Don’t Waste Your Money On These Mountain Bike Upgrades!

bullshit, oilslick titanium bolts are THE upgrade ahaha

I made the first two recently 😆

I call it JEWELRY. So many small upgrades are just jewelry, needed for the only purpose of making us feel good. The drivetrains and shifters, in particular, from one model to another can get more fancy and a little smoother, but no big real difference.

mtb is just like rolex.

Really good to see sensible advice during an economic crunch. They'll always be vanity purchases, but this at least reminds us they are.

Hoping to see more videos and articles like this one in 2024 🎉🎉🎉

I spent $300 US on my previous mountain bike. It was a Gravity Knockout, it had a lower price because the frame designer made an error and the chain would not clear the frame on smallest cog. I simply turned the set screw to limit the last gear and was off riding. It used the best tires I have ever used, the Duro 26x3 inch tire. No suspension is needed on these big tires and I could air down to 15psi and have zero fear of damaging the rim or having a tire roll off the bead. You only need suspension for long air flights, the fat tires are far superior to any suspension for soaking up roots and rocks. I don't know why any recreational cyclist today is still using 2 inch wide tires. Weight off road is of little concern to me when I am being fatigued by the constant vibration of rocks and roots of a 2 inch tire with suspension, I never noticed a weight difference of the fat tires + the weight savings of a rigid steel fork. And those Duro tires were thick and tough, only 2 flats in 7 years, comparatively, my new bike with 26x4 tires, thin as paper, had 5 flats just this year.

I will never NEVER go back to those skinny awful 2 inch wide tires. The only reason I didn't buy another 26x3 bike is because that tire size was almost impossible to replace. But now that bike is available again and I found a source for the Duro 26x3, the bike is only $350 today. A simple excellent bike for hard core riding and 7 years of use without failure. Why would recreational riders be on bikes that cost more?

(Rode pro in the 1980s, been mountain biking since 1982, I ride in the extreme mountains of the wilderness of Northern California)

(because of my extreme mileages I retire aluminum frames at about 7 years. I have cracked frames on Schwinn, Specialized, Trek, and Motobecane and now am more careful, the Gravity however never did break, I just assumed it was time).

My maon ride is a 20 year ols Cannondale Jeykll 800,cant afford to look at new bikes let alone buy one

Best tip: Don't follow the manufacturers service interval for your forks. There is really no need to service your forks or rear suspension all the time. The seals almost last forever, and it normally won't leak for almost the lifetime of the bike. On my 2007 bike i have had the fork serviced one time years ago and never serviced the rear shock and they run flawless still and the airpressure is still the same as when i last pumped it to the correct pressure for my weight years ago.
If you think about it you don't get the dampers on your car serviced every year do you? Or ever really except if it totally fails.

I returned to aluminium wheels for my most recent bikes, they are cheap and in both cases a 100g difference per set doesn't do much for me. Hey on MTB's I saved up to 100g with ti and aluminium hardware, I must add if you're clever about it Titanium hardware is pretty cheap. Under 40$ you can easily do a whole bike if you wait 2 weeks for delivery 💀🤣

I hate what the industry is telling me to buy, keep your 100$ 60g dropper lever I have one thats 19$ and 32g. Works better too it doesn't eat cables 😈

For me the switch from mechanic to wireless shifting was mindblowing. Never going back to mechanic.

Instagram/hype hunters will hate 😂 I only disagree with one thing. Based on my personal experience, carbon bars are stiff as hell, and will just transfer those vibrations even more to your hands. The last carbon bars I tried were the 35mm Race Face SixC. I went back to 31.8mm alloy bars, and the difference was night and day. A very high front end, SQLab bars with 16mm backsweep, and Progrip dual compound, slide on moto grips work wonders. More upright riding position results in not having to hold my upper body as much, amd more control of the weighing of the front wheel. 16mm backsweep is a way more natural position for the wrist. Having a harder compond rubber instead a piece of plastic between the bars and a thicker, soft rubber to hold onto just cancels vibrations better, than an offended liberal, who sees an twitter comment, that doesn't match their opinion.

