We strive to provide you with authoritative, trustworthy, and expert advice. In doing so, the staff at natureoften.com performs extensive research, editing, and fact checking to every post on this webiste. If you feel that this article can improve, please feel free to reach us at [email protected]
The Trek 820 is ideal for newer riders who want something that’s reliable, inexpensive, and will get them on the trail.
If you’re looking to add some comfort and ease of use to your trek 820 as an entry-level rider, by all means, you can upgrade things like the handlebar grips, the saddle, or the pedals.
But if you’re an experienced single-track rider looking for something that can tear up the dirt with ease, you’re better off saving for a higher-end bike than upgrading an 820.
What Upgrades Can You Add to a Trek 820 mountain bike?
In theory, you can change any aspect of an 820 you please—you can change out the derailleur, get a new suspension fork, or even switch out the 820’s rim-based brakes for disc brakes if you want to.
In practice, it makes a lot more sense to get a bike that’s already designed with the purpose you want it for in mind.
This means that it makes more sense to stick to more superficial, comfort-focused upgrades on a bike like the 820, like a new saddle, pedals, or handlebar grip, because the 820 is an entry-level bike.
Should You Upgrade a Trek Mountain Bike?
It doesn’t make sense to upgrade the major components on the Trek 820, but some minor features do make sense to improve.
Above all, it doesn’t make sense to pour a ton of time and money into outfitting a basic bike with the best features when you can simply get a bike that already has them and is designed to support them.
But if you have a Trek 820 bike that you’ll be putting through lots of use and you’re willing to put in some extra money to make it as comfortable as can be, minor upgrades like pedals, grips, and saddle are a good idea.
How Can You Upgrade a Trek 820 Mountain Bike?
To replace a component on your Trek 820, you can either take the bike to a shop and have a mechanic perform the replacement, or you can perform the replacement yourself.
If you’re set on replacing a component like the drivetrain, the derailleur, or the braking system, it’s best to let a professional handle the operation.
A lot of fine-tuning goes into setting up components like these, and a tiny problem can make the whole mechanism stop functioning.
On the other hand, upgrades like tire replacements, saddle, pedal, or grip replacements are easy to learn and are worth doing yourself.
What Is the First Thing to Upgrade on a Mountain Bike?
This question has many different answers or no answer at all—the most important thing to upgrade depends totally on the rider’s physical needs and what kind of riding he or she wants to do.
Get a feel for your bike, take it for a ride or two, and then decide what feels off. Is the saddle too rigid?
Get a more comfortable one. Do your arms feel cramped and pushed together? Get a wider pair of handlebars.
The most important thing to upgrade is whatever part of the bike gets in the way of you having the best ride you can.
Is it Worth Upgrading an Entry Level Bike?
It’s not worth giving your entry-level mountain bike a complete overhaul and turning it into a trail-gobbling machine.
This would take significantly more time, effort, and money than simply getting a bike that already has a superior drivetrain, derailleur, braking system, front suspension fork, and so on.
Imagine installing each of those components, or at least paying someone to do it, when you could just get a premade bike.
On the flip side, a fancy bike with nice components isn’t worth getting if all you’re planning to do is some light riding on fire roads, and a bike like the Trek 820 may be a serious bargain for you.
Final Thoughts
The Trek 820 is in no way a bad or subpar bike, it’s just a basic option that tries to be both inexpensive and reliable—and succeeds.
Its price is quite low if you take its overall quality into account, and if you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, the 820 is it.
The 820 is an old-school build, and serious trail riders back in the day would use similar steel-frame designs to do difficult technical descents, so it can in fact shred trails if you’re willing to work with its limitations.
If you want to give it an overhaul, go ahead, but understand that the 820 is designed for low-impact trail riding, not downhill racing.
Robert is a passionate outdoorsman who spends most of is time outside in nature. He regularly goes on hikes with his solid black German shepherd (her name’s Mara), spends time camping in his new Airstream Basecamp 20x, and much more.