Grips, Pedals and Saddles
These are the components that are so personal, they almost always get upgraded immediately. It’s not uncommon for a bike to come without pedals but depending on if you ride clips or flats, you will mostly be using your current pedals.Mountain bike grips tend to be cheap. You might run through a set of grips per year depending on how often you ride. Like pedals, I think people find a brand/model they like and will swap to those either immediately or after the grips that some with the bike wear out.
The saddle is all about comfort. A lot of saddles are fine but if you ride your bike for a couple hours, you’ll know if the original saddle will work for you or not. Like grips, you probably have a brand/model you like and will swap to it after a couple rides.
Handlebars and Stems
Most riders won’t upgrade their stem or handlebars until they feel like experimenting with the bike’s ride characteristics. This might be trying a longer handlebar or shorter stem or going from aluminum to carbon. Often these changes are made to dial in your personal preference for how the bike handles.Wheels (Rims, Hubs and Tires)
The stock wheels on most bikes are good enough for the majority of riders. When you start demanding more out of your bike, the wheel are often the best items to upgrade. A lot of mountain bikes comes with hubs that do not offer high engagement hubs. A quality hub will make riding technical features easier and will make climbs more efficient. Once you’ve ridden a high quality hub, you will not be happy with the stock hubs most bikes come with.Rims are an item where you can save a lot of weight. Find a stiff rim that is light and you’ll be impressed with how well your bike holds a line on the trail. Light rims can also make those climbs feel a lot more endurable.
Mountain bike tires are almost like grips. They typically won’t last a full season if you ride a lot and you probably have a go to brand and model. I find tires to be a game of balancing weight vs durability vs traction. The better the traction and durability, the heavier those tires become. Finding the right tire for the trails you ride can be a struggle. I tend to prefer to have heavier, aggressive tires that don’t flat on me.
Brakes
For some people this is religion. SRAM or Shimano. The joke for some is you don’t bleed SRAM brakes, you replace them with Shimano’s. Your preference for brakes most likely depends on your size and how fast you ride your bike. If you have a set of brakes that work for you, you’re not upgrading to the higher version of those brakes. You are only upgrading brakes if you don’t like the brand that came on your bike. Often the higher end version of a brand’s brakes are only meant for the people that demand the highest level of performance out of their bike. The incremental upgrades won’t be noticeable for most of us.Dropper Post
Does you bike come with a dropper post? If not, go buy one now! Dropper posts are such an amazing component that will make you feel safer on your bike when the terrain turns aggressive. Often people only upgrade their dropper post when their current post fails. Sadly the quality of some posts just isn’t where it should be and in some conditions they will fail.Drivetrain (Cranks, Shifter, Derailleur and Cassette)
With the introduction of the 1x drivetrain, I don’t see this component group being upgraded but instead replaced over time as wear brakes down your drivetrain. Most people will break their derailleur and wear out their cassette then upgrade when those items need replacing.The two items I can see being upgraded are the crankset and shifter. By upgrading the shifter you can get a better feel when you shift gears. There are some advantages to a higher end shifter but again this is for the rider looking for the most out of their bike.
Most people won’t ever look to upgrade their cranks but this is probably one of the heaviest components on your bike. Cranks are built to take a beating and will probably take most of the abuse your bike receives on the trail. For riders looking to drop weight, the cranks are an expensive upgrade but could save you a quarter pound or more.
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