bang per buck, what are the most effective upgrades?

mozzy10

I'm just asking as I am in the process of upgrading my QR's. At 20 quid for 31g allen key set from eBay they seem a good deal. But it made me think, I will almost defiantly notice no difference in performance.

So where do you really notice the extra dosh on your bike. Where have you noticed biggest performance increase from upgrades? And which parts make no difference at all and offer only aesthetic/psychological advantages?

I have had my Haro Escape for 10 years (I think) and all but the frame has changed. By far the biggest performance gain was in lighter wheels/tyres. I noticed no difference going from deore to xt rear mech, set up and cable condition is far more noticeable.

Where have you noticed the biggest improvement, and what upgrades have been pointless/most dissapointing.

JamesBrckmn

i noticed a big improvement upgrading tyres, in easier acceleration and improved grip, as they were lighter and grippier. upgrading my pedals was my most disapointing upgrade as i got cheap shitty ones, but i should have spent more on wellgo mg1's/b 25's. upgrading my stem and handle bars was good too, but that was for a change of position and more strength rather than being lighter

mozzy10

yeh, I've gone through three stems and three bars on my bike. Non have been particulary expensive, but I have noticed no improvemnt through lower weight or extra stiffness, only that the new position is more comfortable.

tyres have been a big one for me too. My conti race king on the back is so much better than the wire conti vapor i had. Much faster and suprising gripping in loose of rocky condition (rubbish in mud though). But the 200g weight saving is easy to notice on wheels.

I often wonder for the average non-competitive cyclist whether buying above SLX has any noticible benefit. It would be interesting (but very dangerous) to do a blind test between SLX and XTR.

JamesBrckmn

Basically, if you are looking to save weight, rotating weight is best, and remember on wheels etc, the further from the centre is it, the more effect it will have - lighter tyres or rims will have more effect then lighter qr's or hubs. Other bit's of rotating weight you could upgrade are pedals, cranks, cassete, sprockets, chainrings, discs, and maybe the chain?

Anonymous

tires are often the best place to lose anything upto a pound in weight for about 50 quid, this will alter the handling of any bike in a good way,

things like bars and stems will alter the feel of a bike and for many this equates to a big performnce upgrade as the bike is easier to manoeuvre or increases comfort to the extent that the bike is more fun.

lots of bike "upgrades" are in all honesty just nice little gucci bits with no discernible performance increase apart from looking good. there is nothing wrong with this. i like thomson seat posts because they look good, they are no lighter or stronger than any of the other posts i have used but i love the look of them so i think the money spent is worth it.

theres nowt wrong with enjoying bits for their looks or even upgrading for the pure fun of it. its just funny when folk feel the need to justify their purchases when "i just fancied it" is all the excuse needed.

choosing xt over slx or x9 over x7 doesnt always equate to a massive performance upgrade, especially considering the cost to upgrade, but its nice to be kitted out with "better" kit

P-Jay

A good wheelset with be noticable over a sub-par OE set, but it's not really worth spending fortunes upgrading rims to the latest mavic wonder rims if you've already got decent ones.

Fork is the obvious one.

Tyres are a big one, there's not really any terrible tyres out there, but you need to find the ones that work for you.

stevet1992

Tyres wheels and forks ! Especially if you have cheap ones ! The difference between my Manitou blacks and Suntour XCM's was outstanding !

PaulBarman

Sealed cables made the biggest difference of any upgrade so far and one of the cheapest. The shift feels like new cables even after 6 months of riding. The feel deteriorated after a single muddy ride with regular cables.

Does ghetto tubeless count as an upgrade? Well worth the money to avoid flats, can't believe I didn't do it sooner.

stevet1992

PaulBarman wrote:

Sealed cables made the biggest difference of any upgrade so far and one of the cheapest. The shift feels like new cables even after 6 months of riding. The feel deteriorated after a single muddy ride with regular cables.

Does ghetto tubeless count as an upgrade? Well worth the money to avoid flats, can't believe I didn't do it sooner.

I'm considering ghetto after accidentally buying some Bmx inner tube from halfords last minute before a ride ... Would of been intresting if i had had a flat !

Basil Hume

Good tyres, IMO.

