When we acquire a mountain bike, we want it to accompany us for years and adapt to our needs. That’s why one of the most important decisions when buying a bike is to choose a high-quality frame within our budget. Although we often pay more attention to the stock components, it is crucial to value the quality of the frame and its geometry to ensure it suits our riding style, whether on a full suspension mountain bike or a hardtail mountain bike.
The components, unlike the frame, are elements that can be improved progressively, either due to wear or to optimize performance. Investing in a suitable frame from the beginning will avoid the need to replace it later, which would be a greater expense compared to making upgrades to other parts of the bike.
In this article, we explore how you can upgrade your mountain bike to suit your specific goals. These upgrades can be classified into four main categories:
- Weight
- Performance
- Comfort
- Aesthetics
First upgrade: the wheels
If we want to make a noticeable improvement to our bike, the first and most important place we should look is the wheels. Reducing weight on your mountain bike’s wheels (especially on the outermost area) due to inertia will be where you notice the most change and gain the greatest performance. If, in addition, we change the wheel material and switch to carbon, we will gain stiffness and achieve a much smoother and more stable ride.
👉 Related: The key to reducing your bike’s weight is in the wheels
The importance of tires
The weight of the tires, being on the outermost part of our wheel, will influence much more than, for example, a hub and much more than a seatpost. One option to reduce weight on the outer part of the wheel, and thus gain performance, is to change our tires for lighter ones.
However, this can have the downside that they may tear or puncture more easily. For this, we need to be very clear about the areas we usually ride in, and if it is worth it to use lighter tires or to add a bit more weight and look for a tire reinforced with some material that gives it more resistance, or simply look for a lower TPI.
What is TPI?
The TPI number of a tire indicates the density of nylon threads per square inch of the tire. So if it has a very low TPI, that means it has more rubber and is heavier and, in principle, more resistant. On the other hand, high TPIs indicate that it is a lighter tire.
To tubeless or not to tubeless?
Without a doubt, converting to tubeless is the first upgrade you should make to your mountain bike. It’s an inexpensive upgrade, you’ll reduce the wheel’s weight and you’ll avoid many headaches from punctures. On the downside, tubeless wheels require periodic maintenance. Every six months, you should check the condition of the sealant and either top it up a bit or replace it.
👉 Related: The advantages of using tubeless wheels on a mountain bike
Other components worth investing in
Obviously, drivetrain elements such as the gear group, cassette, chainring, or cranks are the most common investments when looking to improve your bike’s performance.
👉 Related: Should I switch to a 1x12 drivetrain on my mountain bike?
However, there are others that often go unnoticed but can really be a way to improve your mountain bike. Some of them are listed below.
Investing in comfort: the saddle
If it’s often said that every person is a world, that’s even more true when it comes to butts. There’s no consensus on what is the ideal or most comfortable saddle. Our saddle upgrade can be focused on weight, preventing numbness in sensitive areas (anti-prostate saddle), or seeking comfort with more or less padded saddles (although in this case the key will be more in a good chamois pad than in a saddle with a cushion like a sofa).
👉 Related: Tips for buying mountain bike wheels
Changing the stem
Some mountain bike manufacturers manage to lower their prices by equipping stems of lower quality than the rest of the bike, since a better or worse stem is usually not the key factor that makes you choose one bike over another. Here we have a component where you can achieve an improvement in two aspects at a reasonable price:
- In weight. For example, by changing your aluminum stem to a carbon one.
- In performance and comfort. If your bike's geometry doesn't fit you perfectly, by changing the stem you can play with different lengths and angles until you find the one that suits you best.
If you're not sure what position or stem length is ideal for you, we recommend a biomechanical study to avoid future injuries or to optimize your performance.
A wider handlebar
Just like with stems, handlebars are also a component that we can improve, reducing the weight compared to the stock one or even looking for wider handlebars that give us more security on descents.
The grips
Some grips that match the color of the frame or trying different materials like foam or silicone can be other upgrades in the search for comfort, grip, and aesthetics.
Switching the standard seatpost for a dropper post
Not everything has to be about weight improvements. The dropper post can give you that extra comfort and safety on technical descents, adding enjoyment to your rides. For some cyclists the dropper post has become an essential accessory.
If what you're looking for is to buy a mountain bike, the best thing you can do is get one with a good frame. Afterwards, as needs arise (or whims, let's admit that sometimes we are a bit whimsical) you will gradually upgrade your bike to improve it. If you have some money saved up, ideally start with some good wheels.
If not, don't worry either, you can start with some nice grips or pedals from a slightly higher-end superior. Whatever you change, when you try it out you'll feel like a kid with new shoes on your bike.