Most bikes are pretty great right off the showroom floor. But there’s always room for improvement.
Upgrades will improve shortcomings and help make your bike more suited to your needs and riding conditions. Or maybe you just want it to be a bit more colorful.
Whether you want improved performance, comfort, or appearance, there are almost endless options for your mountain bike.
Below are expert picks for the best places to start upgrading your bike. I broke it down by bike price buckets: The most effective upgrades for a $750 bike differ from the best places to start upgrading a $3,000 bike.
Consider these picks as good places to start, even if your bike is a bit more or less expensive than my selected buckets.
Upgrades for Your $750 Bike
Tires
You will see this advice throughout the article: Tires are one of the best upgrades you can make to almost any bike. A high-quality tire is lighter, rolls better, provides more grip, and is more flat-resistant than the cost-conscious tires on less expensive bikes.
While some tires sell for $100 each or more, American Classic’s tires are $48 to $50 each and perform very well. I’ve tested American Classic’s mountain bike tires locally in Durango, Colorado, as well as in Moab, Sedona, Whistler, and Squamish, British Columbia, and have come away impressed with the performance you get for the price.
They offer tread patterns with bigger-knobbed tires if you prefer more traction and faster-rolling tires with smaller blocks for a lighter and quicker feel.
American Classic’s tires are tubeless-ready but work just fine with tubes.
Pedals
A good set of pedals dramatically improves your connection to the bike, improving control, confidence, and security. Good pedals last a long time, and they can be transferred over if you buy a new bike in the future.
You’re probably already on flat pedals. But they’re probably cheap and don’t perform as well as a higher quality pedal. OneUp’s Composite pedal costs around $50 and offers excellent feel and great traction. The pins are replaceable, and you can fine-tune traction by removing pins. This is a very high-performance pedal that just happens to be reasonably priced.
If you want to invest in a premium aluminum flat pedal that will last for many years, Wolf Tooth’s Waveform ($200) is made in the USA, strong as heck, and the brand offers a full suite of repair and replacement parts through their right-to-repair program.
You can use any shoe with a flat pedal, but shoes specifically designed for flat pedals offer the best comfort, control, and experience on rides. The Vans BMX Old Skool (MSRP $85, but often on sale) is a decent lower-priced option, while the Specialized 2FO Roost (normally $120) is one of the best flat-pedal shoes you can buy.
You might also consider the move to clipless pedals. These incorporate ski-binding-like jaws into the pedal with a cleat that sits in a recessed pocket in the shoe. Many riders prefer the more secure and efficient feel of being clipped in, but there is a learning curve, and most riders will tip over a few times before they master clipping out at a moment’s notice (I’ve used clipless pedals for over 30 years, and I still occasionally tip over).
The Shimano SPD pedal is the longtime standard in clipless mountain bike pedals, and the one almost everyone copies. The M520 ($50) is a robust, double-sided pedal that functions identically to the top-of-the-line XTR SPD ($180).
If you don’t want to ride clipped in every ride, Shimano offers the EH500 with an SPD interface on one side and a flat pedal on the other.
Clipless pedals require special shoes with a recessed cleat pocket. The Specialized Recon 1.0 ($120) is a great shoe for mountain biking (or any style of riding) with a grippy sole, a premium Boa closure, and features a stiff sole for support when clipped in but a flexible toe for more comfortable walking off the bike.
Upgrades for Your $1,300 Bike
Tires
The stock tires on your bike were picked for their price, not performance. Upgrading to higher-quality tires will make your bike lighter and faster-rolling, and it will perform better on the trail.
For mountain biking, it’s hard to go wrong with the most legendary and regarded tire of all time: The Maxxis Minion DHF. Maxxis makes this tire in a boggling number of SKUs, but the place to start is with the 3C Maxx Terra version (3CT/EXO in Maxxis shorthand, $87 each). This tire is legendary for its consistent grip and performance in a wide range of conditions.
