Mountain bikes are pretty great these days. I used to update my frame or bike or frame every season, but at this point, new models only seem to feature minor iterative updates. New bike releases have been reflecting current riding trends and are less about substantial performance gains, with the bulk of bike industry innovation focused around e-bikes. Since I plan to get a few more seasons out of my current bikes, I’ve been doubling down on the investments in my gear with aftermarket bits and a refreshed look.
After years of running all-black bicycles, I’m over it and adding a splash of color to my rides. I started my upgrades on my primary trail bikes (both electric and acoustic) with improved suspension utilizing Cascade Components links and after-market suspension. Since my Specialized Turbo LEVO received a DVO rear shock with green accents added to my green Cushcore valve stem and rim decals, I decided that building on those green accents would be the next step in customizing my ride.
I had this idea that I needed to start with a green seat post collar, but for some reason, it seems green parts aren’t as commonplace this season. Aside from generic Amazon bits, only Deity and Wolftooth offered a seat collar in green sized to fit over 34.9 posts that Specialized bikes are equipped with. The Diety unit looked nice, but I’m wary of threaded alloy parts stripping, which made the Wolf Tooth model the only one I’d consider. It took me some hunting online, but I managed to find a green Wolf Tooth seat collar in the right size (in their scratch and dent section) and added a headset spacer and some anodized cage bolts to the mix. I also had to add a blue seat collar for my Stumpjumper EVO, which was getting a blue-teal theme.
Wolf Tooth Components makes a range of parts and accessories for bicycles in a wide range of colors, perfect for customizing one’s bike. A large section of its website showcases its anodized parts and accessories called the color shop.
Wolf Tooth currently offers two shades of green: “green” and “olive”. While there were more olive bits like bar end caps, rotor lock rings, headsets, pedals, and remote levers available, I was the most interested in the seat collar as it would break up the black. Since I found a pair of lime green resin Chromag pedals, I figured I’d give these matching green lock-on grips.
SDG Components saddles and accessories
SDG Components is another brand that offers a range of accessories in colors to match your ride. We’re big fans of the product line, having run SDG saddles since our first foray into the sport. (My current fave is the Bel-Air V3 MAX saddle) I’m running their Teal grips and Bel-Air Max saddle on my Stumpjumper EVO and have been working on building on that blue/teal color scheme.
You can color-match an SDG saddle, grips, and pedals, which is a nice start to sprucing up your ride. They even make a complete set for the youngsters.
PNW Components and accessories
Like SDG, PNW Components offers a line of components and accessories available in a range of colors. You can match handlebars, dropper lever/ post, and grips. They’ve also recently introduced a range of colors in their resin pedal lineup.
Spank Industries components and accessories
One of the challenges with decking your bike out with anodized parts is getting the colors to match exactly. One way to get that covered is to deck out your entire bike with parts and accessories from a single brand. Spank Industries may have the most complete coverage you can find. They have everything covered from bars to stems to grips, and other cockpit accessories, plus rim decals and hubs.
These are some of our favorite brands offering aftermarket colors for customizing your ride. Did we miss your favorite? Drop a note in the comments below.
Our winter color refresh is underway… next up, we’ll delve into the realm of custom graphics to take that custom look to the next level.