A feather light carbon hardtail climbs better than any bike, if superior climbing is your goal a dualy with lockout is just too heavy. as far as useless expensive upgrades what about ceramic bearings ?

Yeah carbon wheels make a massive difference straight out the gate.

Rolling on carbon wheels for the first time - Specialized Epic Expert EVO - and as rocket-fast road+dirt climber when it's 7% - 12% grade for 5+ miles , oh man, they make a massive massive difference. When a cog down on all my favorite climbs. - AB in Sunny Happy Santa Barbara, California

nice wheels, whether carbon or aluminum make a noticeable difference, all the other carbon BS is true for most people. I do have some carbon bars that do eliminate the pain in my hands, but I can't sy that another pair of alloy bars wouldn't do the same.

After many, many yrs of riding I have found (as he mentioned) carbon bars to be one of the biggest game changers. I'm old (54) and they add a ton of dampening on the trails and definitely lessen trail fatigue on longer DH's. If you are riding aluminum, it is worth the $$ to switch fo' sho'!! Carry on!

My XO transmission is the best $1500 I've spent on a bike !

Blud has literally no clue wut he taking bout

Yes you need these…If you don’t have the money you can use some of equivalent options like these but the carbon wheels and carbon frame and xx cassette and xx chains are perfect to use in a bike 👍🏻👍🏻 if you have the chance to buy high end products you must buy and use these👍🏻💯💯

The moment we realise we don't need "cockpits" but just "handlebars" we'll spare a fortune

Smoked a XTR derailleur and replaced with an XT, Got rid of the creaky XT cassette for a Deore, shifts better I think. I didn't think the carbon cage on the XTR was that great as compared to the less expensive and minimally heavier XT.

Titanium bolts are my favorite target for a soothing day of shopping therapy. Ohhhhhhhhh shinnnnnny!

I was going back from "vibration reducing carbon bars" to the Spank vibrocore handlebar and will never go back to carbon. Now i have no problems with arm pump anymore thx to aluminium.

I would argue about the "Oil Slick" Ti hardware. I live near the Pacific Ocean, where you can watch rust form on metal, while you are drinking your morning coffee, and you will see the need for Ti bolts, over the stock steel bolts in no time. I do love my carbon bits, though I would admit that I am more of a "Weight Winnie" with my carbon road bike, and so I have Carbon Wheels, plus Carbon cranks, bars, stem, stem stack (spacers), seat post clamp and seat post, and water bottle cages. My Alloy MTB does have Carbon bars, stem stack (spacers), and a carbon water bottle cage. On both style bikes, I prefer Carbon bars over Alloy, as the carbon soften the "Jolts" to my hands compared to alloy bars. I currently quality Alloy Flats on one MTB, and on the previously meantioned MTB near the ocean, I am running RaceFace "Chester" pedals. less expensive, lighter weight, "grippy" and offered in various color choices.

Pedals are pretty subjective. My fave are e*thirteen base pedals. I've tried a few and settled on them. My son loves my Diety deftrap pedals I took off. My next fave is a cheapo rockbros set of pedals I got off amazon. Surprisingly good.

For decades, I rode only alu mtb and road bikes. Basically budget bikes with decent components. Several years ago, I hit my 50s and had a bit of a mid-life crisis moment where I decided to treat myself to the bikes and component upgrades I long wanted but resisted buying. Sold my alu bikes and bought a quality carbon endurance road bike, and steel mtb & road bikes. Fitted all w/carbon wheels, expensive tires, saddles, seat posts and pedals etc (though I haven't gone di2 on any of my bikes). Probably spent over 8k on upgraded components alone. While perhaps not necessarily money well spent since my ride quality didn't improve to the same extent the amount spent would suggest, I'm still glad that I indulged. I gained a lot of perspective since then and no longer feel the same desire for the newest, latest bike or component, having become content with what I have. In fact, for two of my bikes, (one road and my mtb) I switched back to the original stock alloy rims, finding they offered a better ride than the expensive carbon wheels I upgraded to.