If you want something that offers good off-road performance but is faster-rolling than the Minion DHF, that’s the Maxxis Forekaster. Again, start with the 3C Maxx Terra (3CT/EXO, $87 each) version.
Tubeless conversion
More and more, $1,200 mountain bikes are “tubeless-ready” like the Rockhopper above. That means the wheels and (sometimes) tires follow industry standards for safe use without tubes. However, most bikes roll out of the shop with tubes.
Converting to a tubeless system will reduce weight and rolling resistance and make the tires more flat-resistant.
You’ll need to buy sealant for sure (about $16 for 8 oz, enough for two mountain bike tires). Depending on the bike and how it’s equipped from the factory, you may also need to purchase tubeless valves (about $20 for basic valves), rim tape ($10 to $20 depending on width and length). Convenient kits with tape, valves, and sealant are also available.
You may also need tubeless-compatible tires (figure about $50 to $95 each for a high-performance tubeless tire). And if you have a shop perform the conversion, you’ll also need to pay for labor.
Dropper Post
Although some $1,200 bikes do have dropper posts—which lower and raise several centimeters with a press of a handlebar remote—it’s still not a standard accessory. If your bike doesn’t have a dropper, get one immediately—it’s one of the best mountain bike innovations ever created.
Dropping the post lets you lower your center of gravity and offers more room to move your body around while riding. Doing so massively improves your ability to control the bike, especially on descents and more technical sections of trail. It’s also nice to drop your saddle when stopped, and it makes getting rolling again easier.
Dropper posts are a technical piece of hardware and not particularly cheap—some are $800—but PNW’s Range ($200 with remote, cable, and housing) is a good post at a reasonable price with an included remote. Plus, it has a lifetime warranty.
Upgrades for Your $2,500 Bike
Tires
You’ll still find heavy wire-bead tires on $2,500 bikes, so, like the less expensive categories here, upgrading to a lighter and higher-quality tire will make your bike feel and perform better.
Fork
As you spend more on a bike, significant upgrades also become more expensive. Other than the frame, a suspension fork arguably has a more significant influence on a bike’s overall performance than any other single part. The stock forks on $2,500 bikes are okay, but a higher-end fork will noticeably level up the bike’s performance. The highest-end forks now sell for $1,000 or more, but you can save some money, often without sacrificing performance or features, if you purchase from a brand’s second-tier line.
Fox’s Performance series is almost identical to the top-of-the-line Factory series in all significant ways but is hundreds cheaper. They’re highly tunable, smooth, and reliable forks that offer top-flight performance.
Brakes
Another hugely beneficial upgrade you can make is more powerful brakes. These will offer not just more control; they’ll be more consistent in demanding situations and also let you ride more confidently. Shimano’s XT M8120 four-piston brake ($230 per wheel, rotors extra) offers enormous power and good modulation with a light and smooth lever feel.
Upgrades for Your $5,000 Bike
Wheelset
A modern $5,000 bike should be quite dialed in stock form, but it’s likely to still have an aluminum wheelset with mid-grade hubs. You can enhance its performance with a high-quality carbon wheelset.
For trail bikes, I’m mightily impressed with the Roval Traverse SL II, which is fairly light and offers excellent performance on the trail and fends off flats well. You can get a set with Industry Nine’s 1/1 hubs for $1,500, or step up to the ultra-reliable DT-Swiss 240 hubs ($2,300).
For XC bikes, Enve’s new M5 wheel ($2,300) impressed us, but if you want to spend less, Hunt offers a 1,254-gram wheelset with carbon spokes for $1,899.
If you’re looking for an all-around wheelset for XC to mid-travel bikes, I’ve been riding Zipp’s new HiTop S ($1,350/pair) for many months on my Yeti SB120 Lunch Ride, and it feels perfect.
Fork and Shock
Upgrading to top-of-the-line suspension will get you the lightest, highest-tech, and most adjustable components available. In a perfect world, these will offer a more refined and personalized ride, allowing you to maximize your fun and performance on the trail.
