Which SINGLE part upgrade makes the most noticeable improvement to a bike?
Pretty much said it all in the title, but which single upgrade would you say makes the most noticeable difference/improvement to a mountain bike?
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For dollar spent, tires.
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I was going to say either fork, or tires/wheels.
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I'd place pedals and shoes pretty highly too, whether you're talking a good pair of platforms or clipless.
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I agree with pedals. Not the singularly most important but even platforms with good grippy studs make a big difference.
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I'll go ahead and say clipless, my biking experience completely changed when I bought them.
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Originally Posted by g0tink87
(Post 13963683)
I'll go ahead and say clipless, my biking experience completely changed when I bought them.
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Originally Posted by ljsense
(Post 13962870)
For dollar spent, tires.
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I want to toss the rider into the discussion. Weight loss, conditioning. Physically improve the rider and the bike gets better.
Tires and knowing how to work the tires. I caught the phrase, "pushing the tires into corners" around here. Learning to do that helped my riding, trust the side knobs. |
I forgot about the possibility of platform pedals or plastic clips and straps and upgrading to clipless. That would be the most dramatic single upgrade for the least money.
The posters who said that after I said tires won. |
Originally Posted by dminor
(Post 13963845)
I have to agree. Then brakes.
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All depends what you have already, if you have modern bike (FS or Hardtail), a dropper seatpost, not the best value for money, but having got one recently, it have given me more confidence in areas I was having difficulty with.
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my opinion was lighter wheels and tires.
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Nice tires and rims are important, but bad brakes are a real killer and poor derailleurs are a PITA, too!
So after wheels would be brakes. Next would be derailleurs... Hey, but what if your seat hurts your butt? Alright, in this order: 1) Tires 2) Rims 3) Brakes 4) Derailleurs 5) Saddle 6) Grips 7) Shifters : : : : n) Color Edited |
Topcap. definately Topcap.
or.... tires. tires are a huge influence on how a bike feels when you ride. a great bike with crap tires makes the bike handle and feel like crap. |
Assuming everything functions correctly and generally meets your riding needs (ie suspension travel, fit, etc) I'd say brakes and tires. Wheels are probably third.
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I'd say general comfort on the bike. If you aren't comfortable (physically and mentally) on the bike, yor entire ride suffers.
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I'd agree with tires for the biggest bang for the buck, but the biggest improvement is suspension, but it costs a lot more.
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I got clipless pedals. I got new wheels. I switched from a suspension fork to a rigid fork. I got better tires. I switched saddles. I upgrade brakes. The thing that made the biggest difference?
ergon grips. The other things made the bike better. Comfortable grips made me a better rider. |
What about Hubs? Would someone in the know comment about hubs. I have never changed out hubs, just ridden what came with the bike, well maybe a couple of replacements setups. Do hubs effect rolling much?
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Clipless pedals made the biggest difference in MY performance, but as for the performance of the bike itself, I'm not sure I have an answer at the moment...
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I'd say taking off the clipless, and fitting studded platforms. A huge increase in confidence being able to bale out or put a foot down in an instance. On our woodland technical rides none of us use clipless. I use clipless for road tarmac riding and they are great.
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Originally Posted by lobstermike
(Post 13967428)
I'd say taking off the clipless, and fitting studded platforms. A huge increase in confidence being able to bale out or put a foot down in an instance. On our woodland technical rides none of us use clipless. I use clipless for road tarmac riding and they are great.
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minimal climbing here, and lots of loose-over-hardpack. platforms are relatively popular.
I'm giving it one more shot to adapt to clipless on technical singletrack this season. I've ridden a whole ton of enduro and motox in my life, and certain parts of my brain just instinctively say "PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN NOW". clipless on non-technical trail or on the road, that's a given. |
Originally Posted by RobertFrapples
(Post 13966747)
I got clipless pedals. I got new wheels. I switched from a suspension fork to a rigid fork. I got better tires. I switched saddles. I upgrade brakes. The thing that made the biggest difference?
ergon grips. The other things made the bike better. Comfortable grips made me a better rider. Grips do make a difference! |
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