5 Cheap Ways To Upgrade Your MTB | Mountain Bike Hacks

There are few sports that are as expensive as mountain biking 💸, and that’s not even taking into account helmets and other accessories. And the problem is: we always want to upgrade what we have. Luckily, Blake and Rich have a few free upgrades you can try with a few bits and pieces you probably have lying around your house.

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[gmbn]

What's your favourite MTBers life hack? Let us know 👇

[YanDoroshenko]

It's a good thing Doddy can show us how to make a mudguard from an old milk jug and attach it to a $1200 fork.

[netposerx]

Zip tie'ing a piece of old tire onto the downtube of your $7K bike made me laugh.

[FalcoBikes]

Doddy -- nice $0.05 fenders for your $10K Scott Genius w/ $1000+ Fox fork (Kashima, etc.)！

[eliotcrowe]

I think my body needs more protection than my bike, so I'm going to zip-tie old tyres all over my body until I look like a black knobbly version of the Michelin man!

[migatron]

Pah ! Who needs expensive frame protection ! I've used 5000 cable ties to wrap my entire frame 👍

[guk]

1:50 take out the seat post and stretch the tube around it. When you push it down it will fold up like an old suspension fork

[neildaniel]

Love the way a near-new Continental tyre has so quickly been demoted to frame bandage so you can all fit spangly new Vittoria's!

[readysetnogo]

I picked this up when I worked as a bike tech in Utah, but a better idea for a chain stay protector is to wrap a used tube around it like you're wrapping some road bars. Really skinny road tubes work best and of you don't have one, go ask your local bike shop if you can get one from their trash bin since they're bound to have one. Some tips: 1. fold the open ends over once so it looks a bit neater once installed 2. Stretch the tube a bit as you are wrapping it. It will keep it snug on the frame for years to come, and it will let you secure it entirely with just one zip tie at the end of the wrap. 3. Consistency in how much each layer overlaps leads to a better looking end product. I've used this on one of my bikes for years and it actually looks pretty cool when done neatly, and it's basically free since the bike shop may even give you the zip tie for free too 😉.

[gregmitchell]

#Blake Samson you forgot the intro. "Welcome back YOU beautiful people"

[fazza]

Are we just gonna ignore the fact he created a foreskin for his dropper

[somerandomguywastaken]

That dropper post is actually a sick idea. I'm impressed GMBN

[woodysmuddy]

These are great, especially for us still holding on lovingly to our slightly older bikes function over form. 👍

[wilmatayag]

are these guys mountain bikers or comedians? contents always got a bit of sense of humour. like it

[lightbulbjim]

They're "free, and cost you pennies" :-D

[samengland]

1:12 just a subtle Easter egg for continental to let them know your partnership is partnership is finnished 😂

[Van_Nop]

Awesome video, and glad to see Rich fit in so snug too!.. well done you beautiful presenters!

[noedelacroix]

The dropper post hack was firstly seen on Seth Bike Hacks but it is sick and it works

[Alex-iyqe]

I love the recommendations for low cost upgrades. As we all know our bikes have broken our ‘fun’ budgets indefinitely, and in some cases exceed the value of our cars/trucks/vans. Let’s go to ‘pint’ economy.

1-3 Pints = Mud Guard
3-10 Pints = Geometric Frame Protector
10-25 Pints = New Pedals
25+ Pints = New Dropper Post

Trading Pints for MTB Upgrades…Life is all about compromise!

[leeteemtb]

Mud guards on your forks I always use a 2 litre empty pop bottle. Boom. Plus can I suggest use electrical insulation tape on your frame where you use cable zip ties as it doesn't rub or mark your beloved steed