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-   -   Which SINGLE part upgrade makes the most noticeable improvement to a bike? (https://www.bikeforums.net/mountain-biking/804177-single-part-upgrade-makes-most-noticeable-improvement-bike.html)

Cliver 03-12-12 02:03 PM

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?

ljsense 03-12-12 02:04 PM

For dollar spent, tires.

jcivic00 03-12-12 02:23 PM

I was going to say either fork, or tires/wheels.

Zephyr11 03-12-12 02:49 PM

I'd place pedals and shoes pretty highly too, whether you're talking a good pair of platforms or clipless.

ESW116 03-12-12 03:36 PM

I agree with pedals. Not the singularly most important but even platforms with good grippy studs make a big difference.

g0tink87 03-12-12 05:05 PM

I'll go ahead and say clipless, my biking experience completely changed when I bought them.

IthaDan 03-12-12 05:22 PM


Originally Posted by g0tink87 (Post 13963683)
I'll go ahead and say clipless, my biking experience completely changed when I bought them.

+1

dminor 03-12-12 05:46 PM


Originally Posted by ljsense (Post 13962870)
For dollar spent, tires.

I have to agree. Then brakes.

Daspydyr 03-12-12 05:49 PM

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.

ljsense 03-12-12 06:48 PM

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.

g0tink87 03-12-12 06:56 PM


Originally Posted by dminor (Post 13963845)
I have to agree. Then brakes.

Brakes?...what are those. :lol:

jimc101 03-12-12 08:10 PM

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.

Triaxtremec 03-12-12 08:16 PM

my opinion was lighter wheels and tires.

SlimRider 03-12-12 08:56 PM

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

pablosnazzy 03-12-12 08:59 PM

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.

Hocam 03-13-12 09:15 AM

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.

NoTrail 03-13-12 10:23 AM

I'd say general comfort on the bike. If you aren't comfortable (physically and mentally) on the bike, yor entire ride suffers.

roccobike 03-13-12 10:56 AM

I'd agree with tires for the biggest bang for the buck, but the biggest improvement is suspension, but it costs a lot more.

RobertFrapples 03-13-12 11:52 AM

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.

Daspydyr 03-13-12 11:55 AM

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?

Cliver 03-13-12 01:53 PM

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...

lobstermike 03-13-12 02:15 PM

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.

Cliver 03-13-12 02:18 PM


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.

I can see where this would be a plus, but clipless pedals make such a huge difference for me on the climbs. I feel a lot stronger/don't wear out as quickly when I'm getting 100% efficiency out of my pedal stroke.

ColinL 03-13-12 02:43 PM

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.

SlimRider 03-14-12 02:02 AM


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.

Yep! Never will forget building up my Giant Innova from scratch and rode it without any grips at all. I almost rattled my teeth out. The next day, I got some nice new Bontrager Satellite Plus Grips and rode the smoothest ride home you could ever imagine.

Grips do make a difference!


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