Mountain biking is expensive, but I l just love upgrading. I've basically upgraded everything except the frame. Then there are the tools, clothes and protective gear. There is always a better option than what you have too 👌The first step is admitting you have a problem, but I don't want to...

For me, getting a dropper post has made all the difference. I couldnt even lower my bike's post much since it is an XC with a second bottle cage in the seat tube. And so upgrading to a dropper for better descents and skills development has been key for me.

So far the best upgrades I did to my hard tail are pedals with a pair of good mtb shoes and of course a dropper post. I went from from almost sliding off the bike on every bump to struggling to change feet position on the pedal because of how much grip I have. Great upgrade with little budget.

For me upgrading my wheels from the stock wheelset to a set of Hunt trail wheels as well as new tyres has completely transformed the feel of the bike. I cannot believe the difference and wish I made this upgrade sooner, bike feels better than it did when it was new!!!

I feel that the contact points are the first things you should upgrade; saddle, grips, and pedals. Because if the bike doesn't feel good or you don't feel secure when riding, you won't be as enthusiastic about getting out. I went as far as putting a road oriented saddle on my plus hardtail for those super long, epic rides I occasionally do. Comfort is key....so, even a proper bike fit is warranted

I agree with ALL of these! Just installed a larger front rotor - made HUGE difference. Better saddle is next, never had great luck with saddles.

Adding a dropper post really breathed new life into my old XC hardtail.

Wheels and tyres make a huge difference. And of course grips, saddle and pedals. Plus a good suspension fork. All these can definitely transform one bike.

My wife has fallen absolutely in love with MTB-ing. (We did an ATV ride and she said she was able to use her MTB skills on THAT ride.) She’s just a beginner, so I absolutely love her enthusiasm. Long story short, she has a 2-by MTB orbea. But when we saw a second hand 1-by SRAM MTB drive train, she decided to upgrade her group set! 😊 she said the next on her list is a dropper seat post. 😅

Changing the saddle has been the biggest difference I've ever felt on a bike. Don't be afraid to take the cheaper version with heavier rails either, the more expensive ones may be a few grams lighter, but for most of us, you are not going to notice.

It's all about the dropper post for me...total game changer 👍

I replaced 180/160 rotors with 203/180 ones and even my basic Sram Level brakes have ample power. Definitely an upgrade I would recommend.

Been running Ergon GA2 grips (fat) this year and for me they got rid of any hand numbness I had from rides with thinner grips. It wasn't chronic or consistent numbness but awesome all the same.

Converting my 29er into a mullet was a total game changer - 165mm cranks were the icing on the cake.

you should do a visit to Australia in Brisbane

Great vid I've just got a New frame day got a day of work so gonna do a build and I'll take into account your upgrades keep making great vids much love from Newcastle upon Tyne

Bought an ex-hire hardtail for my daughter. First upgrade was getting a dropper fitted. It's a must have.

I expected to see the dropper post included. My favorite upgrade.

pedals, saddle and grips

I bought some second hand Shimano Saint brakes for my trail bike (pinkbike classifieds)......gotta say, having tremendous brakes makes EVERYTHING on the bike better.....And, I am supremely spoiled by the fantastic feel those Ergon GE1's offer.....

Done all the upgrades, now I need a new bike!

My first upgrade was the saddle, the WTB VOLT was the winner over the Bontrager saddle already installed. Next, the grips which replaced the ones already installed were from ODI, and some Shimano Deore calipers and levers. Still on the fence about pedals and tires. I'm thinking that instead of going with a longer stem, I'd go with a flat bar which has 0 degrees of sweep.

A set of Deity platform pedals and a dropper post are my first upgrades, and what a difference!

Suspension and wheels, expensive but it is makes a big difference, cheers guys good work

these are actually good start-up upgrades, they were also my 1st choice to, apart from the actual break leavers, they are shimano but i forget the type but i have kept them because no matter how low level hydrolic breaks are they are still ok when brand new so i only upgraded to bigger disks, oh yes & one of the most important upgrades was a dropper post & an insert for the rear wheel being as mine is a hardtail.

