Riding your bike regularly is a lot of fun but one of the down sides is that after a while it’s highly likely your bike will start to look and feel a little tired. You might feel like a new bike is your only answer, but with some care and attention along with upgrading your components an old bike can feel like new in no time. To give you an idea of some of the best upgrades you can make to your bike we’ve created this helpful guide that will have your bike feeling like new in no time.
Wheels
A new pair of wheels can make your bike feel smoother, faster and lighter, as well as changing the overall look of your bike, as upgrades go wheels are one of the best places to start. If you live in a hilly arear you might want to consider a lighter set of wheels with a shallow profile rim, this offers faster acceleration and greater ability to maintain your speed when riding up hill. For flatter or rolling terrain deep section wheels offer better aerodynamics, allowing you to cut through the air reducing drag and increasing your overall speed. If you’re racing you might also want to consider switching to a set of carbon tubular wheels. Not only are they lighter, and as a result faster, but also offer the ability to run tyres at both higher and lower pressures than a clincher wheel. Other benefits of upgrading your wheels include lighter hubs with smoother bearings and stronger stiffer spokes.
See our range of road wheels here
Crankset
If you’ve ridden thousands of miles on your bike and not always replaced your chain before its worn out, you might find that your crankset has also worn beyond repair. The good news is that replacing your crankset comes with a number of benefits, if you’re in the market for an upgrade. Top spec cranksets are generally stiffer than there lesser counter parts, not only is this beneficial to power transfer through the pedals, but also in regards the tolerances the crankset can take during front derailleur shifting. If you are also looking to lose weight from your bike then the crankset is one of the best areas to look. When replacing your crankset it’s also a good opportunity to think about the ratio that suits your power and the area in which you cycle.
See our range of cranksets here
Bar Tape
Fresh bar tape can make the world of difference to the look and feel of your bike. Bar tape is the main contact point between your hands and the bike, choosing the right tape can really make a difference to the way your bike feels, thicker gel padded bar tape can reduce buzz from the road, while tacky finished tape helps to improve grip whilst holding on to the bars. Adding new tape is also a great way to radically add or remove colour from the overall look of your bike and can be a good way of setting off details in the paint work or your frame and other components.
See our range of bar tape here
Chain
A worn or stretched chain can eat away at the rest of your drive train very quickly and before you know it you’ve gone past the point of repair and it won’t be just a new chain you need. It might not seem like much of an upgrade but a fresh unworn chain offers smoother pedalling efficiency. This reduction in friction in turn increases power transfer and ease of pedalling.
See our range of saddles here
Saddle
Changing the saddle that comes with your bike as standard is often the best place to start when looking for things to upgrade on your bike. As one of the main contact points with your bike, a good fitting saddle is paramount to your comfort on the bike, enabling you to cycle for longer and harder without pain in the place where you least want it. When buying a new saddle considering its shape, width and padding in line with your own body shape and flexibility will enable you find the best possible fit and maximise your comfort.
See our range of saddles here
Brake and Gear cables
With time brake and gear cables stretch, this combined with corrosion caused by water and grit getting stuck in cable outers can leave shifting and braking feeling sluggish. A new set of cables and outers will make your bikes braking sharper and shifting between gears feel smoother.
See our range of brake cable here
And our range of gear cable here