Essential First Upgrades | What To Upgrade On Your New Bike?

You've just got a new bike, maybe even second hand and you are looking to make it your own? Check out our list of essential upgrades!

What did you upgrade first on your bike?

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[gmbn]

What did you upgrade first on your bike?

[cmullallymtb]

Tyres are the only thing that touch the ground...*me thinking about my bruised face*

[ridingwiththereids]

Dropper post was the best upgrade I've ever done.

[Reignality]

C'mon Martyn! You know very well that our tires are not the only parts that touch the ground as seen in Fails & Bails!

[austinelser]

I've done all of those, therefore, time for a new bike!!! n+1

[thierryatkinson]

Martyn Ashton: tyres the only part that touches the ground.
Everyone who sends it: unless you crash then your whole bike finna hit the ground if you crash

[rossbeake]

I paid £350 for my whole bike, I was thinking more along the lines of mudguards and chain guides haha

[Marc]

Brakes.
Definitely brakes.
I had very weak Hayes Sole with 160mm Discs front and rear.
Next thing was a wider bar and a shorter stem, making the bike feel more direct and switching directions a lot faster.

Now I changed every part of the bike.
Wheels, fork, tires, pedals, switched the crankset from octalink to hollowtech II and made it a 1x10 drivetrain.

I saved around 3-4Kg

I just love to transform a frame into something new and something that I did myself.

[TheSookean]

I’ve used a Brooks saddle on all of my bikes for the last few years...sure it’s not the coolest shape or newest tech but it is some kind of comfortable 👍

[iancanuckistan]

Contact points are the first upgrade. If you're not comfortable on your bike, all the other upgrades won't help.

Can confirm the part about the saddle. Two months ago I did a weekend tour with a new saddle and had a date on Sunday evening. My performance and responsiveness were greatly impaired that evening. Bought another new saddle on Monday morning.

[Ptank]

Recently Installed a dropper post and is a great addition. Pedals and different brake pads were done in the past. One I also did was changed my front ring to a smaller to suit the terrain I ride

[zeroa]

you should have talked about the massive importance that is a proper set of shoes for flats. personally i really like shimanoe's gr7 line. the michelin soles are not only excellent for bikes but also hiking rocky terrain. that and they last several thousand miles. probably even longer if you use short pins. i switched over to 10mm crankbros on my vp vice and whilst the grip is phenomenal its definitely eating into the soles far quicker. that could be a video in of itself, testing out the durability of shoes and performance ratios of the differing pin sizes/configurations.

[Accretion]

For me, an upgraded Fox fork, tires and ks Lev speedup dropper were the best upgrades on my bike. 🤘

[kriseightyfive]

Well, first I have to upgrade myself, since I've had a nasty OTB today (+winded & bruised ribs). To bad it's not on camera for F&B lol

[TheBulbasur]

I've upgraded everything on my bike, except the frame. Its a 2015 Scott urban style MTB, so wasnt that suited for trails... bought it for transport in the city instead of my car. Then i caught the trail fever.
Dropper post and a pair of good flatpedals and shoes are the best upgrades ive done.

[skatertwentree]

Bought a pandemic Rockhopper Sport last year and was on the fence about getting a dropper post for it. Bit the bullet and bought one a few weeks ago and really just wow. I wish I had got it right off the bat. I can't say enough good things about it. I live in a very hilly area with constant ups and downs. Before, I would make excuses not to ride because it was so annoying to get on and off the bike to change the seat height. Now I'm pretty much out riding every day (and night.) I think I change my seat height more often than I change gears. Best upgrade ever!

[simondrew]

I keep the bars, pedals, saddle & grips back wherever I change bikes - means even if it’s a completely different type of mountain bike the contact points are familiar which is always good for confidence 👍🏻

[bjorgvinmani]

0:36. Only thing that touches? He may have forgot that we crash😂

[mtwhrj]

My first 4: bottle holder, rear light, tires, hollowtech crankset with ceramic bb