Building The Ozark Trail Ridge Pro Max Ultra

Recently we bought what might be the best Walmart Bike ever made, in terms of value and upgradability. Today, we’re going to put that to the test by upgrading the absolute heck out of it. If you want to upgrade your Ozark Trail Ridge, here’s the order I would do it in.

Videos 2 weeks early • Exclusive articles • Discussions • You’re in control!

Derailleur, Shifter, and Cassette
Click any link and then “frequently bought together to simplify things)

(Non-Tubeless)

These came with ample hose last time I ordered them. Please be advised you need to run the hose through the frame and bleed them

If you want to buy a 180mm Rotor, I'd say it's a big "optional"

These upgrades will cost you around $1100 including the bike, however you will need some specialty tools if you want to do this yourself. You can improvise, but knowing someone with tools makes it a lot easier. Here are cheap ones.

Berm Peak Hoodies, Beanies, Jerseys, Shirts

Music in this video is from

[thetheflyinghawaiian]

I love that Seth has come full circle to Walmart bikes again after a long hiatus, these are always so fun.

[SendItSteve]

For those frames you can internally route cables by feeding floss into one port, and use a vacuum cleaner to pull it out the other end. Then tape your cable to the floss and guide through!

[davidkendall]

This is an incredible video. It's rare (almost unheard of) that making this many upgrades to a bike is economical. Love that you're using your platform to introduce people to the sport.

[anthonyplana]

You should do the same video but maybe split it into parts and each video can be a step by step how-to for the installation of each part/upgrade, I think the main barrier for what you did with the ozark for a lot of people is the lack of know-how, this stuff looks complicated and the thought of “I might mess something up and end up breaking something while upgrading parts” could be preventing a huge amount of people from doing what you did with the ozark pro max ultra studio

[IlllIlIlIIlll]

Im a simple guy, i see a berm peak video, i click.

[hitnorcal]

I just did this build and I noticed a few things were left out that are pretty important to newbies. I am a newbie and this was/is my first MTB. I had a great time learning how to do all this and ended up buying a toolkit.
1: You can't fit the pre bled MT200 brakes through the frame. That means that you need to buy a bleed kit and new cable kit because the stock cable is not long enough.
2: He doesn't say which teeth to get on the chainring. If you are a beginner like me you should be aware that buying a 36 or 38 might mean that you can't climb. I went for the 32 after doing some research on 10 speeds.
3: You can't use the original chain. According to Microshift sizing the original chain on my medium was two links short and won't allow it to engage the 10th gear. This means that you need to buy a new chain.
4: His recommended rotors come in a 2 pack. Keep that in mind as you might as well change both to 180 and buy an additional adapter rather than leave it unused.

[frog-spit-]

Glad this was sensible upgrades that can actually help guide newcomers to MTB. "I put Kashima on a Walmart bike" videos have been done to death.

[Agklos]

Actually just bought this bike today. I haven't ridden in probably 15 years but my son is officially at the age where he's riding too fast for me to walk/run with him so I needed something to keep up with the kid. Wanted something that could conceivably be upgraded if I end up re-igniting the passion for riding I had as a kid so it's cool seeing these videos now of people doing exactly that.

[HuginMunin]

Great video! One small note, for development iterations, Alpha is actually earlier than Beta. What you have now might be considered the 1.0 release.

[deanohit]

I love that you build top of the line expensive bikes, and the affordable bikes that are more in line with what most people can achieve.
Another hit out of the park with this Seth 👍

[andyk]

Your original review is what made me decide to try a Ridge as my 2nd bike, and first 29er.
The used market by me is ridiculous, and honestly I like to build all of my bikes with parts that I want to use, not necessarily what's included from the factory. I've looked forward to this video for awhile now.
And I too have basically only kept the frame and wheels. Painted the frame also. For the trails and riding I do, it's going to be more capable than I am, and way better than my 11 year old 26er.

[roddinandracin]

Wow, dropped 2 pounds of weight and made good upgrades! For $1, 100ish bucks, you made every old school hot rod guy proud! Nice work!

[VisionMTB]

It's a good upgrade platform for sure. If you are already riding a cheap hardtail though you might be better off looking at something like a Polygon Siskiu D5 for like $1k that will give you a lot more possibilities and capability. Love the name although maybe Ozark Trail Ridge Pro Max Ultra Oscar Beta would be a better name.

[cheese-it]

About a year ago, I bought a used specialized pitch sport from 2016. Ever since, I've done almost the exact same upgrades. It has been a fun project to work on, and I highly recommend anyone who likes working on stuff to do the same. Overall, it was an amazing experience.

[MichaelRei]

I think we need to give a little Love to Kev Central. Without him these Walmart bikes would not be as good as they are or even real mountain bikes!!

[travisc]

Mentioned not needing a lot of specialty tools. A video idea that's different but kind of the same would be putting together a harbor freight tool kit on the cheap. Find the best cheapest tools to accommodate bike maintenance/upgrades. And maybe point out the tools that are bike specific that someone would eventually need.

[Meurg]

This is the content that turned me onto SBH initially and what I've been missing. Telling a story but with affordable bikes.

[UbiquitousDIY]

FYI, you can get longer axles to replace the original front hub axle meaning you could bolt (nut?) the front wheel on for some extra front end stiffness. An up[grade that costs pennies but will stiffen up the front end immensely. You just need to carry a spanner.

[Lava_]

Why dont you make more building videos or bike flips?

[DernsDesigns]

Ok, so I am trying to replicate your build, totally dig your content. However I am corn-fused now, the links for the drive train are working and valid, however on your trail review you mentioned Shimano 12speed components. Would you mind sharing what group you actually decided to choose? Keep up the great work!