Mountain Bike Upgrading

A new seat is the first thing many people change on a mountain bike because it is the main point with which you interact with the bike. New tyres can make a large improvement because a wider tyre will have more of a cushioning effect and make the ride more comfortable over the rough stuff.

Grips are another contact point with the mountain bike, so a good grip can make a large difference to your bike control and comfort.

Bar-ends can make an improvement by offering the rider more places to put their hands so that your arms didn't hurt as much. A lot of road cyclists like bar ends on their mountain bike because it offers a similar feel to drop handlebars.

Clipless pedals will improve your pedalling efficiency because you can pull one pedal upwards whilst you are pushing the other pedal downwards. This is more efficient because you have less of a tendency to 'bob' up and down.

Mountain Biking Resources

Making your mountain bike lighter reducing the rotating weight will have the biggest impact on how your bike rides.

Here are the steps you should go through:

1. Buying lighter tyres is the most effective way to bring down the weight of your bike without spending too much.
2. Buy a lightweight wheel set, a hand-built set will usually cost a bit more but will pay off in terms of strength and longevity.
3. Buy light-weight pedals. Clipless pedals will also improve your comfort and efficiency.
4. Upgrading your fork. Replace your heavy standard suspension fork with a lighter, high-performance model.
5. Consider buying lighter cranks, Cranks have to be very strong and so cheaper ones end up being heavily built. Top-quality ones will have closer tolerances and so you can make quite a good weight saving.
6. Buy a lightweight seat and seat post. In comparison with some other upgrades, these are relatively cheap, and you will feel the difference on long rides.
7. Titanium is used for the ultimate in lightweight parts. Titanium cassettes, skewers, bolt kits, bottom brackets, stems, bars, seat posts etc are all available. Each will be very high performance but will also demand a higher price.