Looking at your bike with a new part is the best ever

Contact points are the first to go, grips, pedals, seat. Last set of those cost me under 50e. Then a multi tool and later the expensive stuff as it come along

when I picked up a trek roscoe frame it had a coil rockshox judy and the huge upgrade was changing the fork to a trail dvo sapphire

Customization has no bounds 🤗

thanks guys,this really helped me out

Got a bike with pretty decent components on it, but they had to skimp somewhere, and put Tektro Orion 4P on it. They were... fine. They stopped, no questions, but they just didn't feel _right_ . A bit mushy. Put some new SLX brakes, replaced the housing plugs with grub screws, set of new 200mm discs, and holy smokes, she's an entirely different beast to ride.

the best saddle I've had in 20 years is a £15 odd one from Halfords,no word of a lie,once I fitted it never even thought about it again! Nukeproof neutron pedals to,plastic but indestructible and grippy as hell

Pedals are important. Chromolly axels and rebuildable eplaceable pins and bearings are key. I really like my One ups components pedals

nice. Another reason for the missus I can use after hitting that checkout button 😂

Re grips, about a year ago I discovered SRAM makes some great ones. They're comfy and a little bit larger diameter than the usual ergons and ODI one, which I love cos I have medium/large hands. I've gone back and tried a few sets of "normal" grips, but they feel tiny. The SRAM grips are the dogs whossnames. Cheers

Dropper post definitely the top one (if your bike doesn’t have one) or a longer one if your all legs like me😆

i absolutely love soft dmr deathgrips

Saddle is my nemesis. I have bought my new bike year ago, tried over 10 models and still can't find ideal one for me.

How can you mention pedals and ignore shoes? Get shoes for your type of riding. Lightweight and super stiff for mile crunchers and XC. A good rubber compound to engage the pins on flat pedals. Get fit at a bike shop, if available.

I bought a 80 used mongoose excursion and I’ve been upgrading it now it rides a lot better and so far I’m In 300 haha

I got an Orbea Occam H30 and I changed the brakes (Code RSCs) the Saddle I always ride the same Ergon Saddle as it fits me and I put on some ODI TLD Grips they are the ones I always use as the lizard skins peaty cheers aren't made any more...

LET'S GOOOO 🤘🤘🤘

Some suggestions of what are good makes or even recommended would be nice.

Great advice

A carbon seatpost on a hardtail. The little bit of flexibility makes the trail feel a little smother

This is basically all my upgrades so far. Ergon seats not good for me, painfully uncomfortable.

Charge Spoon ,Best saddle for price n comfort etc...

Shall I sum it up? Contact points! You to bike (saddle/ shorts; grips and pedals) and bike to ground: tyres.

@GMBN: please post the purchase link for each item in video. Thanks!

Great content!

Upgrades ❤ i have them all 😃

im getting a new bike with axs and am wondering for some tips to help keep it in good shape and not brake it

A dropper post best upgrade

Tires > fork > frame... I seemingly couldn't fault spending as much as the long time riders do in these places, coming from a HT costing ~1k. Too easy to overspend on comfort/fit and drivetrain, as we don't want to re-experience trauma from sore butt, wrist, and back, nor re-experience drivetrain faults, as they put a huge damper on the ride. I'm fine with a heavy deore 10s drivetrain, $50 composite flat pedals, almost any $10-20 normal grips, and even a $35 saddle as long as its shape and width fit my butt.

Can you guys talk about Permanent grips (they don't wear out. maybe the same grips used on motorcycles). do they exist and where can we get them.

What are the flat pedals you showed? Also what are the grips at 3:23?

love these vids

I went from 170mm crank arms to 150mm and now I can pedal through a turn. I wonder why they even bother with the 170mm cranks. They must be less expensive.

Getting a dropper post and new grips made my bike feel completely different

What's a dropperpost

I upgraded my pedal on my last bike to metal flats, first ride my shins got whacked twice did not like at all

Please tell me where you still find an available ergon ti enduro sm saddle 😭

Needing them is one thing, affording them is another.

