How To Upgrade Your Mountain Bike
At Westbrook Cycles, the mountain bike side of our business is split into a couple of different parts - mainly the sales of full and ready to ride mountain bikes, and the sales and supply of a range of different mountain bike components. Customers of ours choose to upgrade their mountain bike components for a number of reasons, but mainly to either replace a failing or worn out component - or to upgrade a specific part of the bike for increased performance.
Why Upgrade Mountain Bike Components?
It goes without saying that fitting higher quality components to a mountain bike, equals greater performance. If racing competitively, then components which give you an edge over the competition is very welcome. Other reasons for upgrading components on your bike, may include improving your tyre and wheel setup on a bike which you use for commuting, protecting yourself from punctures and tyre rips.
Upgrading Mountain Bike Wheels
Upgrading Mountain Bike Wheels is one of the most common upgrades that cyclists choose to do. Many customers choose to buy larger wheels, switching from 27.5 inch wheels to a 29-inch wheel. Replacement wheels, and upgraded wheels can also offer a number of other benefits:
- Offers weight savings
- Better hub technology
- Allows the switch to tubeless
- Allows the rider to choose greater or smaller rim profiles
Upgrading Mountain Bike Forks
Suspension can make the biggest difference to any mountain bike, which is why upgrading mountain bike front suspension forks is a popular choice for many mountain bikers. Upgrading your suspension forks can completely transform the performance of your mountain bike, regardless of whether it’s a full suspension mountain bike or a hardtail mountain bike. At Westbrook Cycles, we only stock and supply suspension forks from companies who we know and trust, to provide top quality forks - which feature innovative designs for maximum performance. Now maximum performance does not mean maximum travel in all circumstances. Different riding disciplines, require different amounts of suspension travel. For cross country and XC mountain biking, we recommend a travel of between 100-120mm - allowing for plenty of give for rough surfaces, whilst trail riding rough values sit at around 120mm-140mm with Enduro or All Mountain Mountain Bikes requiring further travel, between 150-170mm. Downhill Mountain Bikes, which require most travel can have anything between 180-220mm of travel. The differences in amounts of travel are very important, as if you choose a suspension fork with too much travel for your requirements, you will simply struggle with a poor handling mountain bike.
Upgrading Mountain Bike Rear Suspension
The Rear Suspension Shock is at the very core of every full suspension mountain bike, and plays a vital role in comfort and performance of the bike over the roughest of ground and terrain. Not surprisingly, as time has gone on - there has been massive upgrades in rear shock design and technology meaning many customers choose to upgrade this suspension component. Any good quality suspension shock will be damped, meaning that the rate at which the shock opens and closes - is controlled, giving a smooth and comfortable experience. Some shocks however, are undamped - which means that there is no regulation on how the shock opens and closes, meaning the shock can bottom out and spring back open quickly - providing poor performance. Choosing the right rear shock for your bike will depend a lot on the compatibility and sizing of your bike and your chosen shock. The next choice is choosing between a coil-sprung shock, and an air-sprung shock. Although coil sprung shocks are sometimes the cheaper option, most customers upgrading their shock choosing an air-sprung shock.
Upgrading Mountain Bike Gears & Groupsets
One of the most frustrating parts of riding a mountain bike is problems with the gearing and drivetrain - from clunky gear changes, to the most frustrating and annoying situations of all, the chain coming off. Upgrading gears & groupsets is the key thing to do here, with high performance sets providing performance in all conditions. These groupsets can be replaced when old groupsets become problematic, or simply as part of an upgrade.
Mountain Bike Components at Westbrook Cycles
At Westbrook Cycles, we are proud to stock and supply a fantastic range of mountain bike components, covering everything from chains and groupsets, to wheels and suspension. These parts are all offered with fantastic advice from our customer services teams, allowing you to make the right upgrades for both your bike and yourself.