From what I’ve seen on this forum its members aren’t shy of spending a bob or two on the latest biking kit/bling/fad. 1×10, 2×10, wider bars, shorter stems, tubeless wheels and plusher gold coloured forks that cost the best part of a grand are always getting debated on here

But what pieces of kit have you bought that have genuinely made you a faster rider?

For me its SPDs and a dropper post, both have transformed my riding, far more than anything else I’ve ever bought

ps,,,you aren’t allowed to say ‘a session with Jedi’

But what pieces of kit have you bought that have genuinely made you a faster rider?

EPO.

Headphones and music. Droppy seatpost. Good brakes. Good tyres.

A pair of lighter wheels and disk brakes made the biggest difference to me.

The brakes give you the confidence to make use of the faster lighter wheels.

Ask Lance

Prescription riding glasses.

Michelin dry2’s spring to mind

Feel confident to lean them over and crank upto speed on them on dryish trails. Not draggy feeling so putting in that extra pedalling effort doesn’t feel like its going to be wasted by the next corner, and much more confident feeling to lean into turns unlike my last 70a crossmarks ..
^must also apply to other fast/non draggy but grippy tyres

going 1×9. 34: 11-32. (on the XC bike( No choice but to crank it uphill when they’re no more gears left. spinny up top. Not faffing about with the front mech. Just click away and pedal. Not really used for (m)any sustained ‘proper’ hilly and rough rides however

A 29er and no more cigarettes

Prescription riding glasses
I concur.
Plus a big bag of gravity.

Strava

I think most things do, tbh. Even if there’s not an outright performance advantage, feeling better on your bike makes you trust it more and that’s the single most important thing, no? I mean, I’m rational enough to know that titanium brake disc bolts make precisely 0% of ****-all to how my bike rides, but knowing “I’ve made this lighter than it was” still makes me happier when going up hills.

Some purchases are designed to make me go slower- new hardtail, 1×9 gearing, it’ll never be faster down a hill than my big bike and it’ll be slower round a long loop than if it had more gears. But it’ll be fun.

Brakes you can trust
Really good tyres that are suitable for the conditions (“What tyres for” is a cliche but damn straight I’m faster on sloppy inners enduro trails with Barons on than with Fasttraks!)
Riding glasses, front mudguard- I go faster when I can see.
Lights- because the first year I was riding, I did a ton of night riding and it helped me get better, fast.

Skinsuit, aerobars and a sperm helmet

Tubeless. It doesn’t make all that much difference to moving speed, but avoiding stopping to mend punctures easily bumps up the average speed far more than anything else could.

SPD’s and new wheels, can I say practice as well?

My 150mm hard tail. Relearnt line choice
Dropper post Smoother riding
Wider bars Better control for me
Bolt through fork more control
Uplift more practice
A session with craig from cyclewise prior to the meva really brought my riding on

A road bike.

^^^^^

this , riding a roadie regularly will drastically increase your fitness/speed .

Bike computer/GPS/stopwatch, anything that lets you compare against previous times and push harder.

Oops double post, stupid Tablet. 🙂

Applying what I learned after a session with Jedi.

With that in mind, perhaps my hope v2 brakes. Easier to go faster when you know you can stop.

Decent clothing which is appropriate to the conditions has made me faster, more comfortable and generally enjoy my riding more.

Suspension.

And powerful, reliable brakes.

Combining two of the above has really increased my off road speed, road bike with strava.

5tens and good pedals (Vaults here) keep me connected in the rough, dropper post supports better efficient climbing and descending and bitey brakes allow you to allow the bike to do more. I think wider bars make it easier to handle the bike at both high and low speeds thanks to the stability and leverage.

Strava+1, it gets the wind in my sails.

That being said, learning when to apply technique can instantly out trump a bike upgrade. If you’re looking in the wrong place, comfort braking and don’t move around with/against the bike you could be on £5k worth of bike going nowhere fast.

The monsters that lurk in the woods after dark.

^^ this ^^

Garmin Edge 200 and a virtual partner.
My club jersey.
A shorter stem to make ridign on the drops more comfortable

29er ,easily.

Nothing other than getting out and riding, noticeable loss of speed when I don’t ride for a week or so.

trainning for an event I wanted to finish

26″ wheels, narrow bars, inner tubes, normal seatpost and SPDs.

a heart that functions correctly. 😀

Jedi.

b45her – Member
^^^^^

this , riding a roadie regularly will drastically increase your fitness/speed .

This, and a garmin. But also, going Singlespeed.

beer

my full sus, as cliché as it is I definitely ride faster now I’ve ditched the hardtail.

b45her – Member
^^^^^

this , riding a roadie regularly will drastically increase your fitness/speed .

This, and a garmin. But also, going Singlespeed.

1×10, 2×10, wider bars, shorter stems,

Are these seen as ‘latest’ things? Just thinking of all those 1×9, 28″ Azonic bars, 60mm stubbies on hardtails 15 years ago )

What has made me faster – a road bike, some books and other people#s experiences that inspire me to push on more, WTB saddles that mean I can be on the bike as long as I can pedal and still be comfy, basically anything that helps me ride more and thf get fitter.

Tyres, brakes etc, unless you have junk ones to start with I doubt many of use were really pushing the previous models limits. It’s more about perception and confidence perhaps, ie the ability was there already.. take the credit yourself.

Entering events

Not directly but they typically force me to train harder, push my limits a bit more and therefore get faster.

No spending of money can come close to compensating for some hard work and dropping a bit of weight. (Don’t tell my wife that though :-))

In terms of kit. Tyres undoubtedly make the biggest difference in speed but beyond that the new Shimano brakes really boosted confidence. Only realised how much when I got the HT out a few weeks back with 5 year old hopes.