5 Ridiculously Cheap Upgrades For Your Bike! | Maintenance Monday

Bike upgrades can often be very expensive. High end wheels, custom paint jobs and top tier groupsets will certainly burn a hole in your budget. But you don’t need to spend a fortune if you want to improve and personalize your ride. Here are our top 5 ridiculously cheap upgrades for your bike!

0:00 Intro
0:24 Custom Stem Cap
1:08 Higher Spec Inner Tubes
1:44 Anodized Valves
2:21 Bar Tape
3:25 Degreaser
4:12 Outro

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What budget upgrades have you done to your bike? Let us know in the comments below! 💬

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[gcntech]

What budget upgrades have you done to your bike?

[saddleweary]

I moved my magnet closer to the hub, didn't cost a thing and it increased my speed 5mph according to the speedometer

[philipcooper]

It's not an upgrade, but finding the ideal tyre pressure (front/rear) for your weight and style of riding makes all the difference.

[kuri]

A bell that hangs off my handlebar. Great when cycling on the deserted forest roads in Japan. Helps warn the bears that I'm pedaling by...

[RussellChapman]

White spirit and a paint brush, best degreaser I have found, and cheap.

[not-a-raccoon]

Upgrading tires from stock was the first thing I did. It doesn't have to be the expensive tires. I went with Conti Ultra Sport at first (running gp5000 now) and the difference in ride feel, speed, and puncture protection was very noticeable.

[imbaness]

Not necessarily cheap, but tools are perhaps one of the best upgrade for your bike.

[shepshape]

I have the custom stem cap, great, inexpensive addition. Haven't tried the upgraded tubes but that's next. As for the sweat from riding a trainer, there's an easy solution. It's called a towel. Drape it over your stem and bars and keep that sweat off your bike! Also, when you want to get in an aero position, the towel gives your arms a nice comfortable place to rest. Just make sure you take it off the bike and wash it regularly, don't be nasty lol

[spaghettibadger]

I didn't believe Ollie about Latex tubes but I finally got some.

Wow, night and day differences even on the flat I was taking minutes off strava segments with much less effort on my part.

[kalenderquantentunnel]

The Moment I saw Ollie's face and the title of the video I knew Latex Innertubes would be in the mix! Thumbsup to this! 😅

[khazza]

Best budget-friendly upgrade: replace your worn out brake pads and frayed brake cables (and housing)... used to be my favourite thing (until I switched to disc brakes)

[tarmaccio]

If you're on a budget, the cheapest and best degreaser you can opt for is detergent with warm water, not Muc-Off. It's also the best when you're not on a budget – tried it both ways. Works perfectly :)

[weeringjohnny]

If I really was properly broke then I fear a customised stem cap might not be right on top of my to-do list.

[gwapingk]

I think I need to improve my fitness rather than worry bout any upgrades🤣

[DigitalMan]

Capz did my stem cap, looks class, & yes, they can do literally anything (mine was an album cover)

[sudipchatterjee]

That’s the greatest intro for a bike video in bike-video history! 🙌

[권용대-bv]

As a beginner cyclist, the best budget upgrade I can think of is a pair of clipless shoes and pedals. They make a huge difference.

[Bazza]

Best upgrade is a tenner for a tube of Sikaflex 221 black adhesive sealant...then smear a thin layer over all the mesh panels and fill all air vents on the soles of your road cycling shoes. Then do your other MTB cycling shoes, it is after all the wet cold UK and not the south of Spain we live in and this is cheaper than the Sealskinz socks you need to wear 354 days a If you've enough left you could try filling all the vents in your helmet to keep out the flies, wasps and rain (or buy a helmet from Aldi, at least they put a mesh in theirs unlike the posh expensive brands, despite the hefty 2g penalty....)

[richardbutterfield]

hi i use pipe cleaners to clean my gear - they are really cheap and you can soak them in cleaner and use them to clean right down between the gears.

[bluej]

It's not budget but I think the best bang for your buck upgrade is a bike fit. Don't need a crazy fancy one but even a basic fit is probably the best bang for your buck.