than 125-150mm of drop starts to feel like an awkward contortion to push the post down while riding, so you either have to stop, or find a slower/quieter bit of trail to drop it anyway, and that's not the kind of trails that the Twostrokes designed for really, it's a race bike.

For me, tires and brakes.

BR-MT200 levers look a bit 2+finger-ish, which I think would start to bug me, although I'd certainly ride them for a bit first to find out. I'd definitely get bigger rotors though; which is a relatively cheap upgrade.

The tires look OK as XC all-rounder jobbies, but again, see how they ride. I bet it'll get slippy in Rivington as the year progresses, so something with a bit more of an assertive tread might be good. Also, from a hardtail-cushioning perspective, slightly higher volume than 2.25" would probably be nice.

Longer term the Judy will probably be a bit basic and bangy, but I'd just ride it.

As many have said. Dropper - makes a huge improvement to the feel of any bike.

Possibly tyres if you really don't get on with what's on there, although I have a Barzo on the front and they seem fine to me - not totally compromised on the tread/grip unlike some XC tyres. Something wider would give you more room for rider error mind.

Then ride it until bits break or wear out.

I think this get’s over egged slightly, 100-120mm is fine, I could squeeze a 170 into my bike, but have a 120mm post. Unless you have really short legs or plan on taking it to the dirtjumps I’ve never felt much more offered a tangible advantage. I’d go as far as saying more than 125-150mm of drop starts to feel like an awkward contortion to push the post down while riding, so you either have to stop, or find a slower/quieter bit of trail to drop it anyway, and that’s not the kind of trails that the Twostrokes designed for really, it’s a race bike.

I agree it depends on the bike and/or the types of trails you ride, however there's not a chance in hell I'm going back to a 150mm dropper from my current 200mm and 210mm ones! 😜 For me, there's literally no downside to more drop. I'll probably end up going with the 240mm oneup dropper on my next bike/frame upgrade. Of course that's on a very different bike to the OP's.

For me, there’s literally no downside to more drop

At the risk of digressing completely from OP's question :-), I thought much the same. I'll take as much drop as I can get please and thank you.

At the risk of digressing completely from OP’s question :-), I thought much the same. I’ll take as much drop as I can get please and thank you.

It's relevant though as he's probably going to have to choose between 105mm for 90 quid or 120mm for twice the price. I'd say the extra is always worth it.

Tubeless and a dropper, should get both done for under £250and will IMHO help massively.

I wouldn't bother with the fork as they're so bloody expensive it's cheaper to buy a bike with a better one to begin with.

It’s relevant though as he’s probably going to have to choose between 105mm for 90 quid or 120mm for twice the price. I’d say the extra is always worth it.

Maybe,

OP, also check how long the seatpost is and the minimum insertion if you go with a dropper, the Twostroke is a very low frame to make the fixed seatpost flex and make it comfortable. So some dropper posts may not be long enough if you have long legs.

It’s relevant though as he’s probably going to have to choose between 105mm for 90 quid or 120mm for twice the price. I’d say the extra is always worth it.

Absolutely. I started off with a 3" drop GravityDropper when they first came out. Was constantly told that it was a solution looking for a problem. Got the 4" version when that came out, was better but didn't see why anyone would need more than 4" drop. Then I got a 5" drop post, then a 6". Once you get used to more drop, it's hard to go back, constant smashing of nuts into saddle on descents. Always buy the biggest drop you can fit into your frame, you don't have to use it if you don't need it.

Dropper post, especially as it is a hardtail. You can use your legs as rear suspension and just let the rear of the bike do it's thing!

Dropper post should be the first upgrade everyone makes. Do the measurements and get the longest one that you can fit in there (especially with a hardtail), I have a 200mm dropper on my hardtail and it is a million times better than the 125mm it came with.

Apart from that just ride it until after the winter and/or stuff starts to wear out. You might find that in 6 months you want something completely different (maybe a more aggressive hardtail or a Full sus).

Contact points +1. Saddle and grips. You’ll already have pedals.