Pedals - agree that basic Shimano SPDs are a high value and well-perming choice, but disagree about going (too) cheap on flats. Most pedals I have had feel fine at first, but there is a HUGE difference in grip and feel among different flat pedal designs and, in my experience, longevity of performance between rebuilds. My first pair of flats, which I bought because they were a "value" proposition from a well known company, lasted about a year before they developed too much play to be usable. Parts for rebuilding were not easily available and I ended up taking a chance a second pair. After another year these failed also failed and I replaced them with a pair of Deity Bladerunners, which cost twice as much but had far better grip and feel, lasted three years of heavy riding before needing a rebuild and could be rebuilt easily with a reasonably priced service kit from Deity. Better performance and a far better value over time.

For me only few upgrades I would do.: front and rear shock, drive train and brakes. The rest is just aesthetic. Maybe carbon rims

Eddy was right
“Don’t buy upgrades
Ride up grades”

Just upgraded my bike with all theese stuffs last black friday ‘-_-

I don’t do upgrades to enhance the performance, I do it because I want to. I love carbon fiber and titanium, I love color coordination, and I love anything that catches my eye. My bike is not to show off, it’s for me to ride and oogle when I walk away from it. Lol.

Im a Big fan of going SLX with a XT shifter and run this setup on my Stumpy and Scotts :)>

i have almost all of these on my bike LOL (carbon parts, top spec fork (Fox 32 Factory Stepcast) and drivetrain too (Shimano XTR)) but mine is a xc bike and i'm a weight weenie lol, the only thing i'm missing are titanium bolts

If you want to spend 3000 on carbon bling just think about what kind of (extra) mountainbike trips you could make for that money. And which one would make you a better rider and which you'll remember after a couple years. If you think 3000 dollar/pounds/euros is a lot for a mtb trip just don't buy the bling.

Um, no. Carbon wheels are amazing. I agree that other carbon is more of a weight weenie thing, but I love my carbon rims, and I can't beleive a mainstream channel, is claiming they are not worth it. Expensive yes, and arguably not the preference of everyone, but simply claiming they don't make a difference is wrong.

Got to disagree on the pedal upgrade. I went to TMAC Alloy from composite One Ups and found the size and stiffness much better let alone the durability. Ones thing to not rule out upgrades is the perceived or placebo effect. If you feel good you ride good. Maybe not $3000 better though. Imagine what $3000 of coaching could get you.

Disagree on pedals.

I only decided to upgrade my forks when Fox updated their lineup from the 2020 to 2021 model years. They revamped the whole design and I feel it was completely worth it.

I’m a sucker for carbon fiber, I just think it’s a really cool material. That being said, I don’t think I would ever buy carbon cranks again, but I do love my carbon frame, wheels, and handlebars.

My Pivot Shadowcat even has titanium cable pinch bolts. XTR pedals as well as DMR Camo Vault. XX carbon cranks with EThirteen chainring, cassette, and handlebar. Eagle wireless derailleur as well as the wireless RockShox seatpost. Of course it has ENVE wheels with Industry 9 hubs. Ohh it’s got Fox Live Valve. Yes I work at a bike shop.

Why even buy a bike? Just trail run if you want the ultimate budget build.

Pedals is one of the most important upgrade on a bike !

I've been running carbon bars on all my bikes for years now and wouldn't go back

Oh, there are other pedals than the M530 and M700. Good to know. ;)

Imo, fork and rear suspension is the most important upgrade on the bike. 2nd are the tires, then Brake set.

I will never forget the first carbon frame I rode. Galactic difference. I’m tall and weigh more than average riders, so maybe I noticed it more, but the torsion flex difference was mind blowing. I would never ride an aluminum frame again. Did once, thought I was gonna die.

So what am i going to use my money on again? Just die with them on my account? Not mocking, I'm serious, if you cant spend some extra on nice things for your PASSION, what the hell should you then spend it on?

After riding the high-end bike, it's very difficult to go back

the nukeproof horizon DH pedals are now £25 and the mosy grippy pedals ever. so worth it + five ten freerider pro