Torres

Whatever's letting the bike down the most, it varies. Some companies spec brilliant forks with low end wheels, some the other way round.

freeride-mike

pretty much the same for me really....... lighter smoother running wheels and better quality tyres (grip + rolling resistance)

ilovedirt

tyres, brakes/pads and suspension i reckon

The Spiderman

Biggest single improvement of my upgrades was a fork upgrade.Night and day difference.
Tyres were a very noticeable improvement,more for the weight reduction and improved accelaration than grip.
Saddle change made a huge diference to comfort.
Everything else has been negligible when looked at in isolation but the combined effect of the 5llb loss in weight is very noticeable when taken as a sum of all the upgrades.

joshtp

wheels, tyres, forks, bars, anything at either end of the bike, and rotating and unsprung weight esp...

njee20

That's a difficult one to say though, as you say, adding some light skewers won't make that much difference, but saving the same amount off every component will.

In terms of individual upgrades it's the biggest ones as you get a massive change, wheels and forks most notably. Tyres can do, but it depends what you're going from/to IMO.

Northwind

Whatever bit is worst, generally. On mine, I got the big advantages from the frame, the forks, and the wheels. But that's most of the bike I've got a nice drivetrain on it but really, it's not that much better than X5 and Deore. And the bars etc are just lighter, they're not especially performy. But forks can make a huge difference, and no matter how good the rest of your parts are they're no use on a bad frame. And wheels just take the stress off my puny legs.

Iwingstein

Personally, the cheapest way of losing weight is diet. I need to lose 5 stone or 70 lbs. That'll be about twice the weight of my bike

stevet1992

i recently upgraded to X9 on the new bike from X5 shiters and sod me the difference is immesne ! Paid £32 and the way it shifts is with every penny !

mozzy10

Interesting opinions. As it happens I'm no longer buying the QR as the price has gone up on eBay. I think I shall get some sealed brake and gear cable howevers for an upgrade that I shall notice.

I think that spending lots of money on lightweight parts like skewers/bars/stems/seatposts is only really worth it when you think of the collective weight lost from all items like njee20 said.

I believe that the majority of 'upgrades' offer very small performance increases on the trail. However, for many riders the fiddling and pure engineering of bikes will be as much as a hobby as the ride and for these people the small details will certainly matter, even if they are not racers.

Torres

mozzy10 wrote:

for many riders the fiddling and pure engineering of bikes will be as much as a hobby as the ride and for these people the small details will certainly matter, even if they are not racers.

Spot on, i love tinkering and changing parts as much as i love riding. It's not a hobby its a way of life (read problem )

_Ferret_

pay someone to ride your bike well...

jonnymojo

1. SPD's and pedals
2. flying snakes sealed cables
3. short stem

likewoah

Some cheaper things that make a real difference

- Lock-on grips (if you don't have em already)
- Better brake pads
- Wider bars
- Bike tuition!

Northwind

Light inner tubes. keep forgetting about that but £14 or so for a pair of Schwalbe XXlights gives more of a weight loss than a couple of hundred quid's worth of wheels, on a lot of bikes. And no big drawback.

mozzy10

I've done ghetto tubeless, cost 15 quid for both wheels and saved around 50g per wheel. I can't really notice the weight differance and but I haven't flatted yet.

Better brakes pads I think are key, just changed from my old avid standard pads to some superstar cheapo ones. The superstar are fine until you get any hint of water on them, then they seem to accelerate the bike when you apply the brake!

Northwind

mozzy10 wrote:

I've done ghetto tubeless, cost 15 quid for both wheels and saved around 50g per wheel. I can't really notice the weight differance and but I haven't flatted yet.
!

You'd almost certainly have been lighter with a decent lightweight tube, ghetto isn't light (60g or so of sealant plus half an inner tube, vs 102g for a reliable light tube). Ghetto's more about the punctureproofing, which is worthwhile in itself mind.

Alex

Tyres will always offer the biggest performance upgrade for not a lot of cash, as they are your only contact point with the ground.

Everything else is subject to the laws of diminishing returns.

Northwind

Assuming they're not already good, anyway. But they usually aren't. Either cheap OEM specs, or no-names, or (my favourite) 5 inch trail bikes with 2.2 tyres so they seem to be really fast and light on your 2 minute test ride.

Surf-Matt

Getting fitter.