Something that i found that made a masive difference in suspension performance was installing needle bearings in the shock mounts. The difference was huge especially if it is paired with a good shock

Currently upgrading a 2023 marlin with an sram nx drive train. Already replaced the seat and grips with ergon versions. Also installing a dropper post. Future upgrades may include new brakes, tubeless tyres, and potentially a longer stroke fork.

On the subject of pedals. I found that my feet were on the outside edge of the pedal (you could also tell by the hole it was creating on my shoe soles). I tried larger pedals and it did help but then then the inside 1/4 of the pins were not being used. The solution was a smaller pedal on a pedal extender. With Risk titanium 16mm extenders I use all the pins and my feet is not partly hanging out.

dropper post!

Ive always liked Ergon, but their new EMTB saddle is harder than my stock cube saddle

so change everything :))))

What is XC?

Where can i buy the cheapest horizon pedals😅

True 6:39 😂😂😂

How about the rims? what is the most common and effective yet affordable for all trail ridders? i use to get punctured in the inner tube even with a rim linner. any suggestions gmbn?

i want a flat pedal with skate deck tape on it so i can where vans lol

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After about 3 years the last Keurig stopped working kzfaq.infoUgkxBrV-RbF5Nk0Rlt9i15aao-YMzqzTG8Vf initially was able to unblock, however eventually we couldn't fix. That one was a replacement unit sent by the manufacturer after we had problems with our very first Keurig. This works fine (lol, at least for now) however I didn't realize the water reservoir was so much smaller than our prior unit. With 2 people having one or two cups of coffee each morning, it seems like I'm refilling it daily. Otherwise just happy to have the convenience of pod coffee vs. making a morning pot.

I was surprised when my new $10K MTB came with plastic pedals?? What's up with that. Immediately changed to a superior style flat pedal. Also changed up the grips as well. Great insight on upgrades guys!!

Did you guys just list every major component you could think of? It’s hard to post new videos every day, isn’t it?

KZfaq is really messing with us regarding ads lately: there was a 6:49 ad before the video and I was not even able to skip it ?!!

if you have a bike with small rotors chances are high that your fork is not rated for the bigger rotor sizes. My random suntours fork for example is not rated for more than 180mm rotors. And if you have a FOX 38 on there chances are high the bike came with good brakes and big rotors. So you need to pay attention there although I don't know how high the risk actually is when using a rotor that is out of spec.

#askGMBNtech If you change to bigger brake rotors, will the calipers still fit or would you need some type of adapter?

I hear so many people complaining about this or that... Drives me nuts! Until you've hand built your own bike then shut the hell up!

Hehe, bib shorts. LoL

How do you guys think something like this product will hold up on a mountain bike: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qJZ1qK-D0bvGdX0.html

Better suspension better rims and better grips are what I always go for

A comment down below

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I’ve put a bunch of these upgrades on a $800 hardtail and it has me wondering if I just need to upbike? PS: would adding a dropper post make the list or is that just too extra?

I really don't understand this from cyclists... They: Lets go with less padding on the saddle and lets wear a saddle inside the pants. Me: Or wear no saddle inside the pants and have a saddle that has actually padding. 😏

Bafang mid drive unit anyone??🤣

As a female the first upgrade I have to do is the seat! Why don't bike manufacturer's provide bikes with either a male or female seats, really a male dominated industry? My husband is usually fine with the seat on his bikes however I always have to replace mine. Oh inexpensive up grade, add a water bottle cage. I did up grade my Dropper lever to a more responsive one, PNW. Thanks guys I love your channel.

I've upgraded my pedals because it doesn't come with one 😂

Can’t buy tubeless valves for the the lowest $ value shown on this thumbnail lol. Mtb parts are a fkn rip

Does Gmbn crew ever get tired of doing the same videos over and over? Nothing against them but I've been following the channel for quite a few years now and I feel like I'm hearing the same advices again and again like a looping pattern. I guess it has to do with how youtube works and the need to put out content as often as possible to be able to exist.... Again: not an attack towards the crew...

Stop asking people to subscribe. Just stop it.... It's tedious and makes me less likely to subscribe. Don't be like EVERY OTHER channel.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)