You’ll be looking at Fox’s Factory series parts or Ultimate level units from RockShox. Both offer very good performance and easy setup.
For shocks, you’ll have your choice of spring. Choose a coil spring for more sensitivity and consistency in demanding use cases. Choose an air spring if you want a lighter, more adjustable, and more progressive shock. There are also trick hybrid spring shocks like the Cane Creek Tigon that combine attributes of both coil and air springs.
SRAM Transmission
If you’ve purchased a mountain bike in the past few years, there’s a good chance it has a UDH on it. And a UDH frame is required if you want to use SRAM’s smooth-shifting and almost indestructible Transmission drivetrain.
If you don’t have Transmission, it may be worth stepping up. It has its quirks—it’s heavy and slow-shifting—but you don’t need to worry about when to shift (you can shift under full power) or breaking a derailleur hanger. And in the rare chance you do damage a Transmission derailleur, you can replace many of its parts.
GX Transmission is SRAM’s lowest-priced electronic shifting group (about $1,100) with the bomber “Full Mount” derailleur. You can spend more on the lighter XO, XX, or XX SL groups, but the performance difference is minimal.
Bearings
Your bike’s stock bearings will be fine for a while. But you can increase the time between bearing service, and possibly make your bike quieter and smoother, by upgrading your bearings. This upgrade won’t make your bike perform much differently, but it will make it easier to live with. And, potentially, dress it up with your favorite color.
It’s hard to suggest any bearing upgrade besides Chris King’s headsets and bottom brackets. They’re USA-made, super dependable, and serviceable.
Upgrades for Your High-End Bike
Personalization
If you bought a high-end mountain bike, it probably doesn’t need anything. Still, you can personalize it in endless ways to make it more special to you.
You can start with details like titanium bolts to dress up the bike and maybe save a few grams. New brake levers also offer some color and might offer improved stiffness and ergonomics over stock.
Frame protection kits not only protect your bike from damage, they can also dress it up. Several brands offer kits with off-the-shelf designs, and some let you place fully customized graphics on the protection for one-of-one style.
Other options: Titanium cranks, a saddle angle adjuster, Industry Nine wheels with customized spoke and hub colors, a chain damper, some lightweight carbon upgrades for your derailleur, and custom titanium thru-axles.
Suspension Tune
Your bike has good suspension but not suspension custom-tuned for your weight and riding style. Working with a good suspension tuner can unlock more performance from your stock parts.
Boutique Suspension
RockShox and Fox? Too common, too normal, too boring! What you want is boutique suspension like Push, Ohlins, or EXT. Does it work any better than Fox and RockShox? Maybe—or maybe not. It won’t be the difference between 500th and top 10 on the Strava leaderboard, but your bike will look like a champion.
Smart Suspension
Fox and RockShox offer suspension components that use electronics to automatically switch modes as you ride. As you can probably guess, this stuff is expensive, but the benefit is a stiffer and more efficient bike for pedaling sections of trail and a softer and more controlled ride on descents with no need for the rider to do anything but pedal (and keep batteries charged).
Fox’s Live Valve Neo system is, so far, only incorporated into the shock. It’s ultra-sleek and nearly silent.
The RockShox Flight Attendant system resides in the fork and shock. It controls both, independently switching the modes of the front and rear suspension in reaction to trail conditions, and its performance can be additionally refined if a SRAM power meter is paired to the system. It’s much noisier than Fox’s Neo, but Flight Attendant offers a more noticeable change in a bike’s character.
Paint
And finally, you can make your bike truly one of a kind and personal with custom paint. Intricate paint will cost thousands of dollars—potentially as much as a frame or whole bike; simpler designs are less expensive but hardly cheap.
A gear editor for his entire career, Matt’s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he’s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling, Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you’re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn’t race often, but he’s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race.
